Luke 12” 32-40Fear not, little flock, for it is you Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourself with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also. Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for there master to come home from the wedding feast. So that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. Truly I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at the table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants! But know this, if the master of the house had know at what hour the thief would come, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 

The word of the lord.

Holy God, we thank you for your word and we ask that you send your sprit to be with my mouth and the meditations of our hearts as you seek to lead us closer to your kingdom. Amen

Stay Awake, Keep your Lamps Burning, Love Gods Treasure

I’d like to take a  dyslexic digraphic,  Look at our passage today. I want to go backwards. Or upside down. Vv 39-40 But know this, if the master of the house had know at what hour the thief would come, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. 

 Quick everyone look busy Jesus is coming! ….  why is it that we chuckle when people say this? Is it that we don’t really know, or think that Jesus will return? Is it that we think that “looking busy” is mentality of most people? …well is that our mentality? When I hear the words of our passage  they hit me hard, I wonder how often we think about Christ return. Do we believe that Christ will return? 

We are an apocalyptic people, an escetoligicoal people, people of the resurrection, as believers’ in the word and the word made flesh we hold on the understanding that there is something greater than us and something that we are anxiously are awaiting. The return of the kingdom the return of the Messiah. The time in which we will have an age of peace and a new heaven and new earth. But we don’t know. The Son of Man is coming at an hour we do not expect.

What an exciting challenge …

Do you think we are ready?*

Recently I heard a story of the Latino Pentecostals urgency and expectation of Christ return… the scenario in my class was set up like this. I call up my friend who is a Latino Pentecostal who we will call anna, and I say. “ hey why don’t you go to the braves game with me, I have an extra ticket and I haven’t see you lately” and Anna  pauses and says “ I need to pray and think about it, and I’ll call you back.” Then Anna would go an think to herself… “what if, Christ came back today? If I went to the braves game how am I bettering the kingdom? Do I want to be at the braves game, if Jesus returns today?” Then after praying Anna would most likely call me back and say “I am so grateful that you invited me but I think that I am going to go to the shelter and feed the poor today”

When this scenario was given the room erupted in questions. What about the people at the Braves game? What if they needed to hear the message of God? Could that not be an evangelism tool? I was right on board with this question? I like that kind of evangelism. I like to go to the games, or go to the bar, and wait for that inevitable question “ so what do you do?…” and sometimes I get blown off, but sometimes I have some really enriching conversations. What if the people at the Braves game need us? The question in response by the professor was “ok, but then who will feed the hungry? Espshally if we all go to the braves game?”…Anna’s thought process is an interesting one, and truly forgiven to some of us. And I think the important part, which ever you chose.. the hungry or braves Game…,that it is a prayerful choice.

If Jesus comes back today… what am I doing? What have I done today, to better the kingdom? Am I ready to stand before God?

 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.  IS it today???? If he comes in the second watch or in the third, and finds them awake, blessed are those servants!

Awake. You know, when I think about how many years removed, how many centuries removed we are from the resurrection, I can help but wonder if we are in the second watch, or the third. Is our church tired of waiting? When?!? –When is the bride going to see the bridegroom?? When is the master coming home from the wedding feast?!? Is our church tired? Have we gone to sleep? Are we.

Snoozing, catching some zzz’s, crashed, dormant, dozing, dreaming, flaked out, hibernating, in repose, inactive, inert, lifeless, napping, out of it, resting,  slumbering, snoozing, snoring, … stiff… unanimated… wasted….

Have we gone to sleep??? Even if it is the second or the third watch, can we keep ourselves awake? Can we be :

alive, attentive, aware cognizant, dynamic, excited, enliven, functioning. heedful, knowing, observant, stimulating, roused,revive, stir, vigilant… and watchful? —–

–be like men who are waiting for there master to come home from the wedding feast. So that they may open the door to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.

I think that we can keep awake. I know that we can. Its not easy to stay awake. but I know that this group of people, opens the door when the master knocks.  You’ve done it, you did it, you’re still doing it. When the Christ brings his bride home from their wedding feast. I know that we are a group of pastors, ministers, teachers, and friends that will welcome them home. To the house that God built, with the simple words of “let there be…”

Stay awake.

But our passage says Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning,

…Dressed for action! Weather that is the armor of god in Ephesians or clothed in love in out of Colossians. Whatever you need to where for your ministry put it on! And keep your lamps burning, friends, I have never seen a group of people like this school has. It’s wonderful. I have never met a group of people who gave me hope for the church. Until I came here. We may not all get along; we may see some things in others that remind us, too much of who we really are. We may have spats, and theological differences.   But I have seen… I have seen the sprit inside every person; I have met on this campus. And I can name at least one moment where you all were lit. Lit with the sprit, lit with love, lit with passions, lit with laughter, lit with tears for the pains of this world. … Stay dressed, keep going, keep your lamps burning. because you have proven that you can do it. Because the sprit is moving us.

Stay awake, keep your lamps burning

Contueing upward in our passage. We find For where your heart is, there your treasure will be also. Treasure is a funny thing, it looks different to each of us. I like jewelry, I like diamonds. What if we saw treasure the way God sees treasure. The way Christ sees treasure. What if our treasure, our gift entrusted to us is our brothers and sisters... That’s a big challenge…

 For you to see every person, in this room, in this building, in this city, every person in this state, every person in this country,  every person in the Americas, every person in this hemisphere, every person in this world…

…as a gem…

That is the treasure that God sees that is the treasure that God gave us. You could no longer ignore the diamond hiding in the rough, because just under that rough sooty little rock, is a diamond hiding in the center, inside that rock that got overlooked is the most precious gem of them all.

Then it will be easy to Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.  And replace it with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.Because you will have your treasureYou will have your teaser with you and then you can dispense out of the moneybags filled with the treasures of heaven, the gifs of grace, the clothing of love, the shoulder to cry on, and injustice to trample, the word of hope and the gift of relationship with a good God.

Love God’s treseure.

So Fear not, little flock, for it is you Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

And to share it…. There will be room at the table for you and treasure at the table, when the master returns.SO Please my friends, where ever this path leads you… to feed the hungry(William), to teach students(matt), to fight injustices(Arlo), to smile at the broken (Jason), to make the music(teK), to love deeply (Claudia), to listen closely (cj), lead strongly (Joshua) to write poetically (Kristen),  to speak pastsionaly (Sheldon), to drum fervently(trip), or preach fearfully. …even if that path change’s… know that the sprit is moving you.

SOOOO I challenge you my teasers

Stay awake, with your lamps burning and love Gods teaser

then fear not.  AMEN!