Our household is about to experience a major change. In just over a week, our oldest daughter, Avery, will start kindergarten. Most of you have known Avery for all of her five-and-a-half years, so this news might be hitting you the same way it is her parents. Where did the time go? It seems like only yesterday we were bringing her home from the hospital, scared and excited about the future. Avery will begin her formal schooling just down the road and around the corner at Zion Lutheran. As you would hope and expect, she is very excited.
We often drive by her school, since it is close to our apartment and on the way to Wilshire. A few Sundays ago we were headed to church and came to rest at the stop light right by Zion. Her mother, Jamie, and I were still reeling from what is all too often a hustling routine to get everybody out the door so we can make it Sunday School on time when suddenly, with all the excitement and gusto that Avery is genetically predisposed to have, our soon to be kindergartner announced, “Zion Lutheran? Are you ready for me?” Look out, Zion Lutheran. Look out, kindergarten.
There are certain passages in the Bible that we would all appreciate a similar warning on before we encounter them. Our text this morning from Luke’s gospel is a prime example. We have direct sayings: “Sell your possessions and give alms.” We may not be entirely comfortable with the commands or the practice of them, but we certainly understand what Jesus is saying. Luke then has Jesus morphing from the concrete to the confusing and parabolic: parables about being ready for action and then about looking for the master to come back. Wait, what? This sounds more like the end of things than things about right now. What does this have to do with selling my possessions and giving them to the poor? It is at this point that we would gladly welcome any warning that we are about to wade into uncomfortable and murky waters. Something along the lines of “Faithful Christian? Are you ready for this text?” would be more than adequate.
But there is no warning to be found. Instead the scripture begins with an exhortation not to be afraid. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
The gospel writer, Luke, has a habit of prefacing good news with the exhortation “Do not be afraid.” This seems a bit odd, since we’re more likely to think that it’s the delivery of bad news that requires a little no-fear pep talk. But over and over Luke’s pronouncements about God’s generous ways of working in the world are preceded by the words “Do not be afraid”: “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.” “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all people.”
In this passage, it is Jesus himself, not an angel, who says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Why tell your hearers not to be afraid when the news is so good?
Perhaps it’s because Luke, and Jesus, know that this good news is also disturbing news. It is an unsettling of the status quo; we often prefer our old, familiar, dead-end ways. When Jesus says “Sell your possessions, and give alms” immediately after telling us not to fear, he pinpoints the source of much of our anxiety: our possessions give us a sense of comfort. They give us a sense of security, whether they are objects we’ve acquired or personal accomplishments that define our self-worth. To give up these possessions is a frightening thing indeed.
Yet the kingdom that God is pleased to give us isn’t about hoarding treasures for ourselves or for our loved ones or for our future. The kingdom that God desires to give us is a way of life and living that is characterized by giving ourselves away for others, over and over again.
Do not be afraid. Sell your possessions and give alms. Do not be afraid … of giving yourself and your things away over and over again. In some ways it sounds similar to the sermon last week when George preached on the topic “Define Rich” and how the gospel compels us not to be greedy and to instead be rich in our relationships. Yes, this sermon and last week’s are close cousins. It is almost as if God knows what kind of bedfellows greed and fear really are. Go figure. Our Creator knows what we need and why we need it, and so why are we afraid?
There is, after all, much to be afraid of for everyone. Greed and fear know no boundaries. When you are wealthy, there is always someone wealthier. There is also the fear of continually living up to the standards associated with a certain expected lifestyle, which is all the more difficult in our current economic climate. There is the fear that people will see past the money and possessions and see the scariest parts, the ugliest parts of who we are. There is much to fear.
When you are not wealthy, by your own standards or the world’s, you worry about paying bills, your future, and the future of your children. You are afraid the next emergency will be the one that sends you over the edge. What will you do if the car breaks down or your child needs surgery or your home needs major repairs? What will happen if your meager savings are finally tapped dry? Or worse, what if you lose your job?
The Miami Heat recently made news with the signing of three big- name basketball players. And Lebron James has taken a fair amount of criticism for how he handled his announcement. In spite of this, it is no surprise that the Miami Heat organization and all of South Beach were elated when the organization signed Lebron James and Chris Bosh, and re-signed Dewayne Wade. There was so much excitement that they sold out the entire arena for the entire season in a matter of days. Great news, right? Well, not for the 30 season-ticket sellers who were promptly fired after all the tickets were sold. You just never know, right? You never know when, so all too often fear sneaks in and takes up its usual permanent residence.[1]
To be honest, I struggle with this text and with last week’s sermon. A heavy dose of healthy cynicism can be a spiritual gift, or at least I think so. My wife might disagree. So I certainly understand those who balk at this text and what it means for how we live our lives. Really, whose thoughts aren’t littered with various aspects of their financial situation? Is it even possible or healthy not to be afraid or concerned about your financial well-being and that of your family? In fact it seems downright irresponsible not to have some level of concern and prudence in these matters, right? On the average day, our hearts are nowhere close to the idea of selling what we have and giving it to anyone, especially a poor stranger. Most days we are wondering what we can or need to sell to take care of ourselves and our family, both now and in the future.
So I think that on its own, this command to be afraid is unfair and unrealistic. There, I said it. Not sure if that was more for me or for all of us, but since I haven’t been struck by lightning, we can go on. But to be fair, it isn’t just a command not to be afraid. Jesus does not say not to be afraid and then stop talking. It is a command with a promise. Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. A command with a promise, and we must not forget that. The promise is that our future is already secure in God’s kingdom, and since that is the case, we should have no need to fear for our present or our future. Is it hard to do? Yeah. But the way of faith is one of trust in the promise. We must trust in the promise in order to be freed from fear.
This is a command with a promise. To be clear, Jesus’ words here are not his version of a prosperity gospel. He is not saying that if you do not fear, you will get God’s kingdom as you always dreamed it. Nor is he saying that if you invest your treasure where God’s heart is—in extending God’s justice and mercy among the poor—if you do this, then you will get the long- sought promotion or the monetary boost you have desired. No, this command with a promise is not a prosperity gospel. This command with a promise is an identity gospel.
We choose to behave as children of our Father, whose role model is Jesus, because of who we are. We step out in faith, and our hearts follow. We take the step that the world says is foolishness, and because of that trust we experience not only deeper intimacy with God but also real love in community. When we are all living in God’s generosity, we find that when we do have needs, we are part of a family of sisters and brothers in Christ, sisters and brothers who know who they are and will express their ties with you by taking care of one another as family usually do. Trust begets trust; generosity births generosity.
Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. This exhortation is not to us as individuals; rather it is to persons who are a people, persons who are the people of God.
The strong word of encouragement and hope for all God’s people is that the command not to fear and the promise of God’s kingdom are not the burden of any single individual. We are to join with others in doing the faithful work that God calls us to. The work we do is never ours alone to accomplish. We do our part and trust that God will send others who will join us, and take over for us when we are too weary to continue.
Now, if we are not careful, it is easy to get caught up in the gift and power of community and try to protect it. Fear can impact the community as much as the individual. And so we have a tendency to build walls around our communities in an effort to fortify our sense of security, and when those walls are threatened, we stand guard and tend our posts, looking for the enemy. And once you start building walls, fear grows that there are more and more threats to the community.
We fear those who are different. Different for reasons of income, appearance, social standing or other definitions given to us by the world. We fear those who threaten our notions of family and faith and future. We fear for so many different reasons, and all the while Jesus is saying, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
Do not be afraid, little flock. Do not spend your time and energy worrying about who is and is not a part of the flock. Leave that to the shepherd. Leave that to the one who has given all of God’s kingdom to all of God’s flock. Instead of being afraid, focus on the master, focus on the shepherd, focus on the One who has given the gift of the kingdom, the One who will one day return and celebrate with all of us the glory of that gift.
Yes, there is much to be done. And we as God’s little flock will do it together. Yet no matter the responsibility associated with accepting God’s kingdom when it is given, there is something more, something immeasurably more. The more we live in the love that is given to us, the more fear of our future and fear of each other are cast out. And the more joy comes in.
Joy comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven, that they need not be dragged through life like an ever-increasing load of garbage that cannot be dumped. Joy comes from the knowledge that, despite what you might think of yourself or what others might think about you, you are deeply loved by the One who created you. Joy comes from knowing that the value of your life is not to be measured by your bank account, nor how beautiful you are, nor by your standing in the community, nor even by the amount of good you have done in the kingdom. Value comes from the gift of God’s self and God’s kingdom, and living free of fear in the promise of that good and gracious gift. And that gift is given to you, each of you and all of you.
Our daughter Avery will start kindergarten next week. She will continue her steps into a world outside of our control as parents yet well within the umbrella of the One who created her. And while she spoke bold words a few weeks ago, I suspect she has some nerves. I know we do. Still, she will step across that threshold a week from Tuesday, and she will do so because of the promise she has heard from her parents, her teachers, and, I believe, her Creator. The promise that Zion, and the world, are ready for her. She will step forward in faith because she has been freed from fear.
May each of us and all of us be freed from fear to step with faith into the promised gift of God’s kingdom and whom we have been created to be. Amen.
