Sunday, August 7, 2022 Pentecost 9

                                    Luke 12 49-56

“The Unexpected Guest”                 Gordon McPhee

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom” is what Luke, in today’s reading, records Jesus saying to the crowd of followers. He has spoken in the preceding teachings about the way of discipleship, the certainty of divine judgment, the  character of the salvation He is offering and most recently in verses 22-31 about seeking the kingdom of God. But so that we do not fall into the eager temptation that somehow we are working and striving to cajole a grudging and stingy god into benevolent action towards us, Jesus tells us in this one statement, three startling truths about God. That it is God who wants this kingdom of justice, truth and righteousness established; that it is God who will establish it, giving it to us; and that it is His great pleasure to do this. We do not need to be afraid because of the reassurance that this is His good pleasure.

This great encouragement in verse 32 is the first of four seemingly unrelated teachings Luke sandwiches together here, and I use that word deliberately for, like a sandwich, it is meant to be devoured together. Although the bread is as unlike the lettuce and tomato as the bacon is, it is still a BLT and is meant to be enjoyed as one savoury morsel.

So the first, or top layer of bread, is that it is God’s unqualified promise and great pleasure to establish His kingdom in this world, through us and in us. On the bottom is the other piece of bread, verses 39 and 40, as Jesus discusses the need to be ready and leaves a sense of tension and risk, that not every fear will be dispelled. And in between we have the lettuce and tomato as Jesus adjures us in verses 33 and 34 to cash in our earthly possessions for heavenly treasures because your heart follows your treasure. And finally, as needed in every great sandwich, verses 35 to 38 gives us the meat, the bacon for our BLT. We are told to be prepared, waiting pensively and with great expectation for the arrival of our Lord, and reminded by Luke of the role reversal Jesus so graphically portrayed in the upper room when he washed his disciples’ feet. That of the Lord-servant.

Promise, commitment, preparedness, risk; these are the four ingredients of our Faith sandwich that our Lord Jesus Christ has prepared for us, His people, to enjoy today.

Jesus begins our diet with this confidence building promise that it is all dependent upon Him. This one little sentence, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom”, encompasses all of the uplifting joy of the Gospel message. We are told that we are God’s possession, his flock; reminding us that He has already told us that He is the good shepherd of the flock. He cares for us and loves us such that there is no reason to be afraid. Our salvation is not a matter of our righteousness, or our working our way to God. It is God’s gift in Jesus Christ to us. His kingdom, which Jesus has often referred to in parables as a place of wisdom and justice and joy, where the fatherless, poor and widows; the marginalized and needy, are cared for and protected. It is coming whether we usher it in or not because this is God’s desire and great pleasure.

Then Jesus calls us to be a part of this kingdom, that will surely come. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail”. In other words, set your mind and hearts on God’s coming kingdom, commit to what will surely be. The things of this world will pass away, but God’s Word, His promises, will never pass away. This isn’t a call to poverty, but a cry for commitment. Whatever your mortal status, your spiritual focus is on the Lord Jesus and His coming Kingdom, a treasure that will never fail.

“where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.” The two fold allusion to the thief and the moth is so relevant to our daily lives. Like the parable of the seed that falls on various ground, Jesus shows he knows intimately our weaknesses. There are allegorical moths in our lives, cares and concerns of this world that will eat away at our faith in God’s promises and eventually make a hole in our purse and the faith will run out. Or vain philosophies and worldly spiritualisms will sway our hearts and draw us away, stealing our faith like a thief emptying our purse. “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” For salvation, rather than guarding and storing up earthly treasures, Jesus points us to focus our whole being on the heavenly treasure of the kingdom of God.

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning“; a call to preparedness reminiscent of the parable of the virgins with their lamps trimmed and with oil to spare, waiting for the bridegroom to come. There is no suggestion of vacation, weekends off, time for sleep or even retirement. The household staff are on guard to a man, dressed and ready at any time to leap into service when their Lord should return. A wedding banquet in Jesus day could go on for a quite indeterminate number of days. The Master could return the same day, in the morning, noon or middle of the night, or days hence. Even the Master wouldn’t know the time of his coming until the banquet was over or he decided to return. There is a promise of great blessing in this allegory but also anticipation of the contrasting degree of condemnation. The heights to which the faithful servants will be lifted up and the depths to which the unfaithful will fall can only be imagined.

Can you imagine, the Lord Jesus Christ, God Almighty, treating you like a guest, serving you as you recline in his home. It is the same picture Jesus painted in the upper room when he washed his disciples’ feet and when he broke bread so often with them. We should remind ourselves of this service every time we partake of the Eucharist. Prepare yourselves, He has promised that day is coming.

Twice in succession Jesus used the phrase “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them…”. First Watching and in the second Ready, at whatever time, in the middle of the night or at dawn. Watching and Ready; two sides of the same coin, they are both necessary, embodying so much more than either alone. It is not passive waiting but assiduous, thorough preparation. Watching and ready.

And, just when everything seems to be going well, Jesus snaps us to attention injecting an element of risk. “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.” We will have no excuse if we are surprised by His coming. If our house is broken into, it is because we were not watching and ready.

Of course, if we had known when the thief was coming we would have been prepared, so it is not that we could not have prevented it. If our house is broken into, it is because we were not watching and not ready. Jesus caps this sobering enlightenment saying, “the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him”, the words “will come” bringing the peace of assurance that He will come, but also a tension that it seems assured He will come when we do not expect Him. As if to say, “drop your guard and that is when I’ll appear.” You must be ready.

Our reading from Isaiah today is exactly in accord with Jesus teaching. God chides his people because they are not attentive to His desires. They bring meaningless offerings, hold worthless assemblies, and make long prayers that are not heard. All this while in verse 17 of Isaiah 1 God asks them to “Learn to do right; seek justice, defend the oppressed, take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” They are not ready.

A little further on in Luke Jesus tells the parable of the unjust judge and the persistent widow saying “will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?”. When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? Will he find disciples, his children, you, waiting and watching. Committed, prepared, accepting the risks because you trusted in the promise that He would return. Or will he find empty churches and even emptier homes where the scriptures are not read and prayers are not lifted up and no one is looking expectantly, dressed and ready for service with their lamps trimmed.

Brothers and sisters, be prepared for you do not know the hour of our Lord’s appearing. As our Lord said in Matthew 25 “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” We never know in whom or when the unexpected guest will appear, it may be your Master and Saviour. Be ready always, “the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” “It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes.”                                           Amen