Luke 12:32-40.                   Do not be afraid!!                                                            7/8/16

³² “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. ³³ Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. ³⁴ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

³⁵ “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, ³⁶ like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. ³⁷ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. ³⁸ It will be good for those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. ³⁹ But understand 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. ⁴⁰ You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

Here in this reading God is saying to all of us here; Do not be afraid little flock: do not be afraid as we go forward in our Christian life. Do not be afraid to stand up and be a Christian, even though it goes against the grain of our society. Even though we are more and more being ostracised for being ‘a Christian’. Take seriously what we have heard about what God has done for us in and through Jesus, and be ready and prepared for all that God has in mind for us.

Now of course, it would seem as though we are not afraid of very much at all these days. We all too often have all the confidence in the world. We have an enthusiasm and freedom of spirit; and yes even an element of rebellion, which suggests that there is hardly a care in the world. There appears to be very much that Aussie spirit of ‘she’ll be right mate. I’ve got it all under control.’

There is also a growing promotion of ‘positive thinking’, rather than being negative or realistic. And when life gets a little tough we no longer want to ask, what is wrong or why it is the way it is; just take a pill to make it better, or sue someone, or change the channel, so that the problem, hopefully, will instantly go away.

Even when it comes to the Christian faith, these same attributes often seem to apply, and in some ways that is good to see; but in other ways it is also a bit scary. Are we today not afraid of anything? I am sure, below the surface, we all are to greater or lesser degree. And if we aren’t, we should be to some extent. But so often it would seem that we are not as concerned as we perhaps we should be about some of the really important issues of life.

In this area, we either, seem to have a false sense of security and are unaware of the dangers that in reality are there, or we are hiding our fear by simply believing that we can live as we please and that somehow it will all work out in the end. After all, if God is for real then he’ll take care of it all and if not then it is his fault: and after all what does this passage say here, I hear you say? ‘Do not be afraid – God is pleased to give you heaven.’ I have my faith, so she’ll be right.

Now if that is our attitude I would suggest that we need to be afraid: because again that is simply trying to twist what Jesus is saying here to suit ourselves. And from Scripture we know that the consequence of doing that is not good at all. Luther in his Small Catechism continually says that ‘we should fear and love God so that we trust in God above all things: misuse God’s name; hurt, harm, steal, lie, and all the rest’.

However, we hear so often today that this is wrong; God made us and loves us, so we do not need to be afraid. This is true; but at the same time the Scriptures are very clear that if we think that we can ignore God and what he has to say to us we had better be afraid. The consequences of not taking God seriously is deadly.

Here, Jesus tells us to be ready for service – to be prepared to live the good life that God would have us live. We are servants of the Master who has duties for us to perform in his kingdom. We are to live for our Lord and not for ourselves.

As well here, he tells us to be ready at all times for the Lord’s presence in our midst. Prepared also for the fact that a thief is out there who seeks to take our Christian life away from us.

Here he is telling us not to put our trust in money and possessions, as if they are able to give us everything we need. In fact, he says, get rid of it rather than allow it to get in the way of our Christian life. So don’t fall into the trap that the rest of our generation has by making our possessions and money our treasure: our god; because as it says here, they will disappear –and quickly. They can be stolen, eaten up or wear out: as we can see as we look around us. Earthly treasures do not give us that which has lasting value.

So here Jesus is encouraging us to make sure that nothing distracts us from him and the Christian life: To make sure that we recognise that our greatest treasure is Jesus Christ and all that he has to offer us; and that we are not distracted to place our focus and hope on ourselves or anything else. At the same time, we are to be ready and prepared for his coming at any time; because we do not know when our time is up: when he will come to take us to himself in heaven.

And it is in this regard that he says, do not be afraid. As we seek to live and be his people, he knows that we will face all kinds of difficulties and pressures and that we will struggle to live the Christian life: And when we do, he knows we will be given a hard time – persecuted to a greater or lesser degree. And it is in this context that he says, do not be afraid little flock.

So these words are very fitting for us today, as we seek to be faithful to our promise to trust God for our salvation, and life, and to live for him. This encouragement and challenge is important to us who say that we believe that Jesus has died on the cross to save us from our sin, but also to take him seriously and to live as is fitting for one who truly believes that he is our Lord and saviour. In turn he says to you; Do not be afraid little flock for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.

So as we go on in life from here with that aim; there will be many times when we will feel like little people, or be made to feel like a little person: we will be ridiculed – we will fall – and we will do stupid things; Or, more likely still, we will be tempted to not take our Christian life all that seriously. We will be tempted to take the easy way, and to simply attend worship when and where it suites us, and when we feel like it. We will be enticed to look to ourselves and what we do, think and feel and place that as what is so important for our Christian lives: or we will be led by the thief to simply say, I have my faith, therefore it doesn’t really matter how I live my life, as long as I am reasonably good.

As a result of this kind of thinking, we will feel as though we are little people: that we are weak and helpless – unable to stand up against the pressures and stresses of life. We will become afraid, as life l becomes more and more scary, stressful and full of worries and concerns. We will rush and tear – run hither and thither, and do all kinds of things to cover and hide from those fears. We will chase after all sorts of earthly treasures in the vain hope that they might make up for what is missing. We will pretend to be a big shot, to hide the fact that we in reality are a little scared person. We will be encouraged to look to all kinds of things to give us the peace, hope and security that we long for, but we will not be able to find it in any of them. 

That is why our Lord seeks to reassure us – not only here – but throughout the Bible and throughout life, to not be afraid –That he is there with us and for us: That he does have something far better in mind for us: That his kingdom – his rule - is there for us. So just turn back to him and be reassured again of all that he has done for us and has in mind for us.

As we again look to him, we will not only receive the assurance of forgiveness for our failures and sin, but also of life and salvation. We will find again the right way to live so that we can live at peace with God and each other; and so have happiness, contentment, security and all the rest that we need for this life and the next. And on top of that we can have that sure hope that beyond this life we will be a part of something even better: We will be with our Lord and saviour; the truly great One who will ensure our unending happiness and joy.

So do not be afraid little flock. Do not be afraid. God is pleased to give the kingdom. So go live as his children – always ready and prepared: constantly looking to him for assurance of forgiveness, and also for strength and courage to live as he would have us. And always remember that our Lord is there with us and for us. He wants us to be sure that he wants what is best for us. So yes do not be afraid little flock for the Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. And that assurance and hope, I pray, will go with us throughout our lives.

So again to him be all glory and honour, now and always. AMEN.

                                 

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish