Sometimes
the gospel is a mystery. Sometimes Scripture is difficult to understand. The
words of Jesus in Luke 12 fit the category of difficult. Jesus says, “Sell your
possessions, and give alms” (v. 33). Jesus prefaces this sentence with something
else. He says, “Do not be afraid, . . . for it is your Father’s good pleasure
to give you the kingdom” (v. 32).
In my
culture there is more talk about saving than about giving. There is emphasis on
retirement plans and making sure that enough is stored up to guarantee the
standard of living we have come to believe is our birthright. How does a
preacher find a sermon in these words?
Perhaps
the key is the command of Jesus to not be afraid. In truth, a lot of us are
afraid. In fact, fear may be the dominant sense of our world. Burglar alarms
and personal weapons combined with healthy diets and sensible planning for
retirement have not stopped the dread of anxiety that most of us deal with
every day of our lives in this society.
When I
was young and something frightened me, it was comforting to hear my parents
say, “Don’t be afraid.” The authority of their adulthood, their bigness, took
away my fear with only their word. If they said, “Don’t be afraid,” that was
enough. They had the situation in hand. Everything would be all right. There
was nothing else to do. Fear melted with the warmth of that gentle word of
assurance, “Don’t be afraid.”
But we
are not little anymore. Who speaks this word for us in an adult world? Is Jesus
able to speak to adult fears that come in the middle of the night and cause us
to toss and turn sleepless in our beds? Is Jesus able to speak to us when our
dreams march by like defeated soldiers? Can Jesus say something to us when it
is three o’clock in the morning?
Well,
maybe the answer is in Jesus’ words after all. “Sell your possessions,” he says.
Why? To become poor? No. To become free. So much of the ministry of Jesus was
about helping people become free. He still does this today.
I think
of the day Jesus was confronted with the surprising sight of a man being
lowered through a roof so he could receive Jesus’ blessing. We’re told that the
man was paralyzed and had to be carried on a stretcher by his friends. We may
think of that man and believe there is a great amount of difference between him
and us. But are we not paralyzed too? Are our hands free, able to extend in
gestures of help and love to anyone, anywhere? Are our legs unbent, able to
walk into any hellhole of human misery in an act of reconciliation? Are our
tongues free to announce to any who hear that God loves all his children, not
stiffened with the grip of envy and gossip? Don’t be afraid. Jesus wants you to
be free!
Freedom.
I think of Jesus standing in front of his friend Lazarus’s tomb and calling,
“Come out!”. I can almost hear the collective gasp of the people witnessing
this gravebound corpse shuffling from the darkness of his tomb toward the light
of the rest of his life. Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go”. Don’t be
afraid. Jesus wants you to be free!
Freedom.
I think of that miserable little fellow named Zacchaeus, up a tree and all
alone and Jesus saying, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at
your house today”, and Zacchaeus hurrying home to a supper that included the
food of his redemption. Don’t be afraid. Jesus wants you to be free!
Don’t be
afraid! Be free to live spontaneously before the mystery of God. Be free to
live a life that lasts beyond death. Be free to live in this world unafraid. Joy
to the world! We are free!