Luke 12:32-40 - Sermon for August 11, 2019
Series: Learning From Jesus
Tentative sermon title: Learning to be Ready
Day 1: Reading through the text, making notes, and observations
· This follows the things we looked at
last week: Our relationship with our possessions – the things we feed our soul
· Also follows the “do not worry passage”
God takes care of the ravens and the grass – God can and will take care of you –
worry gets you nothing
32 “Do not be
afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you
the kingdom.
"Do not be afraid "- this is what angels say to those to whom they are bringing a message from God - these are words that are suppose to bring calm to the hearer
"little flock" - I like the idea of believers collectively being a "little" flock - to mee this sounds endearing and calming
God will give you the kingdom – the things of
heaven – the riches only God can provide – when we are “rich toward God” then
it is God’s kingdom that is what is gained
33 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.
The opposite of building “bigger better
barns” and storing all we have in them to protect them and keep them safe, is
selling what belongs to us and giving to those in need.
Purses that do not wear out – every woman’s
dream ;) – but seriously –things that hold God’s riches do not wear out
Treasure in heaven –the same kind of
language as “rich toward God” – that which is eternally valuable – has value
beyond the possessions and wealth we can accumulate
34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
What we value is where we “live”- Jesus
calls us to dwell, to live in God’s kingdom and live by the rules and live into
the culture of God’s kingdom
“thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on
earth . . .” – here, now
Where we hold what we value is where we live,
are we living in God’s kingdom and living in God’s culture or are we living in
this world and ruled by the culture here
35 “Be dressed
for action and have your lamps lit;
I wonder what “being dressed for action”
looks like. Was this a military image? Or an image of household life in 1st
century Palestine?
36 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.
Earlier in Luke, Jesus tells us if we
knock, the door will be opened, but here Jesus is knocking – well it seems
Jesus is the master in this context
These two verses seem to harken back to
the Parable of the Bridesmaids from Matthew 25
37 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.
Having them sit down, eat and then serving
ones servants/slaves was not common behavior for masters, even ones who are extremely
pleased with the work that has been done.
This is a role reversal – slaves serve
their master – but here the master serves the slaves – Markers of God’s
kingdom? – The culture of the kingdom? – Traces of the way in which Jesus turns
everything upside down with his life, teachings, death and resurrection?
38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and
finds them so, blessed are
those slaves.
This seems to point forward to the
parable Jesus tells directly following this passage. But it also reminds me of
the parables about servants in Mark 13 and Matthew 25
39 “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.
If any of us knew when the thief was
coming . . . we would not have anything stolen
Don’t be an unattended house?
Be ever vigilent – but ever vigilent
about what, toward what?
We are not to worry – like ravens and
grass – but we are to guard against thieves
What are we guarding?
Do we spend too much time and effort
guarding the wrong things? Like our “stuff” – bigger better barns to keep our “stuff”
safe, when we should be rich toward God and instead be building purses or barns
that cannot be too small and can not break?
The first question is what is it we
value?
The Second is where are we storing that
stuff?
Where we store our stuff is our
kingdom, and what kind of stuff we are holding as valuable will determine where
we are storing it.
Where is our kingdom?
40 You also must
be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”
And all this has to do with being ready
Ready for God’s kingdom to truly come –
we pray for THAT ever Sunday, are we ready for it?
Are we prepared for God’s culture to be
the dominant culture, by already living into that culture here and now?
Are we living out God’s values now by
valuing what God values and not what our society tells us is valuable?
What does all this tell us about being
ready?
What is it Jesus is trying to teach us
here?
What is Jesus saying to us, 21st
century disciples?
Day 2-3: Reading Commentaries and taking notes
Day 4: Thoughts derived from my commentary reading
Day 4: Thoughts derived from my commentary reading
“Do
not be afraid“
We live in a time and place where there
is much fear – it is almost as if Jesus speaks across the millennia to us
telling us to not be afraid
These are scary times – I was going downtown
to go shopping with the girls this week and paused for a hot second and
wondered, “is it safe to there?” after all it is a crowded location with lots
of people
“Father’s
good pleasure”
Good pleasure is a gracious decision in
favor of - this is God’s grace toward us
at work
God is good and God takes pleasure in
giving to us, in comforting us, in the midst of the often frighten world in
which we live
“give
you the kingdom”
The kingdom of God is given to us. God graciously gives all that is
God’s kingdom to us
Reminds me of the beatitudes . . Do no
be afraid; for the kingdom of God will be given to you
The Gospel is Good News – reminds me of
a my friend Jonathan Phillips’ definition of evangelism, “communicating
(through words and/or actions) what God has done in and through Jesus Christ in
a way that is received as good news.”
This follows a passage about not
worrying about what we eat or wear and now he says just sell it all – only keep
what has real value – only hold on to that which can be held in eternal storage
Jesus moves from anxiousness to financial
stewardship
Our anxiety including financial can get
in the way of being ready
Being ready is allowing Jesu to relieve
our worries of keeping our stuff by giving it away freely
We are ambassadors of the kingdom which
God gives to us; ambassadors of a kingdom ethic security is not found in what
we have or the gathering of possessions
Our bent toward sinning (as Wesley puts
it) is often manifested in a bent toward consumerism and materialism – this gets
in the way of being the kingdom people God is calling us to be – how can we
take a hold of God’s kingdom when we are holding on to the values and what is
considered valuable of our current kingdom?
Jesus is calling us to give up our life
of anxiety for a life of devotion by providing for the needs of others
“sell
your possession and give alms”
The Disciples had left everything to
follow Jesus
Sell what you have and give to the
needy – this is not giving from what is extra, from what you can spare – this is
sacrificial giving, giving of yourself
“alms”
– charity – a particular kind of contribution to the needy that is an act of
mercy
“treasure in heaven”
A vision of a society where wealth is
seen differently
Where we invest our wealth matters
Do we value God and God’s kingdom over
and above what we own?
“watchfulness.
. .”
Detaching from our possession is a way
to be ready
Readiness is faithful fulfillment of an
assigned responsibility
“dressed
and ready for action”
Akin to, “let your loins be girded
This mean you belt your robe up so that
it is up and out of the way so you can do work
Being ready is the sign of a good
servant – ready to do the work
“Master”
– Lord – words used interchangeable to translate ‘kurios’ – Jesus is Lord.
Role reversal – the Master serves the
servant – sit down relax – recline
The master is returning from a banquet
and the servant is asked to take the position of one at a banquet.
But being a servant of Jesus Christ
means that we can be surprised by a master who serves us even as we are ready
to serve him
Being ready of the coming of Jesus is
not found in anxieties and possessions but instead being devoted to Kingdom lifestyle
Readiness is trusting the Lord –
relying on Jesus in a violent world – Do not be afraid. . .
Living kingdom lives is giving up our
anxiousness, giving up our worry, choosing to not be afraid and living lives
instead which communicate peace
Jesus is calling us to be a non-anxious
presence in an anxious and fearful world – we live into something different –
we live upside down lives in this world
Fear not! Ours is the kingdom
Let us continue to pray, “God’s will be
done.” Here. Now.
Bibliography:
Johnson, Luke Timothy, "The Gospel of Luke", Sacra Pagina Series vol 3, edited by Harrington, Daniel J., The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1991.
TanneHill, Robert C. , "Luke", Abingdon New Testament Commentary, edited by Furnish, Paul Victor, Abingdon Press, 1996.
Tedder, Roland. “Luke 12:32-40.” Aplainaccount.org, www.aplainaccount.org/luke-1232-40/.
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