LK 12: 32-40 

Laterally Luke…Pentecost + 9…Revised 2019 

When I was a small child I remember two things making me afraid! One was a big spider on the wall of an aunt’s house; it took me time to realise it was made of tin, & never moved! A second thing was in my grandmother’s house. At night, if I were to look down the passage, there was always a bogey-man looking back at me. It took me time to work out it was a street light shining through a stained-glass inset! Do we have any such ‘spiders’ or ‘bogeys’ in our lives? Still reaching out to scare us today? Fear not little flock!

Rather than thinking - & teaching - of Jesus giving us God’s ‘kingdom’, how about settling for the more dynamic ‘Rule’? Besides, there are few ‘kingdoms’ left in the world today. Most have been replaced by ‘democracies’ or dictatorships of one kind or another. Shakespeare has Richard the Third saying he’ll swap his kingdom for a horse, but you & I don't even need a horse to trade for a ‘kingdom’. We already have God’s Rule. Jesus says so. We're given it because it pleases God to give it to us. God is a Great Giver. God takes the initiative because it pleases Him to do so. It’s at the heart of God’s nature to be a Great Giver! God's Rule isn’t some kind of coloured line drawn round some place up there, or, down here somewhere. It’s a Rule of the Heart. God’s & ours. 

In going on to use the example of the readiness of servants for their master’s home-coming, might Jesus be making a connect between not being afraid & readiness? Is He saying “You can’t be ready (to serve God) if you’re afraid in any sense?” That may be worth exploring. 

We may be only little, we may be only a flock, but we don't need to be afraid if we're in love with the God who's in love with us. If we’re ready & prepared because we  recognise God in the here & now, we have a realistic expectation of recognising God in any future coming among us. Any blessedness in being ready to welcome God's coming in some future sense will be an extension of recognising the blessedness of God in our hearts ruling among us now. Apocalyptic expectation must be earthed (incarnated) in present reality. There is a heavenly Son of Humanity thanks to the earthly One.

Understanding Apocalyptic stands or falls with understanding Incarnation. By the Holy Spirit of Jesus (who better to help us recognise God?) may we experience the blessing of every hour being God's expected hour.

Brian 

  

Afterthought: Was it ex-king Farouk of Egypt who was long ago reported to have said, “There will soon be only five kings left: Spades, Clubs, Hearts, Diamonds, & England”? O Farouk, Farouk! You left out God!