Have no fear, little flock! What a tender expression of care and love from our Shepherd God, whose good pleasure it is to give us the Kingdom.
“Fear
not,” are words often spoken by angels.
These words appear in the Bible to Mary, who the angel Gabriel is
bringing good news to, that a child will be born to her who will save the
people. Fear not is spoken to the
shepherds receiving this good news in the fields as they watched over their
flocks by night, a good nine months later, when Jesus is born in Bethlehem and
the shepherds are invited to come see the baby in the manger.
“So do not
fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right
hand.” – Isaiah 41:10
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or
terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never
leave you nor forsake you.” – Deuteronomy 31:6
“Even though I walk through the darkest
valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they
comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will
be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9
Why so
many reminders not to fear? We are
taught to fear and love God, although we misunderstand the word “fear.” It is more like respect or awe in that
case. But when folks are told not to
fear, they are being told not to have anxiety or to avoid God because God is looking out for all of
us. God wants what is best for us.
This reading directly
follows the one from last week. I wish
they were one reading because this reading speaks directly to last week. We were told not to put our trust in an abundance
of possessions, then today we are told not to fear, but to trust God and where our treasure is, there will our
heart be also.
Fear not because God
has your best interest at heart. God
isn’t trying to trap you or trick you into making a mistake. God wants you to be at peace and to be
satisfied. Think of your favorite
teacher when you were growing up. That
was someone who thought of creative ways for you to learn. This was someone rooting for you. Many times in the scriptures Jesus is called
“Teacher.” That’s what he was a teacher,
a rabbi. And he wants us to learn and
grow, to learn from our mistakes and he is rooting for us all to do well and be
at peace and be satisfied. He doesn’t
want to trick us into making a mistake.
He wants to give us the kingdom, to give us loving hearts, to give us
community and relationships, to give us what is good and lasting. Jesus isn’t reluctantly giving it, but it is
his good pleasure to give it. Such a lovely
turn of phrase!
In order to receive
this beautiful gift, we are invited to make room for it. Sell your possessions. It doesn’t even say all of them. Pick some and give it a chance. Sell your possessions, give alms, share what
you have made with others. Make purses
for yourselves that never wear out. Make
something to hold your treasure, maybe a duct tape wallet or a purse made out
of seatbelts. Have you ever seen one of
those? They never wear out. But it isn’t for holding money. It is for holding the greatest treasure. What kind of container can hold the greatest
treasure? Our hearts can. Our hearts are containers for love and
connection and empathy and hope and faith and all the greatest treasures God
gives us that cannot be destroyed or lost.
We spend our lives crafting this vessel to hold this beautiful treasure
God shares.
Then we are invited to put our treasure where we want our hear to
be. We are invited to invest that
treasure in other people, in good works, in building up God’s Kingdom, feeding
the hungry. Even if our heart isn’t
there yet, if we invest in it, a transformation will take place. We will start to see the value in it. We will start to value what God values.
Because what did God do for us?
God invested deeply in humankind and this earth. God gave God’s greatest treasure, the only
son, to come and spend time with us frustrating people. God invested in poor people and hungry people
and children and lawyers and sinners, the unworthy, and God saw a return on
that investment, people ready to look for God, ready to serve, ready to hope,
ready to invest in the Kingdom of God work.
God invested so fully in unworthy humankind, that had very little to
give back, that he offended people that didn’t want the poor and hungry and
foreigner to be lifted up. So these
grumpy people tried to end that investment, they arrested the Son of God and
took his life. But God’s investment in
the sinners cannot be ended and Jesus rose to new life, gave that new life to
these misfits and orphans, to continue that good work of building the Kingdom
for those most in need.
We are heirs and recipients of that investment. Still Jesus invests in us, give us his very
self, in the communion meal each week, and sends us out to bring good news to
those who are hungry and hurting and lonely, to build our purses for the
treasure of God, to invest in our neighbors, so that our hearts will be with
God’s people.
Sometimes we act as if we have no control or say over where our heart
is. God has intentionally placed God’s
heart in our midst, in Jesus, in the poor.
We, made in God’s image, also have a say about where our heart is. We can direct ourselves, we can change our
focus. We change that by where we put
our treasure. Do we put our treasure in
a bigger barn? No. Do we hide our light
under a bushel basket? No. We let our
cup run over to others and our light shine to others so that we will be
connected. That’s where we find our
heart and our treasure is in the relationships with others the healing that
happens between people, the caring that takes place when we are truly known.
The prayer of the day asks that we would be ready to receive God
wherever God appears. Sometimes we think
about waiting for God, the when of God appearing. But this focuses on where. That God may be found at any time, but we
might make ourselves ready for the unexpected surprise of where God is showing
up. God shows up in this meal. God shows up in people who challenge us. God shows up in people who are forgotten and
pushed aside. God is asking us to open
our eyes to see God in unexpected places and to put our hearts there, ready to
receive and share the gifts of abundant life.
So have no fear, little flock.
God is giving you the greatest treasure, not for you to store up, but
which has value only in sharing. Be
ready with your arms open wide for this gift of love, hope, peace, forgiveness,
and healing and may your arms overflow in thanksgiving for all God has done.
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