Steadfast Love or Foolish Vanity
Eighty Sunday after Pentecost – August 3, 2025
Psalm 107:1-9, 43 and Luke 12:13-21
Pastor Jane Shelton
Many of you may remember the Smurfs. The little blue characters in the cartoon of the 80s and 90s, and their most recently released 2025 movie.
I was not a particular fan of the Smurfs, and in fact, were it not for my niece, I may have never bothered to watch one of their cartoons. However, my niece loved them, and I would often enjoy my time watching the cartoon with her. She knew all their names and delighted in pointing them out as we watched together.
Even though she liked the female, Smurfette, she was particularly taken with Vanity Smurf, who was known for his fashion, wore a flower in his hat, and carried around a mirror to always be looking at himself.
Vanity Smurf had a few hobbies that included:
- Looking at himself in the morning
- Looking at himself in the evening
- Looking at himself at night
- Keeping his complexion fresh
Although Vanity Smurf could be rebellious, he was known to have a big heart and was loved by the other Smurfs who often sought out his advice, from which they might garner a message while he talked about himself.
Biblically speaking, vanity often refers to someone who is also self-focused, with the idea they are foolish or empty of Spirit. A vain person would be one that focuses more on their human life than recognizing the more important truth of our God that provides all we need.
At our First Friday Contemplative service, we discussed Ecclesiastes 2:18-23 which reveals the absurdity of human wisdom that labors in vain to store up possessions only to be left to someone else to enjoy. Human minds are always considering more ways to work and garner worldly possessions to the point they are vexed and cannot rest their minds at night.
Paul talked about such a person in 1 Corinthians 15:22 reminding the foolish, “For all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.”
In other words, all work here on earth is in vain because in the end, when we die, we cannot take our worldly possessions with us. Our possessions give us no pleasure beyond our lives here, and therefore, our restless and worried minds should rest in peace as we live alive in Christ in this life and in the kingdom to come.
I spoke a few weeks ago about finding balance, and here again is such a time we must find balance because surely we cannot expect to sit around and simply wait for the coming of our Lord or the end of our lives while we do nothing here on earth.
We are called to answer the question, “How do we become rich toward God?”
I reflect upon this week’s tragic events of the New York shooting. A young man living in a gated community and driving a BMW, yet he was vexed with a restless mind because perhaps he did not know the steadfast love of our Lord.
I certainly did not know this person, so I am not judging him, only considering that it seems, based on what we know about him to date, he had stored up treasurers for himself, but was not rich toward God. He found himself restless and searching for answers that ended tragically for himself and other innocent people.
This is only one story of many tragic events of the week. How many are walking around with empty Spirits longing to be rich in God, and how can we help them?
Our Psalmist of today’s First Scripture Reading certainly had come to know and realize God’s steadfast love, and describes God’s riches as enduring forever, providing deliverance from distress, providing wonderful works, and satisfying with good things.
The Psalmist gives thanks to the Lord, pleads that we pay attention to these things described as God’s riches, and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.
To really pay attention, we must reflect upon our blessings, like we do during our offertory when we pause to remember all that we have, and all that is ours to share.
Jesus is asked by a family member that is obviously living with a covetous heart to advise his brother to divide the family inheritance with him.
The brother is seeking what he considers fair to him from the one he has been informed looks after the oppressed, the underdog, the ones overlooked.
I’m sure he is surprised when Jesus warns him against being greedy, and instead of advising his brother to give him half of the family inheritance, he advises the inquisitive brother that his life does not exist in the abundance of possessions.
The brother erroneously seeks out Jesus to serve him in gaining more worldly possessions instead of seeking the truth of Jesus’ teaching of obtaining eternal life beyond the earth they walked.
Jesus knew that because of their greed to have more, no settlement would satisfy them, and their greatest need was to know God’s wonderful works for humankind.
These brothers were paying attention to the wrong things. They were not considering the steadfast love of their Lord.
Mark Twain defined “civilization” as “a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.”
Certainly, we serve ourselves well when we work hard and provide for our needs. We serve ourselves well when we think about what might be needed to care for our future needs in the way of housing and health care, AND we serve ourselves well when we consider all that God provides for us in this life and most importantly in eternity.
Jesus does not encourage being idle, and he does not encourage selfish motivations inspired by greed.
Our good fortunes cannot keep us alive, and we fail ourselves when we miss opportunities to focus on God and others.
In his commentary on Luke, Warren Wiersbe asks, ‘What does it mean to be “rich toward God”?’ and then answers by saying, ‘It means to acknowledge gratefully that everything we have comes from God, and then we make an effort to use what He gives us for the good of others and the glory of God. To be rich toward God means spiritual enrichment, not just personal enjoyment.’
We live in the sacred seasons of our Lord meeting God throughout the church year. The wisdom we seek is the wisdom provided by God that comes through blessings, peace, joy and fulfillment.
God’s steadfast love that endures forever is an evolving spiritual journey when we focus and pay attention to all that God is – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
This journey requires a lifetime of thought and practice in giving up human vanity and choosing the straight way that our Lord has provided.
Will our journey be foolish vanity or the steadfast love of the Lord who is our hope and our life?