Sermon for the week of Trinity 9
Luke 12:32-40
Do not fear, little flock, said the Good Shepherd to His little band of disciples. “Little flock.” Because, even though multitudes may follow Jesus outwardly, the true Church has always been just a remnant, a little, leftover group, despised by the world, because they are not of the world. They are “the holy believers and lambs who hear the voice of their Shepherd,” as Luther put it in the Smalcald Articles. He goes on to explain in the Large Catechism that, when we confess the Third Article of the Creed, “I believe in the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints,” what we’re really confessing is this: “I believe that there is upon earth a little holy group and congregation of pure saints, under one head, even Christ. This group is called together by the Holy Spirit in one faith, one mind, and understanding, with many different gifts, yet agreeing in love, without sects or schisms. I am also a part and member of this same group, a sharer and joint owner of all the goods it possesses. I am brought to it and incorporated into it by the Holy Spirit through having heard and continuing to hear God’s Word, which is the beginning of entering it.”
And so, in these words, Jesus speaks to His little Church, and He says, “Do not fear,” which could also be translated, “Be no longer afraid.” No longer afraid of what? In context, afraid of not having enough, afraid of losing your temporal possessions, so that you are left with nothing.
Why should we not fear? For it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. As Paul puts it to the Corinthian Christians, All things are yours: whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas, or the world or life or death, or things present or things to come—all are yours. And you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. Because you have Christ, you have all things. That doesn’t mean all things are already in your possession, or that you get to enjoy it all during this short life on earth. But, as Peter says, the kingdom, the inheritance, is already reserved in heaven for you.
And, already now, you, the little flock of Christ, do possess God’s favor for Jesus’ sake. You have the forgiveness of sins. You have eternal life. You have God’s promise to provide for all your earthly needs (your daily bread) and to preserve you through temptation, hardship, and the cross. In His good pleasure, the Father has chosen to give you all that into your hand right now, to be followed by everything else, coming soon.
Therefore, don’t be afraid to part with some of those things for a little while here and now. Sell what you have, Jesus says, and give alms. The word “alms” actually comes from the Greek word that Luke uses here, which means “a gift of mercy,” or “of charity.” This isn’t a command of the Law to sell everything you own and then go live in a commune or a monastery. It’s permission and the freedom of the Gospel to part with some of what you own, without fear or worry, in order to transform it into mercy, kindness, and charity toward your neighbor, and toward your fellow Christian. “What if I can’t afford to part with it?” Well, of course you can! You’re about to inherit the whole kingdom!
Provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Everything you give away here, for the good of another, is like a deposit into your heavenly reward. You don’t lose what you give away. You double it, in a sense, because it helps your neighbor here and it increases what you’ll have waiting for you in heaven, where nothing runs out, nothing is used up, nothing is stolen, and nothing falls apart.
That means you don’t have to hold onto anything too tightly here. That includes house, job, possessions, your pets, even your family. You know what else it includes? Your country. Your rights. Your power over society and what society does. It’ll all be gone soon. That doesn’t mean these things aren’t important. It means other things are more important, because the only thing that truly lasts is the thing you give away. It’s impossible to give away too much, when all things are already yours. Because you have Christ, and you’ll have Him forever, along with every good thing you can possibly imagine. In the words of the Psalm, Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Amen.
