Pentecost 9 – 2025
Luke 12:32-40
Marian Free
In the name of God Earth-Maker, Pain-Bearer and Life-Giver. Amen.
Once again, the lectionary has made a great leap and omitted the passage that would connect today’s gospel with what we heard last week. In so doing, it has also thrown together two apparently unrelated ideas. The first, which continues the theme of reliance on God and a second which introduces a new theme – that of being ready for God’s coming. Jesus, having urged the disciples not to worry, not to be afraid, now seems intent on creating a sense of urgency which could very easily lead to the anxiety which he counsels against. Focussing on the future coming of the Son of Man would seem to be the exact opposite of relaxing into the present.
In coming to an understanding of what is happening here, we have to remember two things. One is that Jesus almost certainly shared his wisdom conversationally. In other words, he probably dropped sayings into his discussions with his disciples or when he spoke to those who questioned him. It is unlikely that he sat down and reeled off a list of sayings in the way that we receive them in the gospels. Jesus’ sayings were remembered and repeated by Jesus’ followers after his death, and it is possible that before the gospels were written sayings on similar topics began to be grouped together. When the gospel writers started to compile their accounts of Jesus and Jesus’ teaching they had at their disposal collections of sayings as they were remembered and repeated by the different communities which had formed to remember and worship Jesus. The evangelists then used these sayings in ways which supported the picture of Jesus and the Jesus movement as they and their communities saw him/it.
This is most evident in Matthew and Luke both of whom appear to have made use of material that Mark either did not have access to or did not want to use. Mattthew has gathered most of these collected sayings into what we call the Sermon on the Mount whereas Luke has used almost identical material but divided the sayings into a sermon which is delivered on a plain and in Jesus’ teaching on the way to Jerusalem.
To recap – Jesus almost certainly didn’t stand up and reel off a list of sayings, rather his sayings were gathered together by his followers and were then used in different ways by the gospel writers.
A second point follows from the first, the gospel writers (maybe following their sources) grouped the sayings more or less according to common themes which served their particular emphasis.
It is for this reason that it is always useful to read the gospels set for a Sunday in their context in the gospel as a whole and in its particular setting. This enables us to understand the whole picture that the writer is trying to get across.
In the case of this morning’s readings, the broader context is Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem which began at the end of chapter 9. Beginning with the Lord’s Prayer which we considered a fortnight ago, a common thread seems to be dependence on God, rather than on material, earthly things and living in the present. “Give us today our daily bread,” Jesus says. In the parable of the barn builder that theme is picked up again – dependence on God not on material, earthly things and living in the present (rather than preparing for a future that was not to eventuate. Verses 12:22-31(those which were omitted) amplify this theme – “do not worry about your life”, “do not strive for what you are to eat,” Jesus says. Again, in these verses we see a theme of dependence on God not on material, earthly things and living in the present.
Our first saying this morning fits this theme perfectly – “make purses that do not wear out,” “where your treasure is there your heart will be also” – dependence on God, not on material, earthly things and living in the present.
It is much harder to fit the second and third sayings into this pattern especially when they are followed by another longer, but similar saying about the (implied) coming of God/the Son of Man. How do we make a connection between dependence on God and the surprise of God suddenly and unexpectedly – as a master who serves his slaves or, more surprising still, as a thief in the night?
Of course, we can never know in what context Jesus spoke these sayings or why Luke placed them one after the other. Most commentaries would suggest a break between verses 34 and 35 thus separating the apparently different ideas. However, whether or not the author intended it, we can detect a connection between the apparently different sayings. Dependence on God, having one’s heart in the right place, valuing what lasts (rather than what does not last), being content in the present and not striving for an uncertain future are all attitudes and ways of being that ensure that a believer will be ready for God’s coming no matter how delayed or how unexpected.
If, while we have time, we focus on God and what God has done and is doing us and if we place our futures in God’s hands, and if we trust in God and not in our possessions, we will not be caught off guard when the Son of Man or God break into the present. If we learn not to be anxious about the future, but learn to live in the present, we won’t be so distracted by our worry that we are not paying attention to what is happening now. And if we have found our treasure is in heaven we will have nothing to lose or protect.
Readiness need not lead to a state of anxiety and indecision but rather the opposite – a quiet peace knowing that our lives already belong to God and that our hearts already belong to the kingdom.
Swallowsrest 