Foretaste of the Sermon to Come
A little nibble of the Revised Common Lectionary
Sunday’s texts are Genesis 15:1-6, Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 and Luke 12:32-40
Our gospel begins, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” This is the NRSV version, but I like the NIV’s translation – “your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” The NIV makes clear the “to give” verb’s tense is something that has already happened. The Father has given this little flock (the disciples and by extension all Christians) his kingdom. If we don’t keep in mind that we have already received God’s gifts through Christ’s death on the cross, received in faith by Word and Sacrament, it can make Jesus’ commands seem like we must do them in order to receive the kingdom at all. “Sell your possessions.” “Give alms.” “Be ready.”
Instead of conditional commands, I think what Jesus is telling his disciples is how to live in the kingdom, rather than how to get into the kingdom. Living in God’s kingdom must be a wonderful thing, because it gives God good pleasure to give it to us. We also know that God gets God’s work done through humanity – “God’s work, our hands” is how God gets things done. God didn’t create God’s kingdom to be a sterile, perfectly appointed guest suite that the family can never use. Rather God’s kingdom is FOR God’s family and is to be enjoyed, lived in, messed up, and then cleaned up over and over again. We can use the good towels and the nice sheets ourselves then prepare them for the next child of God to use. I think Jesus is telling his disciples through the centuries that doing God’s work in the kingdom is the way to guard our hearts and minds from the things that would harm us and to focus us on the things that build us up and by extension continue to build the kingdom. The good things we do for humanity in Jesus’ name focuses our hearts on what is important, and that is Jesus, and that is nothing but good for us.
In addition to these words about the kingdom, Jesus has a warning to constantly be ready for his return. It’s certain that Luke had no idea we’d still be waiting for Christ’s return 2000 years after he wrote his gospel. Being dressed for action with lamps trimmed and lit for 2000 years is a long time to stand around and wait. But if our waiting is filled with treasure that points our hearts to Christ, then we are not just standing straight up and trying not to fall asleep until the master returns. We are being fed with God’s good gifts of the kingdom, Word and Sacrament, and then we are free to do God’s work with our hands. And better yet, we are freed from all that would tell us that we are unfit to live in a kingdom as wonderful as this.
