From Fear to Grace
Pentecost 11c, August 8, 2010 Luke 12:32-40 with Hebrews 11:1-3,8-16 in b.g.
O precious ones of God, grace to you and peace from God the Creator, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, three in One. Amen.
I am wondering. Are you ever afraid?
Do you catch yourself wondering what will happen to you or someone else you love if such and such a situation arises or if something you had anticipated happening, that you were even fairly sure of happening, doesn't happen.
I invite you to take a moment and honestly ask yourself, what are you afraid of – personally. What are you afraid of for those you love? What are you afraid of beyond yourselves – for others, for creation? Take about 30 seconds and think.
Then we collectively share some of our fears with one other person…
Take the time to hear them.
Lately I have been afraid for my 86 year old father – as my mother, his wife has been ill. And he has been in the house by himself refusing to wear a bracelet that would alert others for help if he were to fall and be unable to help himself. I have had some concerns about his immediate future should my mother die – and he begin to navigate the rest of this life's journey without her.
At other times I am afraid for my children – will they find partners/spouses who will love and respect them/ who will journey with them/ who will share some of their hopes and dreams, their trust in God? Will they even know that this is important facet in making their choice of a partner?
I have fears for some others too – when there is little or no justice for a parent or a small child in legal custody battles: what will the long term consequences be for all concerned and for this world? When children are abandoned literally to a system that is overtaxed or when children are abandoned even though they continue to live with one or more of their parents – but the parents are not emotionally or even physically very often present, what will then happen to those children?
And yes I have to admit that I am sometimes afraid or even despairing for the future of the institutional church. There are consequences that I can't even begin to imagine for the future of seminaries with few or no students – for congregations and communities without churches or pastors, for society as a whole with fewer and fewer people sharing, perhaps attempting to publicly live out the Christian story.
To all of our fears comes Luke's gospel. Jesus is speaking to his earliest followers: "Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom."
Granted his words are not addressed at least initially to us. Those earliest disciples were following Jesus on his way to Jerusalem. In their initial historical setting, they may have had many things to be afraid of. They had made choices to follow Jesus – choices which would have had costs in terms of their friends, their families, their businesses. Following Jesus would have been anything but easily acceptable, popular, or even prosperity inducing. Yet by this time in following Jesus, I suspect that they were beginning to realize that anything could and often did happen. So, experiencing fear or at least having a sense of a rising anxiety would in many ways not only have been a logical reality, but almost inescapable. Nevertheless Jesus speaks to them telling them to let go of their fear.
I have often wondered about this. Isn't telling someone who is afraid not to fear, similar to commanding someone who can't sleep to go to sleep now? In other words, isn't this an exercise in futility?
But Jesus has a reason behind his command to "not be afraid". Jesus says that it is his Father's good pleasure to give them the kingdom. Now the word "kingdom" is a metaphor. It doesn't refer to a geographical location or even something we might be wont to call heaven. Rather, the kingdom of God on Jesus' lips means that God wants to give those followers a part of being in God's rule, God's reign, under God's influence.
For the people who lived concurrently with Jesus being part of a kingdom meant that chaos was dispelled. Then they were protected from invasion, from the ruthlessness of so many others. To be outside of such a kingdom then meant that one's future would be severely limited, open to the whims of any and all invaders.
When Jesus employs the phrase "kingdom of God" in Luke he means very specific things. Some of these specifics are delineated in Luke chapter 4 where Jesus speaking in his home synagogue declares that the Spirit of God is upon him and has anointed him to bring good news to the poor, release to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, yes, even, to let the oppressed go free. The depth of each of these realities would begin to be unveiled as those early disciples continued to follow Jesus.
But what might this mean for us? Might Jesus be calling us to let go of our fears as we seek to "follow" Him? To be sure, we cannot do this on our own. Try as we might and have, we cannot procure "security" by getting more stuff, or by somehow anticipating every situation that might arise and allowing for that. In a much different way, the risen Jesus calls us through His Spirit to trust Him now to be open to His guidance, His direction for our lives. This is intended to be a gift for us and for the world.
Whenever we think or feel that we are all alone, (welcome to being human) we are truly impoverished. God/ Jesus/ the Holy Spirit is with us willing to guide us, enabling us to follow Christ wherever we go. We are not alone!
Our truth is that we are so easily enslaved. When we think or feel that we have to do this or that, that we just HAVE TO SECURE OURSELVES, we are in formidable chains. Last week's parable (Luke 12:15) brings us up short aiming to put the brakes on any and all such thinking and acting. Even if magically we were to have everything that we could ever dream of, we would be FOOLS to not depend on God. In any moment our lives on this earth can end. As we begin to realize that all we that have and are, continue to be gracious gifts from God the Father and Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, then we begin to see in completely new ways. We no longer need to cling to or hoard things. We can be freed to give to others of our time, talents and possessions. They too, are beloved children of God. We can be freed to act on behalf of all of creation, knowing that we are inextricably joined together by God. In such living our hearts are freed from fear, to love and forgive.
This morning we can hear Jesus' words addressed even to us, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." May we heed his words and so experience his unlimited grace. And being filled with grace may we also be graceful. For Christ's sake, Amen.