7th August 2016 – 11th Sunday after Trinity – BCP Holy Communion at Great Brickhill
Lectionary Readings
THE EPISTLE
Hebrews 11
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
2 For by it the elders obtained a good report.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
15 And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
THE GOSPEL
Luke 12
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
35 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;
36 And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.
37 Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.
38 And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
39 And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Sermon
Fan of period drama on TV — Pallisers, Downton Abbey, Grantchester. Glimpse into a past age — simpler — no internet, little if any TV, fewer possessions. Life moved at slower pace — somehow what was important to a person was more obvious than today.
Anglican vicars had curates to do the work — could dabble in detective work using superior deductive skills — not possible in modern age.
Strong feeling of right and wrong — politicians still misbehaved but did so, somehow, more honourably. People had more time to focus on essentials of life — less distractions from mobile phones, emails, social media, and the need to be connected at all times. Vicar of Grantchester more likely to be knocked off bike when cycling down country lanes than walk into lamp post when concentrating on a device with small screen.
Simplicity of life in the past is a big part of the appeal. That’s what makes today’s readings sound so relevant.
With so much going on all around us — danger of losing all touch with reality — easy to neglect what is really important in life through sheer busyness and constant intrusive distractions.
Risk of being called out of touch or living in the past — my defence is I DO have time to stop and stare, and I probably WILL revert to what is really vital as I get older and am reminded more often of my own mortality.
Jesus is making much the same point
33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
So many things clamour for attention it’s easy to lose touch with what we hold dear — what is Jesus actually saying? — seems to me he wants us to centre our activities on God — to always keep in mind those things that lead to eternal life, and not get distracted by all the demands for attention we are bombarded with, every moment of every day. If we don’t — we are most likely to be unprepared.
Today’s gospel reading has 3 distinct parts:
1. In earlier teaching on money (Luke 12:22 – Ravens and Lilies — Jesus continues here. Our treasures (what we think of as critical to our spiritual lives) should be in heaven not on earth.
2. We should at all times be in readiness — use every opportunity to act out our faith and spread the good news.
3. If we are not found wanting, whatever the hour, we will be inheritors of the Kingdom of God — that which in our present lives we should long for and pray for — do we not do so at Jesus’ command in the word of the Lord’s Prayer?
If all this worries us — and maybe it should — we can go back to the beginning of the text.
32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Jesus is telling us not to fear — just like lilies and ravens God has given us all we need. But we also have God’s promises — gift of Holy Spirit to guide and counsel us — body and blood of Christ through his sacrifice of himself for us a Easter, and continuing presence of Jesus in communion — grace and promise of the Kingdom.
Reading from letter to Hebrews saying same thing in different way — faith is all. After giving many examples of faith — text ends with promise of the Kingdom:
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
Of course we cannot opt out of the electronic universe — we cannot pretend we are unconnected — we cannot enter a hermitage and avoid all distractions that way — but we can decide on our priorities and still remain part of the modern world.
Having set our priorities, we are reminded of the closing words of Christ in this teaching about the end of time:
40 Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.
Amen
