10 August 2025 Nineth Sunday after Pentecost
Isaiah 1.1, 1.10-20 Psalm 50.1-8, 23-24 Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16 Luke 12.32-40
Our Gospel provides us with three different ways God or Jesus is described and they call us, the people of God, to be attentive and alert to the priority of God’s reign.
“Do not be afraid little flock”. We see here the image of Jesus as shepherd, and at the end of this verse Jesus challenges the disciples, and us, to embrace life without fear because it is God’s “good pleasure to give [them, us] the kingdom”. God’s generosity invites us to participate in the subversive economy of the kingdom. And for Luke, this means selling possessions, giving alms, and storing treasure in heaven. These treasures will be safe from thief and moth because they are secure in God’s reign. And this enables us to redistribute our material resources according to the priority of the reign of God which Luke reminds us includes attention to the poor and oppressed.
Luke then changes the image from God as generous parent to God as master of a Roman household. Jesus tells us the servants – the disciples, us – are called to be ready as we await the return of the master – Jesus – from the wedding banquet – signalling the eschatological hope of the people of God. We are called to be people who engage in ‘active waiting’ for Christ’s return; however this is not an invitation into ‘otherworldly’ retreat but into ‘this-worldly’ readiness. And Jesus gives us three images of readiness. The servants are ‘dressed for action’; they have their ‘lamps lit’; and the servants are standing at the door ready to welcome the master on his return. And those servants who are found ‘alert’ will be blessed by the master. The master will ‘seat them and serve them’. Jesus is the servant master who waits on his disciples. In this parable, Jesus quietly subverts the social structures of the day.
The gospel concludes with a brief parable that calls for eschatological readiness. Luke introduces the owner whose house is burgled. While not necessarily suggesting Jesus is the burglar, it does suggest that, like the unexpected thief, the ‘Son of Man’ is coming at a hour we do not expect. This coming of the Son of Man alters our life here and now. The disciples, we, are called to be spiritually alert in the present as they/we anticipate Christ’s coming in the future. But Jesus does not come to steal from us, he simply and unexpectedly breaks into our lives.
The question this passage leave us with is, where do we see signs of God’s unexpected entry into our lives. And how might we be receptive rather than resistant to Jesus’ coming into our lives as we grow into vigilant disciples. So as we go out today, let us remember that it is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom, and that allows us to free ourselves from ‘worldly worries’ and ‘give ourselves away’ as we trust God’s promises. God ‘has our backs’ and is encouraging us in our challenges, inviting us to see the people around us, especially those in need, as our neighbour, as beloved children of God. Let us leave, knowing we are armed with God’s promises to live into and work for the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaims.