The Joy of Kingdom Life
Luke
12:32-40
Time
After Pentecost Lectionary 19 August 7, 2022
St. Mark Lutheran Church, Yorktown, VA
“Do not be afraid, little
flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Those words of Jesus are the good news in this morning’s reading from the
gospel of Luke! And – what joy! – when
we were baptized, you and I were incorporated into that kingdom, the kingdom which
has been brought into our world in the flesh and blood of Jesus the Christ. It is the kingdom of Jesus followers who are
serving those who are impoverished, and feeding those who are hungry, and
loving others (even our enemies!) and who are not judging or condemning or
excluding others. (Do you want a more detailed
description of the kingdom? Check out chapter
six of this gospel of Luke, where Jesus offers that.)
What does it look like to live in
the kingdom? That’s what chapter 12 is
about, in this gospel of Luke. We find
out why Jesus has to say, “Do not be afraid, little flock,” before he says, “for it is
your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Evidently, the community that received
Luke’s gospel is suffering from hostility and persecution. “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those
who kill the body and after that can do nothing more,” Jesus tells his listeners in
verses 4-7 of this chapter 12. “But I will show you whom to fear: fear the one who, after
killing, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear that one! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s
sight. But even the hairs of your head
are all numbered. Do not be afraid; you
are of more value than many sparrows.” “Do not be afraid” – in the face of death!
A few verses later we read this: “When they bring you before the synagogues, the rulers, and
the authorities, do not worry about how you are to defend yourselves or what
you are to say; for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what you
ought to say.” (Luke 12:11-12) “Do not be afraid” – in the face of arrest!
And, do you remember last Sunday’s
gospel reading? “Take
care! Be on your guard against all kinds
of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.”
Then [Jesus] told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. And he thought to himself. ‘What should I do, for I have no place to
store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will
do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store
all my grain and my goods. And I will
say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat,
drink, be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded
of you. And the things you have
prepared, whose will they be?’ So it is
with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21) “Do not be afraid” – and security does not
come with the stuff you have!
Next, in this chapter 12 of Luke,
come some of the most beloved verses in all of the Bible: [Jesus] said to his
disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor
reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how
much more value are you than the birds! And
which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a
thing as that, why do you worry about the rest?
Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I
tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will
he clothe you, you of little faith! And
do not keep seeking what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not
keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that seek all these things,
and your Father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to
you as well. (Luke
12:22-31)
Then,
immediately comes this morning’s reading: “Do
not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you
the kingdom. Sell your possessions and
give alms. Make purses for yourselves
that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes
near and no moth destroys. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“Be
dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for
their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door
for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed
are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you,
he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and
serve them. If he comes during the
middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
“But
know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was
coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is
coming at an hour you do not expect.”
What do you think about all of
this? In particular, isn’t it striking that,
in all these sayings and stories of chapter 12 in Luke, Jesus alternates the
words, “Do not be afraid,” with all kinds of reasons why it’s natural that we would
be afraid?! Persecutions?! Sudden deaths?! Isn’t this true for all of us: who knows what
tomorrow will bring? It doesn’t matter
how much stuff we have; that guarantees nothing. All we can do is to pay attention to the
blessings we receive on this day – and to give thanks to God our creator for
the blessings of this day. Isn’t that
true?
* * *
“Do not be afraid, little
flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
It’s a First Commandment thing, it seems
to me. “You shall have no other gods”
means, of course, tells us that God is God, and we are
not!
What causes fear and anxiety? Isn’t it when we’re not trusting that God is
God? Isn’t it when we think it’s all up
to us? For sure, if it is up to me, if
all I can rely upon is my own strength, and my own abilities, and my own
resources – all of which are limited; all of which deteriorate – then, yes, I
have good reason to be afraid! And the
implications of this are far-reaching: our fear is at the root of all the divisions
and hatreds and violence that are suffering as an American people.
“Do not be
afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.” I thought of titling this sermon, “Focus,
People, Focus! Pay attention to the way of Jesus during this time of upheaval!”
I wonder if, in all the upheaval,
God is offering us opportunity to act to advance the kingdom; to act, not out
of fear, but trusting that God is God?
Our fear rooted in our need to be in
control, isn’t it? That fear will never
go away, because, of course, we know that we’re not in control. For instance: when will the end come for you
and me? Tomorrow, as in the parable last
week? Anytime – as in this morning’s
reading: as when a master could be returning home, or a thief could be breaking
in?
Well, yes! (That the end comes for each one of us:
that’s the ultimate out-of-control, isn’t it?)
But Jesus speaks good news! “Do not be afraid, little flock, for
it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
It’s a First Commandment thing. If
God is God, if everything is a gift from God, then it is not up to us. It is all gift. There is no need for fear. You and I have received the kingdom!
Joy comes with receiving the
kingdom!
Joy comes from following in the way
of Jesus, Jesus’ way of love, of serving those who are impoverished in any way,
and in any kind of need.
Joy comes with living in the
kingdom.
In the name of God who is Father and
Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Pastor Andy Ballentine
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