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Twelfth Sunday After Pentecost
Light of Christ Anglican Church
The Rev. Michael Moffitt, August 7, 2016


Lord, Give Us Your Vision


Text: Luke 12:32–40

One of the things I love about being an Anglican priest is that it makes the decision about what to preach about much easier—you preach from the lectionary. For those who do not have an Anglican background, preaching from the lectionary simply means preaching from the verses for today listed in the Book of Common Prayer. Our Old Testament, Psalm, Epistle and Gospel readings are all from the lectionary readings for today. I don’t merely like it for the sake of simplicity but also because it reminds me of the unity of Scripture. As I daily read the Scripture using that day’s lectionary readings, I always look for how each section compliments the others as they reveal the truth of God’s plan and will for us. In our readings for today the continuity is obvious and extremely relevant for the times that we live in. Our primary text this morning will be from Luke 12:32–40 but I want to begin by touching on the central theme of each of our readings.

The last three weeks we have been considering how we are to live by faith in God after we have come to him in repentance. This week we want to see the importance of living in sharp focus on the plan and will of God above all things.

Let’s begin considering the main point of our Old Testament passage from Isaiah 1. To get the gist of our passage I want to go back to Isaiah 1:9 for a better sense of context.

“If the Lord of hosts had not left us a few survivors,
we should have been like Sodom, and become like Gomorrah.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? Says the Lord;
I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts;
I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.”

This phrase “the Lord of hosts” refers the God’s role as warrior, literally “Lord of armies”, and commander of all the heavenly hosts. His battles always end in victory for Him and Israel should understand that their ultimate survival was not dependent on their strength or the weakness of the enemy but on the power of God the warrior king. Isaiah is pointing out that Israel had become like the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah who had been completely destroyed by God and had become the symbol of God’s righteous judgment over nations.God through Isaiah is comparing Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah and is calling on the defendants to listen to the legal reasoning of the court.

“When you come to appear before me, who has required of you
this trampling of my courts?”

God was making it clear to Israel that he was not interested in their religious practices, the burnt offerings and solemn assemblies and feasts. What he required was for them to by faith live according to the words of the law of God that reveal the heart and mind of God for his creation.

“Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause.”

As God’s chosen people they were to act as his representatives or ambassadors to the surrounding nations. Anything else was unacceptable and would bring about God’s judgment. Although meeting the needs of the needy would not replace saving faith it would be seen as a sign of true godliness. If all they were willing to offer him was religious ceremony and cold hearted events that were designed to look like worship then God would not even hear their prayers but would reject them. God was weary of Israel’s continued disobedience but even so in the midst of this God turns and again offers relationship to Israel,

“Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land;
20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

God is once again telling His chosen people to remember who he is and what he was offering them. He was offering them life as it was meant to be with peace and intimacy with their creator. To reject this offer was to reject the one who created them and should be seen as the ultimate foolishness and a death sentence. God was warning them to not forget Sodom and Gomorrah.

A very similar exhortation is seen in our Psalm this morning.

“Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven; he sees all the children of man;
14 from where he sits enthroned he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all and observes all their deeds.”

Israel is the nation that God chose to be a people for his own possession and it should be noted that it was God who was the one who initiated the relationship. As their creator and king it was he that watched everything that they did and was the one who had shaped each of them as the potter shapes clay. It was Almighty God who was showing his love and interest in his chosen people and the Psalmist reminds God’s people that their trust and confidence should not be in anything but God. Their own history had shown them that even when kings surrounded themselves with mighty armies they were still vulnerable and could be easily killed. In 2 Samuel 23:8–39 you can read of the thirty mighty warriors of King David. Each of these men accomplished amazing victory in battles individually killing hundreds in a given battle but it was through the anointing of God that gave them this power. The Psalmist is reminding Israel that without God’s intervention even the mightiest, most powerful and skillfully trained warrior could be defeated and the war horse a fearsome addition in battle gave false confidence for his rider’s safety or rescue.

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19 that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. 20 Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.”

The promise is that those who reverently fear and wait for the Lord will reap the benefit of a heart that is glad and at peace and will find life and nourishment even in times of famine. Much like our passage from Isaiah 1, Israel is being reminded of who God is and to see the foolishness of turning aside and following after their own strength.

Our passage from Hebrews 11 gives us examples of those who willingly lived by faith in the God who had called them into relationship with Him. They had confidence that he was the one who by the power of His word had created all things out of nothing. To realize fully who is speaking to you changes how you respond to them.

Several years ago I was at the Ancient Wisdom/ Anglican Future Conference at Trinity and I was having dinner at a table with several men that I didn’t know. We were discussing some theological issues and I decided to wax eloquent about something that apparently I didn’t know as much about as I thought. One of the men was patiently listening to me elucidate and mildly but clearly challenged my take on it. I was interested in what his sources were and found out that he was in fact the next speaker at the conference, Dr. D. Steven Long PhD., Professor of Systematic Theology at Marquette University, and probably for many a reliable source of the topic we were discussing. The next morning we had breakfast and I was suddenly interested in listening because now I knew whom I was sitting with. The past few weeks we have been discussing how the Apostle Paul’s life was completely changed when he encountered the living and resurrected Jesus, the very one that he had been passionately trying to undermine. As soon as he really understood who Jesus was, Paul was willing to both live and die for his glory. Hebrews 11 gives us many examples of those who were blessed and used powerfully of God and the one thing they all had in common was faith in who God was. They lived by faith in the promises made to them because they completely trusted the one who made the promises.

