Trinity 8

Opening Verse of Scripture Psalm 33:18

Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon those who fear him, on those who wait in hope for his steadfast love

Collect Prayer for the Day—Before we read we pray

Almighty Lord and everlasting God, we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern both our hearts and bodies in the ways of your laws and the works of your commandments; that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever, we may be preserved in body and soul; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. CW

Lord God, your Son left the riches of heaven and became poor for our sake: when we prosper save us from pride, when we are needy save us from despair, that we may trust in you alone; through Jesus Christ our Lord. CW

First Bible Reading Isaiah 1:1,10-20

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, you people of Gomorrah! 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 fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats. When you come to appear before me, who asked this from your hand? Trample my courts no more; bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and sabbath and calling of convocation -  I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. Your new moons and your appointed festivals my soul hates; they have become a burden to me, I am weary of bearing them. When you stretch out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil,   learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. Come now, let us argue it out, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel,  you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Second Reading Hebrews 11:1-3. 8-16 

Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old – and Sarah herself was barren – because he considered him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, ‘as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.’

All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Gospel Reading Luke 12:32-40

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves.

But know this: 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. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

Post Communion Prayer

Strengthen for service, Lord, the hands that have taken holy things; may the ears which have heard your word be deaf to clamour and dispute; may the tongues which have sung your praise be free from deceit; may the eyes which have seen the tokens of your love shine with the light of hope; and may the bodies which have been fed with your body be refreshed with the fullness of your life; glory to you for ever. CW

Commentary 

Our Gospel reading today begins with the words ‘Do not be afraid.’ Jesus spends a lot of time telling people not to worry or be anxious, he knows what we are like! The disciples have been told not to worry about their daily bread, now they are told not to worry about kingdom inheritance. He calls them ‘little flock’ an Old Testament reference and a reminder that he is the shepherd who will lead his sheep where they need to go. 

It is a human thing to try and accumulate stuff and we believe that the more we do so the safer and more confident we will feel about the future. Jesus now encourages his disciples to do the opposite and dispose of their goods, ‘Sell your possessions, and give alms.’ This is completely counter intuitive. Last week we heard the parable of the rich fool who would tear down his barns and build bigger ones for his large harvest. Jesus called him, and people like him, fools because whilst they stored up treasure for themselves they were not rich in what matters to God (12:21).

We return today to talk about money and treasure. Jesus instructs us how we can have an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, which is indestructible and not subject to decay by selling and disposal rather than by purchase and acquisition. 

Luke, both in this Gospel and in the book of Acts, emphasizes the virtue of charity (Luke 3:10-11; 6:38; 10:33-35; 11:41; 19:8; Acts 6:1-4; 10:4; 11:29-30; 20:35). He also tells how the first disciples exchanged private ownership for common ownership (Acts 2:44-46; 4:32-37). It is a radically faith-filled approach to money and property. None of this makes sense unless we understand that God has already established the kingdom and invited us to begin life now under Kingdom Rules. Since the giving of alms generates treasure in heaven, the wise person will give generously. The gift of earthly things which are subject to theft and decay, builds an investment in heaven - a purse that does not wear out. 

Jesus’ concern for the poor and oppressed flows throughout Luke. In his inaugural address in the synagogue in Nazareth (4:14ff), he quoted from Isaiah and announced that he was sent to bring glad tidings to the poor. (4:18). His healing powers benefit the poor, the oppressed and those shunned by society, lepers, the woman with the haemorrhage, the sinful woman, the dead, etc.

Jesus’ miracles and teaching stress the importance of the poor for his disciples. As we read today, his followers are to be so detached from their possessions that they sell their belongings and give to the needy. Jesus chose his disciples from the ordinary, the poor and outcast and he sent them on mission, not dependent on their own possessions, but with the assurance that the Father had already given them the kingdom. They are, unlike the rich fool of last week’s gospel, already "rich in what matters to God."

The parable today’s focuses on Jesus’ return and the need for our fidelity and preparedness as we wait. The master is returning from a wedding. In light of the marriage customs of the time, the master could be returning with his bride. The custom would mean celebration and feasting upon the couple’s arrival. The servants should have been prepared, not just with a quick bite to eat, but with a major celebration. Jesus has exhorted his disciples not to be afraid because their needs are in God’s hands, now he shifts to urging watchfulness, faithful service, preparedness for his expected coming. The parable surprises us. Normally we expect servants to wait on masters and mistresses, but when this master comes and knocks he hitches up his robes and invites the servants to the table and then serves them! The Messiah has come, Jesus says, to serve us and not be served. 

