Getting Ourselves Ready

 Luke 12: 35-48 August 7, 2022

 

“Do not be afraid” Jesus tells us.

 

When was the last time you were afraid?

Like really afraid of a real and present danger.

I was trying to think about that for myself.

The last time I was genuinely in danger and afraid.

I was trying to think of what I did and what was my reaction.

 

And I actually couldn’t remember the last time.

I know some people have had terrible incidents in their lives

and some people have reason to fear every day.

Some people have careers that make them face danger.

Some people have had health problems that are scary.

But those are unique situations, and not normal ones.

 

Realistically though, most of the time

most people, here in this room and around us,

don’t have any real and immediate reason to fear most of the time.

But it doesn’t feel that way, does it?

 

Fear seems to be all around us.

There’s this constant low level hum of anxiety.

We have the “what if” fear.

There’s “what if’s” about our health, our safety, our economic situations,

our friends and spouses, our parents.

Now, when I think about the “what if” type of fear,

I don’t have to go back so far.

That kind of fear is almost daily, constant.

 

There’s what if’s about climate change, 

about the political state of the country right now, what if there is another pandemic,

what if I fell off a ladder while I’m painting my bathroom?

The list could go on and on!

 

Our heads are filled with what if’s.

TV and movies fill our heads with what ifs.

Our news media fills us with what ifs.

Our politicians – of all stripes fill us with what ifs.

“What if” has great power in our lives. It changes us.

 

I think this is what Jesus is talking about when

he says “do not be afraid, little flock.”

Do not be afraid.

Jesus uses this phrase “Do not be afraid”

 - or something like it – 21 times in the gospels,

It’s second only to phrases in which he

implores us to love one another.

 

Jesus knows what power fear has in our lives.

 

Fear changes us, it does things to us.

And none of it is good.

it makes us suspicious of other people

It makes us isolate ourselves,

It makes us hold onto things,

it makes us leery of anything new.

 

It can stop us from doing, serving, trying new things, taking risks.

It can stand in the way of love, sharing, understanding,

forgiving, relationships, creativity and community.

Fear can prevent us from living in the moment

and noticing the great things that God is doing right here and now.

 

You cannot appreciate the kindness of a stranger if we

live in fear of strangers.

We cannot try something new if we’re always afraid that we’ll fail.

I cannot get my bathroom painted if I’m preoccupied

with the what if’s of ladders.

I mean a reasonable caution and awareness  about things is

healthy, but we can turn every concern into full blown “what if” fear.

  

Do not be afraid, little flock.

Your father wants to give you the kingdom.

Jesus reminds us that whatever does happen, God will be there with us.

We can’t lose it all because God is giving everything to us.

 

So no matter what happens in this world

Even if an asteroid hits the earth and we’re all done for.

The kingdom of God will be ours. So do not be afraid.

Easier said than done, but this is what Jesus asks of us.

 

So in one breath, Jesus says “do not be afraid.”

And then in the next breath he says

“Sell all your possessions and give it to the poor”

 

Now I’ve been trying to figure out

what the connection between the two is.

Here’s what I came up with after a while:

 

Now when Jesus talks about things, I don’t want you to

just get an image of people who have lots of stuff in their house.

(and that’s not just because Bob and I have a lot of stuff in our house.)

I don’t think this is only about an abundance of things.

That would be too simple. I think this is about security.

 

To humans, possessions often equal security.

We talked about that last week with the storehouses.

There was a video I watched a while back of people

evacuating a plane that had a fiery landing.

It showed most of the passengers in the smoke filled cabin,

reaching up and opening the overhead bins to get their bags

and the flight attendants are yelling over the speaker,

“Forget your bags, just jump off the plane. Forget your bags.”

I don’t think these people were particularly greedy.

I think they were afraid.

When we feel fear, we want to grab our things.

Doesn’t matter if it’s real fear like this, or “what if” fear.

Possessions can give us security.

And Jesus tells us to sell all we have.

 

So, Jesus is not just telling us to de-clutter

and live a minimalist life and have just a few tasteful obj’dart

Jesus says sell everything we possess.

Get rid of our security.

 

Jesus is saying, take those things that you rely on,

that you trust in and let go of them.

Maybe it is things, keepsakes, precious objects, 

money, storehouses of things. Or maybe it’s something else entirely.

Maybe it’s a regular schedule, or a routine.

Maybe it’s your solitary life, or constant interactions and activity.

Maybe your status, your position,

maybe it’s emotional self control, or emotional outbursts,

Or maybe food, or wine or TV. It’s different for everyone.

I don’t know what it is for you.

Jesus is saying, don’t rely on that.

 

Stop relying on everything that you rely on

give up your security blanket, and see how you do.

Take off the training wheels,

take away everything for you that stands in the place of God

and sell it, get rid of it, give it to the poor.

Put all your eggs in God’s basket.

Put God’s promises to the test and see what happens.

 

Then when you have nothing left, you can see how good God really is.

You’ll see that is where your treasure is,

and that is where your heart will be too:

In God’s care.

 

That’s why people who have felt real genuine fear

and not just the “what if” fear can tell you best about God’s presence.

They have known first hand about God’s presence with them.

 

Jesus invites us today:

Do not be afraid, divest and unload.

Stop worrying and saying “what if”

Give away what you’re clinging to,

close your eyes and jump off the cliff, metaphorically,

and you will fall into God’s arms.

 

Another way to put it is,

if our arms are filled trying to hold onto

what we already possess,

how can we take what God is trying to give us?

 

Now we always have to remember, that in modern times,

we automatically think of things individually and personally,

but Jesus and the gospel writers were almost always talking

about a community, a group. Do not fear little flock.

 

As a congregation, we should not live in constant fear

of what could happen, convinced of the awful fate might behold us.

We shouldn’t wallow as a congregation in the million “what if’s”

that could or might happen. Fear will not serve us.

 

And we shouldn’t cling to what we once had

or what we think we have now,

We should not cling to our pre-concieved

notions of how our future will unfold.

As a congregation we need to be ready for God to give us the Kingdom

in unexpected and unforeseen ways.

 

Churches who are ready for God’s mission

don’t necessarily have a fool proof plan, but they are prepared.

We get ourselves ready spiritually, emotionally, and physically

to be ready for whatever the Spirit calls us to,

“Get dressed, ready for action, and have our lamps lit” Jesus says.

Don’t be afraid. Stop relying on our security blankets.

Get ready for the Spirit to come and surprise us.

 

And when we do, Jesus says,

The master will come home and sit you down at the table and serve you.

Little flock, our Father in heaven wants to give us the kingdom.

 

When we take these risks,

when we put aside our fears,

when we give away that which we depend on for security,

When we jump off that cliff

We have assurance that we will get a return.

Not in more money, and not in more security,

Jesus never promises us that.

What we get back is the security that God was there.

That God will be there, that God is always there.

And that is a treasure that cannot

be destroyed and cannot be taken from us.

 

As we learned in our history review on Wednesday Nights,

this congregation has seen the edge of that cliff many times.

The people here have taken risks in the name of Jesus.

And God has been with us.

Sometimes we succeeded and sometimes we failed.

But God has always been with us,

to help us through, to shepherd our success,

to rethink our failures, to comfort us,

and to get us looking forward to the next thing.

 

What are we clinging to?

What possession, fear, prejudice, suspicion,

anxiety, desire are we holding on to that

that will hold us back when the Spirit blows through again?

 

Let’s get rid of it, sell it, give it away.

Let’s get ready for what God is about to give us.