UNEXPECTED MERCY

Luke 12:32-40 
Ninth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C 
Analysis by Lori A. Cornell 

32“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 
35“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 37If he comes during the middle of the night or near dawn and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 
39“But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”   

“The Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom doesn’t end with us; it’s for others too.”

DIAGNOSIS:  Many Things, Nothing Kept 

Step 1: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem) – So Many Things 
Jesus has an uncanny way of getting under our skin. He calls us to give up our possessions and give the money away. To put our priorities on the treasures of heaven, rather than the stuff of this world. He says it’s worth getting ready for. Americans love things. We don’t even need to leave the comfort of our own breakfast nook to order most anything: Food, clothes, furniture, a new TV, that thing that the latest influencer has recommended. 

Step 2: Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem) – Hearts in the Wrong Place 
But Jesus says, “Sell it all.” It won’t last. Either it will wear out or someone will steal it. We need to make heaven our priority. Our treasure is in heaven. We feel rich when we have things: A library full of books, rings adorning our fingers, a house in a gated community. We feel secure with these things. Until someone robs your home and takes the computer and the earring tree (including the garnet earrings your grandma gave you) stuffed in the green backpack that you love. It hurts. They have taken irreplaceable things. And insurance can only offer money as a buffer. You want your things back. Where is your treasure now? 

Step 3: Final Diagnosis (Ultimate Problem) – We’ve Got Nothing 
You’ve heard the phrase, “You can’t take it with you”? This is what Jesus is trying to tell us. Things don’t make a life. Real life is living for a promise that will last; that is coming soon. But you are still grieving over your things, while Jesus is serving those who serve. Tough luck about that treasure – your heart has led you to nothing. You are without your beloved possession and godless. Or worse, stuck with a God you can’t live with.  

PROGNOSIS: Promises Made, Promises Given 

Step 4: Initial Prognosis (Ultimate Solution) – Grace Now 
The Servant is serving up grace to fill our empty hands and hearts. He has hung on the cross for all the things we treasure: power, possessions, political clout; the stuff that doesn’t last or just leaves us feeling empty. Instead, he sees our empty hands and fills them with the grace he embodies in bread and wine. Here is the God we need, with crucified hands. The Host serves the servants – who finally realize that all the power in the world is not worth being without this Shepherd.

Step 5: Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution) – Hands and Hearts Open 
Fed and nourished on Christ’s grace, we have fresh hope, and stand ready for his call. And call he does: “Keep your lamps lit.” Don’t let the opportunity to serve pass you by. Suddenly, we begin to see the need around us, and how we’ve been distracted from our purpose. We can only reach out to others, when our heart treasures knowing Christ above all. 

Step 6: Final Prognosis (External Solution) – Embracing the Flock 
The Father’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom doesn’t end with us; it’s for others too. So we begin to see the world in a new way: the incredible diversity of humans, plants, and animals. We ask curious questions about what the world needs. We see the human and planetary wreckage that governments are causing, and we try our best to do “small things with great love.” We give money to feed the poor deprived of aid, we pray for immigrants caught in the snares of injustice, we fight for the needs of this one beautiful earth we have. We put behind us the days of treasuring things, and follow Christ’s way of love.