If we had been reading the King James Version of the Bible today we would have remembered the words of Luke not as ‘be dressed ready’, but rather as ‘Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning.’ The reference to girded loins recalls the Passover experience of the early Hebrews (Ex 12:11). Girded loins means fastening your clothes in such a way that you wouldn't trip over them if running, or get caught up in them if working. It's an expression meaning heightened anticipation and readiness for action. The early Hebrews girded their loins because they could smell freedom. Be like that, Jesus says. 

Not only must loins be girded, lamps must be burning ! The lamp in our photograph today is an original from about the time of Jesus which I photographed in a roman villa. The thing which amazes me is that they ever managed to keep these alight at all. The important feature of oil lamps - as opposed to our electric lights is that oil lamps require constant attention. Wicks must be trimmed and oil replenished, even a well-maintained lamp takes time to light and constant care and attention. So it should be with us, a constant stet of preparedness, living the Kingdom.

The wedding banquet is an important biblical symbol for the Great Banquet at the end of time (Is 25:6, Rev. 19: 7-9). This is a happy occasion, Jesus is not coming to accuse, to dig up the past or remonstrate with those who should have done better. Quite the contrary this is about party and celebration, something to look forward to. Charles Royden 

Meditation

The Apollo 15 spacecraft splashed down into the ocean in 1971. The astronauts had spent 2 days 18 hours on the Moon. One of them, James Irwin, wrote that the greatest effect of that spaceflight had been to deepen and strengthen his faith and all the religious insight he ever had. “When you lean far back and look up, you can see the earth like a beautiful, fragile tree ornament against the blackness of space. It’s as if you can reach out and hold it in your hand. “As we reached out in a physical way to the heavens, we were moved spiritually. As we flew into space we had a new sense of ourselves, of the earth, and of the nearness of God. We were outside of ordinary reality; I sensed the beginning of some sort of deep change taking place inside me. Looking back at the spaceship we call “Earth”, I was touched by a desire to convince mankind that we have a unique place to live, that we are unique creatures, and that we must learn to live with our neighbours. “I had become a sceptic about getting guidance from God, and I know that I had lost the feeling of his nearness. On the moon, the total picture of the power of God and his Son, Jesus Christ, became abundantly clear to me.” Let us pray using Psalm 8, a copy of which was left on the Moon in a metal canister during the first manned landing in July 1969: Lord, our God and King, your greatness is seen throughout the earth. When I gaze at the heavens which your fingers have formed, and look at the moon and the stars which you have set there, I realise how small we are in the magnificence of your creation. Yet you treasure us above all that you have made, and you give us control over all the works of your hand animals both wild and tame, birds in the air, and the creatures of the sea. Lord, our God and King, your greatness is seen throughout the earth.

Hymns

• Angel voices ever singing
• Jesus, Jesus Jesus, your love
• Beauty for brokenness
• Lord for the years
• O happy day
• God is here!
• Ye servants of the Lord
• Blessed Assurance
• I cannot tell why he, whom angels worship
• Father I place into your hands
• Rock of Ages
• Lord thy word abideth

Prayers for Sunday and the week ahead

Enable this church to do your will 

Make it vulnerable that it may speak with calm humility; 

Make it outward looking that it may care deeply 

Make it a community of peacemakers and bridge builders 

In the midst of turbulence let the church make space 

for the hearing of your still small voice. (Delia Shephard)

Let the fragrance of your glory draw us into your presence, O Christ. Let the perfume of your love be our salvation and let the scent of your sacrifice bring us your blessing. Amen. Aelred of Rievaulx (c.1110-1167)

Eternal God, in Christ you make yourself our guest. Amid all our cares and concerns make us attentive to your voice and alert to your presence, that we may prize your word above all else; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

O God, you are the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you; help us so to know you that we may truly love you, so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. —Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

Knit my soul to your own, O Christ, so that I may never be separated from you. Only in you am I a person fully alive. Only in your light can I see and only in your strength can I pursue my way. To you I come, O wisdom without end. In you I rest, O mercy without limit. To you I give all praise, O crown of all majesty. Amen Mechtild of Magdeburg, 1210-80

Wonderful are you, God of creation, without whom nothing draws breath.

Wonderful are you, Christ Jesus, without whom our world stays in the dark.

Wonderful are you, Spirit-Friend, without whom our worship remains formal.

We trust you, we love you, we yearn for more of you; 

we praise you for your holiness, beauty and inexhaustible love. Amen!

God of Abraham and Jesus, you invite your people to contemplate heavenly things and urge us toward faith in you. May your coming among us find our doors open, our tables set, and all your people ready to greet you. Amen. 

