32 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Luke 12:32-40
35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.
39 “But know 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, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
My sermon from the 9th Sunday after Pentecost (August 10, 2025) on Luke 12:32-40.
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One of the stories I shared with my children this week was what flying was like before every seat included its own TV screen and every hand had a smartphone or tablet. There was a time when our entertainment was primarily whatever book, newspaper, or crossword puzzle we brought with us. If our flight was long or fancy, we could fight for an aisle seat to watch a faded out movie projected onto a small pull-down screen at the far end of the plane. We didn’t get to pick the movie and our over-the-ear headphones didn’t always plug in easily into our armrest. And if the snack cart was in the aisle or there were folks standing in the aisle waiting for the bathroom, we missed seeing whatever happened on the screen. We might also choose on the flight to do a little work using paper or notepads, sleep, or even chat with the person sitting next to us. But I spent most of the time as a passenger on a plane simply bored for hours at a time. This boredom, though, wasn’t awful since we got to be part of a temporary community who could be bored together. And being together while so many others worked to bring us to our destination was a gift we didn’t always recognize. It took centuries of people investing their time, energy, imagination, success, and failures to allow two hundred people to be bored while hanging out in a thin metal cylinder 37,000 feet above the ground. Countless people we’ve never met or even seen make flying something we do. But we often struggle recognizing how taking a trip isn’t an individual event we do all on our own. Our language around taking vacations, flying, and traveling focuses primarily on what we do since it really does take a lot of work and resources to spend a few days living our life somewhere else. And while at least one of us here at CLC can fly a commercial jet, we all occasionally act as if being on a plane with others is more an inconvenience rather than a communal event. The little screens in our hands or the one in the seat in front of us that lets us pick a movie or show no one else on that plane will watch reinforces the assumption we’re merely individuals going through life on our own. And I wonder if Jesus’ words today from the gospel according to Luke are more than simply encouraging individuals to act as if our place in the kingdom of God depends on what we say and do. Instead, it’s about what we get to do since we’re already part of a community that’s so much bigger than ourselves.
So over these last few weeks, we’ve spent time traveling with Jesus as he took the scenic route from Galilee to the city of Jerusalem. Jesus’ journey brought him into urban settings where people were excited – or nervous – to see him. He made time during his journey to teach, often using metaphors, images, and stories to upend our expectations of how the world should be. And while some of these thoughts could be really long and involved, Jesus would also use shorter phrases one-after-the-other to push us into something new. In the passage we just read, we heard God and Jesus described in multiple ways that change who we get to be in the world. It began with Jesus describing his friends as a flock. Now being a flock implies a couple of things. First, we can’t be a flock on our own. A flock requires us to be part of a group whether we realize that or not. This flock, though, isn’t merely a community bouncing around as it wanders from place to place: it is a flock with a shepherd. The Bible often uses the image of the shepherd for God or as a metaphor for how leaders should act in the world. But in Jesus’ day, shepherds were viewed with suspicion since they worked a job out in the fields that no one in so-called “right” society would ever do themselves. The shepherd for this community, though, was someone who didn’t mind getting their hands dirty while dealing with the messiness of life. This work, however, was an act of generosity since God brings us into the kingdom of God. At first glance, Jesus’ words might imply this gift comes to us after we sell our possessions and do whatever we assume a faithful person should do. Jesus’ words, however, don’t include any “scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” kind of transaction. Instead, Jesus simply says we’re in the flock and so the selling of possessions, the giving of alms, and making sacrifices so others can thrive isn’t about gaining our place with God. It is, instead, trusting that God keeps God’s promise. This doesn’t mean, however, there won’t be times when we fear, worry, anxiety, or frustrations will make us feel as if we are unloved by God. What Jesus’ promises is that those feelings and days won’t be the limit of what it means to be with our God. The God who is willing to embrace the fullness of our lives is the same God who is already holding us in an eternal community who get to make God’s love real in our world.
Now seeing ourselves as more than simply individuals finding our way in the world, continued in the two short parables Jesus added. In the first story, Jesus described an enslaver returning home from a party to find those he enslaved ready to serve. Even though slavery was considered normal in Jesus’ day, acting as if Jesus is the slave master in this parable isn’t easy to hold since slavery allows some to inflict violence on the bodies of so many others. Jesus’ words, though, point to the ways how Jesus’ presence can change the ways we live together. When the enslaver arrived home, he chose to do what we wouldn’t do by giving up his power to serve those at the bottom of the social ladder. They were ready not because they said the right things, prayed the right prayers, and never did anything wrong. What they did was embrace Jesus’ call to trust that they really were part of the kingdom of God. Living as if Jesus’ words are true is more than simply holding onto a series of beliefs swirling around in our heads. Being ready is about living as if there is always room in our lives and in our world for more hope, care, support, and love. And this is expressed through the connections that bind us to God and to one another. That doesn’t mean life is meant to be easy or that a faithful person is one who pretends as if fear, anxiety, and worry don’t make it feel as if joy has been stolen from us. But the One who has broken into our lives to show exactly how abundant, generous, and full life can be is the One who has already promised to never let us go. In your baptism, through faith, and in the grace God gives you everyday – you are more than just you. You are a beloved child of God and part of a holy community that stretches from here to beyond the stars. And while so much of our culture and what we teach our children implies how everything depends on the individual choices we make, we are part of a flock of love that is still with us even during those moments when we’re overwhelmed or completely bored. We, as individuals, are not the only things that determine what our future gets to be. Jesus reminds us that whose we are shapes who we are and that we do nothing on our own. Instead, we are wrapped up in the arms of Jesus who is taking us through the journey of life and into a more precious destination where love, grace, and hope becomes a home for us and for all.
Amen.