“13 These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14 For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
15 If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

They all had the unique gift of seeing farther ahead than the immediate and believing that waiting for what God had promised was better than settling for what was immediate. This mistake of wanting to speed things up and get what we think we need right now has always been the downfall of man. It began in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve were tempted by a promise made by the serpent that was in disobedience to the command of God. The serpent offered them the immediate promise of being like the creator instead of an intimate relationship between the creature and creator offered by God.

We are still lured by the false promises that assure that what we want can be had now- why wait. Advertisers understand this; politicians know this and we fall for the same lies over and over even though they are made by those who have continually broken their promises to us.

So as we briefly consider our Gospel passage let’s remember that this story about the teachings of Jesus is given because the Father remembered his promise. Let’s look at Luke 12 and start at verse 29.

“And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Luke 12:29–32

So we should not be anxious. "Do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it." Such an attitude may be hard in our culture, where unemployment and the future are often not very secure, but Jesus is calling on his disciples to realize that the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. It is no accident that Jesus refers to God as the Father in this context, for our intimate relationship with God should assure us that we will receive his Fatherly care. Once again, security comes from our faithful remembrance and trust in the God who promised to meet our needs. Every passage that we have read this morning points us to the faithfulness of God.

Seek his kingdom: disciples' priorities differ from those of the world. Unlike those in the world who consume themselves with the pursuit of food and clothing, and comfort, disciples are to focus on seeking God's kingdom. This means we should live and desire above all things to build our relationship with God, and live according to His will.

Jesus offers a promise with the encouragement that if we will faithfully obey him God will provide these other things as well. We can major on what God desires for us because he is committed to our care.

Jesus then turns more directly to the application. Little flock, his address for the disciples, gives us the imagery of tender, easily frightened sheep that need the care of a shepherd. Jesus is deliberate in comparing believers to these fragile creatures rather than to lions or bears. The Father is the shepherd (Psalm 23), and he promises to give everything associated with the kingdom to his sheep. We may be fragile, but God promises to care for us and make us strong.

Whatever risk comes from trusting Jesus, whatever ostracism and isolation, know that God will care for you and kingdom blessing will be provided. This is not a promise of abundant material blessing but of sufficient provision to do what God really desires.

In fact, we should be so certain of this care that we can be generous with what God provides. Jesus encourages the disciples: "Sell your possessions and give to the needy". The stress here is on how unattached disciples should be to the things of the world, since their attachment should be to the kingdom of God. The virtue is not in giving up possessions but in being generous with our resources. There are two kinds of treasure: that which grows old and wears out and that which lasts through eternity. I love the motto of a church we used to attend, “People investing in People for eternity” Trusting God’s promises frees us to join with God in His mission of taking the good news of the gospel to all the nations.

The last part of our gospel reading today points us to another advantage of not being consumed with the things of this world; it frees us to prepare for the coming of our Master, King Jesus.

“Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the wedding feast, so that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! 39 But know this, that if the master of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”

In the previous section Jesus was exhorting his disciples to not worry or be anxious about their provisions of food, clothing or shelter but trust in the loving care of their heavenly Father. They should be so convinced about the goodness of God that they were willing to use their resources to meet the need of others. Now he is broadening this way of thinking to include how we live in every area of our lives. He is challenging his followers to change the way they perceive things and this is where faith must go into action. Perspective is very important and can work in two directions. Usually it is reflective as we look back and consider what has happened in the past as a way of deciding how to move into the future but Jesus is pointing to a way that is prospective. We act now in light of what we hope will happen in the future. This is much harder and requires a lot of faith because it counts on events that have not yet occurred. I think it is important that we see this part in light of the previous part where we were encouraged to not be anxious because our Heavenly Father knows what we need. In the first section we can look back and remember all the stories of God’s faithfulness to his people that we read about in his word but equally important is that each of us can point to countless times where God has been faithful to us individually and corporately.

Jesus is challenging us as to the truth and the strength of our faith. Do we really believe that he is God and his word is true? Do we really believe that he is able and willing to meet all of our needs?

Christians are supposed to live prospectively. Believers know that Jesus is returning and that everyone will give an account for their stewardship. So in this passage Jesus presents two images to underline the importance of living prospectively: the parable of being prepared (vv. 35-36), the parable of waiting for the Son of Man (vv. 39-40). These call us to reflect on our view of the future because the nature of the future helps to determine present priorities. Jesus wants to make sure disciples are prepared for what is to come and they understand that faith means trusting God, not only for the present but also for the future. We must be committed to living faithfully with him until he returns. What God will do affects what we do.

Jesus extends the call to readiness by comparing his return to a thief's robbing a house at night. Just as a man would never leave his house exposed if he knew a robber was going to try to enter it, so the disciple should be ready for the Son of Man's return. For just as we do not know when a thief may come, so we must be ready at all times. The Son of Man will come at an unexpected hour. There is spiritual exposure in lack of preparedness. The thief image suggests that the risks of unpreparedness are great.

Each of our passages this morning show the importance of deciding who we believe God really is. If we believe that he is the creator God and our loving Heavenly Father and that his word is true then I believe that the challenge is for us to be willing to allow him to stretch us. I want to see what he is willing to do with us at Light of Christ and how we can be used as people investing in people for eternity.

©2016 Rev. Mike Moffitt

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