Wonderful are you, God of creation, without whom nothing draws breath.

Wonderful are you, Christ Jesus, without whom our world stays in the dark.

Wonderful are you, Spirit-Friend, without whom our worship remains formal.

We trust you, we love you, we yearn for more of you; 

we praise you for your holiness, beauty and inexhaustible love. Amen!

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Forgive us for the narrowness of vision which sees only the clouds and misses the rainbow. Women of Guatemala, 1993

May the presence of Christ be seen in his people - bringing peace to the confused and friendship to the lonely. May his love give us courage to be his presence in the world. Rev Ian White, Chair of the Channel Islands District

Loving God, breath into our hearts and minds at this time your loving and guiding word. Inspire us by your Spirit, that we may hear, and later do, what you would have us hear and do. Lift us up by your still small voice within and grant us the blessing we need and we seek. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen Richard Baxter, 1615-91

One God, awesome in creative energy and power, all embracing in love and grace; you have expressed yourself in Jesus Christ, revealing what is the length and breadth, the height and depth of your divine compassion and care for all creation. Help us, through being open to your Spirit's energising power, to respond with thankfulness: to go about our daily lives as though they were an expression and offering of our thankfulness; and so enable us to reveal that same love and grace, compassion and care to all with whom we share our hours and our days. Rev Ward Jones, Chair of the Bristol District

Additional Resources

Commentary

In the parable which Jesus tells today in Luke we are presented with one of those one line statements which express so much and challenge us to the core. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also " (Luke 12:34 Jesus deals with the paradox of life, that one who regards wealth as a means of acquiring perfect happiness in this life will be fantastically unhappy and ultimately perish. It is a salient feature of Jesus' teaching that the heart's disposition cannot be centered on earthly possessions. The heart must be centered on God, in whom alone security rests. If we depend upon God, then we avoid a false dependence on material, created goods. 

Possessions in themselves are neither inherently good or bad; however it is the choices that one makes concerning them that determines their significance. This is easy to say, but of course a difficult thing to live out in our society. In a sense it was much easier for the followers of Jesus to live a simple life. We have motor cars which require insurance and maintenance and taxes. For travel in first century Palestine you had a donkey if you were lucky, it was not insured, or taxed, there was no pet plan to cover vet bills. The early disciples did not need pensions, most of them had been martyred within a few years. But we are probably going to live a lot longer and we have to responsible enough to make such provision as we can for ourselves. 

Life today has so much changed from when Jesus spoke those words, we have to try and take his words and apply them to our situation. Jesus is surely against greed in all its forms. If we take scripture seriously and study it we find that Jesus was not against possessions or reward for our labour. I know that we are studying from verse 32 today, but if we look back to verse 15 of this chapter we are reminded of where Jesus real attentions lie. Listen to verse 15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." The Greek word used here means "to be present in superfluity." In other words the person has more than he or she needs. 

Jesus of all people affirms the right of every child of God right to have their basic needs fulfilled, while at the same time he pinpoints the negative, destructive notion of desiring more than we need. If we look at Jesus we know that his ministry was well supported by wealthy women especially who gave of their money. Jesus often associated with the rich, felt quite comfortable to attend meals with wealthy businessmen and was not averse to expensive perfume being poured over him. Even Zacchaeus when he repented for the money he stole, only returned half of the money! 6 Our attitude towards our money and our possessions betrays an inner spirit of heart, that is what is so important. 

John Wesley's rule of life was to save all he could and give all he could. When he was at Oxford he had an income of 30 pounds a year. He lived on 28 pounds and gave 2 pounds away. When his income increased to 60 pounds, 90 pounds, 120 pounds a year, he still lived on 28 pounds and gave the balance away. The Accountant-General for Household Plate demanded a return from him. His reply was, "I have two silver tea spoons at London and two at Bristol. This is all the plate which I have at present; and I shall not buy any more, while so many around me want bread." 

The Romans had a proverb which said that: 'money was like sea-water; the more a man drank the thirstier he became'. And so, to have the attitude always to get more, is the reverse of the Christian way. Dependence on the goodness of God is the only thing that will prevent us from a false dependence on material, created goods. Possessions in themselves are neither inherently good or bad; it is the choices that one makes concerning them that determines their significance. Charles Royden  

Commentary

Many of you are familiar with the childhood prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep, it is a shortened version of an Old English prayer, which goes like this:

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, bless the bed that I lie on.

Before I lay me down to sleep, I give my soul to Christ to keep.

Four corners to my bed, four angels there aspread,

two to foot, and two to head, and two to carry me when I'm dead.

