Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

8/12/2007

Luke 12:32-40

Rev. Philip A Bouknight

 

Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Luke 12: 32

 

Jesus has been explaining that we should not be concerned about whether God will care for us we are not to worry about the future for if God cares for the birds of the air and the flowers of the field certainly, he will care for us.  Jesus is trying to set us free from earthly concerns by reminding us that it is God who holds us.  It is God who provides for our needs.  Do not be afraid little flock for it gives God pleasure to give you the kingdom.  He is dealing with a specific reality that is experienced by God’s people.  We call it now and not yet.  We do experience God’s kingdom now, here, today and yet, the kingdom and its fullness has not yet come.  We see only a foretaste of this kingdom while we are working on this earth and what we experience pales in comparison to what we are yet to receive.  God wants us to be set free from our fears so that we can serve him without reservation.

 

So much of our time and energy is wasted on our earthly future.  What will tomorrow bring?  Will I have enough to live on?  Will I have enough to retire on?  We can worry about this so much that we forget to live today.  I have seen many people work sixty hours a week, saving and saving for retirement.  They push themselves so hard, never taking a vacation, never taking sick days so that they can squirrel away just a little bit more.  The day of retirement finally comes.  They enjoy a year or so and then their body that they abused for so many years, gives out.  So many days were wasted, worrying about the future that when the future finally became the present, it was gone. That’s not living, even by the world’s standards.  God wants to take that self imposed burden off of us.

 

Now I want to make it clear that I am not telling you to quit planning for the future.  God doesn’t ask us to be dumb.  He asks us to be faithful.  Jesus is not saying do not plan for your future, he is saying do not worry about it.  He wants us to experience his kingdom now, in the present so he lets us know that God desires more than anything too give it to us.  So as he is setting us free from our worry, he immediately commands us to sell our possessions and give alms.  He is guiding us to take away those self imposed burdens that we have.  If you do not “need” it, get rid of it.

 

What would society look like if we didn’t buy ourselves into debt?

 

Would we rather believe the commercials that say we need a certain item to be happy, or believe God, who says we only need him?

 

How much could we give away if we didn’t purchase houses that were to big, cars that were to expensive, and items that do nothing to improve our quality of life?

 

Do we really want these things to determine how we spend our time or do we want to be set free from that bondage?

                                                                                   

A little while back council decided that the heating issues at the parsonage could be addressed by the purchase of a heat pump.  In order to adequately heat the house, an additional unit would need to be placed in the storage space upstairs and it would take up half of that space.  Tara and I decided to go through all of the boxes of stuff and get rid of the things that we didn’t need.  Like many people, we found that we had a lot that we didn’t need.    In fact, we were embarrassed about the sheer amount of “stuff” that we had stuffed in the attic.  We were so embarrassed by it that we went through all of our storage spaces including the basement and gave it away.  Three truck loads of stuff went to angels in the attic.  We are just as guilty as anyone else of accumulating things that we do not need.

                                               

Jesus goes beyond saying if you do not need it, give it away.  He says be lavish with your giving.  Give beyond the tithe.  Give alms, gifts to the needy that exceed the 10%.  Have a giving heart.  He wants us to see giving not as a burden, but a joy.

 

Those of you who tithe can attest to this.  Once the tithe becomes a part of your everyday life, you don’t think about it.  You simply write the check.  You don’t tend to itemize other worth wile causes, adding them up so that you can subtract them from your tithe.  When a need arises such as disaster relief, hunger relief, gifts to a family whose house has burned, gifts to medical charities and things like these you simply give, because God has given you so much.  You begin to be less tied to possessions and the things of this life.  Simply put, when your heart is in the right place, your life changes.  Giving ceases to become something you would like to do.  It becomes something that you cannot help but do.  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

 

I have a deep sadness that comes over me when I look honestly at the Church; not just this church, but all churches.  I see the immense potential of God’s people and how we shamefully fall short.  Christ has come to set us free and yet we choose bondage.  He wants to give us the kingdom and we would rather have our own.

 

I have been accused of expecting too much out of people and I refute that accusation vigorously.  All I want is for God’s people to accept the grace that He freely offers.  What is 10% when he has given us everything we have.  Can’t we at least give a nod to God, thanking him for his boundless love?  Is it too much to ask that his people love him and serve him not as an act of duty, but an act of devotion?              No, I don’t expect too much.  All I want is for God’s people to let go of the fear.  I want the little flock to let go of the earthly things that keep them from seeing his kingdom clearly in their lives.  I want us to live in the present, because that is where God is. 

 

He wants to give us his kingdom and part of us knows we already have it.  We know that when we die we will receive an inheritance that we did not deserve.  We know that we will surround his throne and experience love and devotion beyond our comprehension.  We are just too preoccupied with our own pursuits to see that part of the not yet now.  Can you even imagine what we would look like if we lived without fear?  Do you know what we could do if we would but give God half of what he asks for?  He is waiting to show us the kingdom.  He is like an over anxious doorman who has his hand propped on the door handle just waiting to let us in.  He is watching intensely for us to take steps in the direction that will open the kingdoms door.  As soon as we take that step, the door swings open with a force that sends air brushing across our face.  Come in and enjoy.  See what I have been waiting to show you.  Welcome to the kingdom.

 

Oh little flock, how I want you to see it.  What we see now is a dim picture of what we could see.  God continues to shower us with blessings we do not deserve, but the ones that are still waiting are greater than anything we have seen so far.  Do not fear.  Give it all away.  Take all the stuff that clutters your lives and get rid of it.  Sell it or give it away.  It comes with too great of a price.  It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  All you have to do is want it.  If you would just take steps in the right direction, you would be amazed at how your life would change.  The door would swing wide open and so would your heart.    Then you would sit back and wonder why didn’t I do this a long time ago.  I could have been living.  I could have enjoyed the present.  The kingdom is mine today and it will be mine tomorrow.  Have no fear little flock.  Have no fear for it is your God’s greatest desire to give you the kingdom.  It is yours.  It’s yours now if you would but want it.