8.11.13 Homily Title: Do Not Be Afraid . . . Luke 12:32-40 – In In this passage we will read words on fear, treasure, and being prepared. It seems that as our Savior offers words of comfort to his followers indicating that we should not be afraid, he then follows with words that offer the promise of God’s kingdom. If this passage were a fig tree, we might say the branches are loaded with the fruit of God’s word and it is ripe for the picking. This is another one of those passages where we have too much information. There is too much in the passage to effectively weave together all that we have read. There is the thought that 1) Christ lays claim to us, 2) we are admonished to guard our hearts, and 3) we are reminded that we need to be ready for our Savior’s return. With all that being said, we are going to return to our opening verse, and focus on it – verse 32. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Last weekend the news coverage was full of the terrorist alert prompted by the recent “terrorist chatter” as they call it. We were told it might be as bad as it was prior to the 9/11 attacks on our nation although we weren’t given specifics fr various reasons. But there are those who would ask, “Is it fear mongering to promote a political agenda”, “is it absolute truth”, or “is there a kernel of truth”? Whatever your personal view; this is the uncertain reality that we as a nation and a global community now live in. We used to know our enemy; they had a face, we knew where their country was, and our fighting men met theirs on the battlefield. Those days are rapidly disappearing to phrases such as suicide bombers, and IEDs. This has all changed the face of war and how we fight it. When our nation came under attack 12 years ago, and I cannot tell you the timeframe, but I looked up Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I knew then, as I know now, that it was by God’s leading that I wanted to read those words, because I had never really had the desire before those attacks. I obviously knew of the speech; but I had never read it. I found this phrase in Dr. King’s now famous words, “. . . we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” “. . . we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” And that’s why I wanted to focus on vs. 32 from our gospel reading. We need to take note of two things in that verse. Not only do we have the imagery that reflects our relationship w/our Savior – that of the “shepherd and the sheep” – that we so often see throughout the NT; but in referring to those listening as the “little flock” our Savior has already claimed those he has come to save. But nowhere in scripture did he never said it would be easy. To offer a sort of a paraphrase of Philippians 2:13-14, and I don’t know who the author is, “It’s a fallacy to believe that if we obey God, everything will go well. Being dedicated to God means going with Him even when things go wrong.” We can look back at the words of the prophets of the OT and gain insight into those words, especially the lives of Isaiah and Jeremiah; and the uncertainty, hardships and persecution they endured. Additionally, the phrase in vs. 32, “for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” is another indication to us of God’s ultimate plan of redemption and salvation through Christ. God will eventually send his Son to take us home. There will be another coming of our Savior. Max Lucado wrote in his study guide, “Waiting for Christ’s Return”, “Thoughts of the 2nd coming unsettle me. Life w/out end? Space w/no bounds? And what about Armageddon, the lake of fire, the mark of the beast? Am I supposed to understand all this?” Of course the obvious answer is no. Even before the final chapters of the Bible were revealed to John by our Savior, God had already spoken through the prophet Isaiah offering “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”. Going back to vs. 32, we also find another reference to fear as our Savior was preparing the disciples for his own death, offering these words from John’s Gospel 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” “. . . do not be afraid.” Those words of Christ can be hard to receive when there is so much going on around us, and as we have been reminded of a day 12 years ago that changed how we view our world and our nation. This is where I remind you that we do not live in the perfect world that God created, far from it. We have seen evil raise its head throughout history, from one generation to the next, and when it does, as a people of faith, we must continue to cling to God in the midst of our own circumstances, the unrest in the Middle East that continues, and even the recent terrorist threats. Some of you know by now that I am a morning person; I do not stay up late and watch Jay Leno or Conan O’Brien. Nine o’clock is pretty much it for me. But on the news Wednesday morning I heard something and I made note of it. The president had been on Leno the night before. All I really heard from the TV was that he cautioned American’s on taking their trips and any travel plans. Then this next thought popped into my head. As we are cautioned on our travel plans and our trips, the only trip that matters is the final one, and the destination should be heaven and our eternal home. As Christians, we are in the world but not of the world. We will go through, endure, face and witness many things. But we should not be afraid, because God our Creator has been pleased to give us a place in the eternal kingdom yet to come. God knows all we know, all the angels know, all the truths of the iniverse, and all the details of our lives down to the number of hairs on our heads. He knows the future as well as the past. He knows what will happen and what will not. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 23:26:58 +0000
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