I go by sea, I go by land, the Lord made me by his right hand.

If any danger comes to me, Sweet Jesus Christ, deliver me.

He's the branch, and I'm the flower, pray God send me a happy hour.

And if I die before I wake, I pray that Christ my soul will take.

The prayer has an important refrain, that Christ is the keeper, the caretaker of our soul. And, when we slip into the unconsciousness of the night I suppose, on a daily bases, we are never nearer death. It was out of this fear of sleep that this prayer was written. At night, when we are vulnerable, we want someone watching over us. So, we prepare ourselves with a prayer: If I should die before I wake. Our text this morning asks us to be prepared, to be dressed ready for service. We are to keep our lamps burning for we do not know when our Lord returns.

The parable presents in a persuasive form the paradoxical fact that one who "regards wealth as a means of acquiring perfect happiness in this life . . . becomes what he loves; if he loves what perishes, he too shall perish." Expressed with consummate simplicity, the tremendous one-liner: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also " (Luke 12:34), focuses upon the significance of one's basic stance toward possessions. It is a salient feature of Jesus' teaching that the heart's disposition cannot be centered on earthly possessions. The heart must be centered on God, in whom alone > power and security rest.

Dependence on the goodness of God would prevent one from a false dependence on material, created goods. Possessions in themselves are neither inherently good or bad; however it is the choices that one makes concerning them that determines their significance. Charles Royden

Commentary Fear Not

It has been said that when people stop believing in God, then they will believe anything. Without doubt there are many people around who turn to very inadequate sources of help when seeking guidance for their lives. Horoscopes, people who pretend to communicate with dead relatives, there are many people out there who will take advantage of people who have lost or who have never known faith in God. The Christian faith provides us with a way of living which makes sense of our world and our lives. It is simple enough to be taught to children and yet profound enough to challenge the most intelligent minds.

Fear is not only one of our deepest instincts, it is generally one of our most constant companions in life. We fear all kinds of things. There are people obsessed with fear of heights, crowds, confined places, leaving the house, having dirty hands, and the like. Other fears are more commonplace. We may fear bad health, making ends meet, losing employment, what other people think, how our children will turn out. In some cases, fear is providential because it saves us from danger or getting into trouble. We do well, for example, to fear the consequences of engaging in criminal activity or insulting an employer. For the most part, however, fear is not providential but the result of certain ways of thinking that we play out in our imagination. In such cases, fear is non-productive and crippling. Nowhere is this more obvious, for instance, than in our fear of change. Fear has little tolerance for risk and the unknown and, as such, is the single most significant factor preventing our spiritual growth and improvement in the quality of our lives.

In the gospel reading from Luke, Jesus tells us: "Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." This is wonderful encouragement, but how do we "fear not"? How do we end fear, or at least bring it under control? To find a solution, we turn to the reading from Hebrews, where we are told: "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." In other words, faith is an antidote to fear. If we truly feel assured in one way or another, fear disappears and the unknown ceases to be threatening. Fear can only exist where our thoughts keep us unsure of ourselves, or of the world around us. Consider for a moment how fear arises in these respects. We think poorly of ourselves, put ourselves down, refuse to acknowledge our abilities, judge ourselves primarily by what others think, and deny ourselves forgiveness for our mistakes. Self-esteem takes a constant beating; feeling we are bad and poorly equipped for life, we set ourselves up for fear. Or we think about the world: what an awful place it is, how much bad news there always is, how jumpy the economy remains, how dishonest and mean other people can be-and we are predictably fearful. Faith, however, switches our perspective. Faith is a way of seeing. Faith allows us to look at things from a divine viewpoint and focuses our thinking according to the teachings of Jesus who assures us that, as members of the "kingdom," we have nothing to fear. Faith doesn't see things blindly, or unreason- ably, it is true vision from an elevated point of view. With faith, ; we see ourselves as miraculous beings, intelligent, resourceful, and more than equipped by a loving God to meet our destiny in life, or any challenge life might throw our way. The world certainly has its problems, but it is still a beautiful place, with wonderful opportunities, and populated with significant numbers of caring and loving people. Is this perspective any less reason- able, or less authentic, than the negative outlook of fearful people? Is it inconceivable that we adopt this point of view and thus attain the assurance that dissolves fear? Adopt faith as an antidote for fear. Which means, work on changing your perspective. Be aware of your thoughts and thinking patterns. See how your negative viewpoint, rather than "reality," affects your sense of security. Use the eyes of Christ when you look upon yourself, other people, and the world around you; his teachings provide a way of seeing. "It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." From a kingdom perspective, you have nothing to fear.