Genesis 15:1–6
Hebrews 11:1–16
Luke 12:22–34 (35–40)
Almighty and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your
people who offer acceptable service. Grant that we may walk by faith and not by
sight in the way that leads to eternal life...
The Lord Is Surely Coming to
Give You His Kingdom
The Lord Himself was Abraham’s
shield and great reward. For “the word of the Lord came to him” and sustained
the patriarch’s faith in the face of death (Gen. 15:4).
By divine grace, Abraham “believed the Lord, and he counted it to him
as righteousness” (Gen. 15:6), on account of the holy Seed, Christ Jesus.
To that one old man, the Lord granted “descendants
as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the innumerable grains of sand by
the seashore” (Heb. 11:12).
The Lord is likewise faithful
to you. It is His glad desire “to give
you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). Therefore, “do not be anxious about your life,” but instead “seek his kingdom” (Luke 12:22, 31). Set
your heart on that treasure. “Stay
dressed for action and keep your lamps burning … for the Son of Man is coming”
(Luke 12:35, 40).
Rev. Dr. Daniel J Brege
So often when the Lord Jesus
speaks, his preaching is profoundly pregnant, each statement being packed with
themes that interconnect with the rest of Scripture. Thus in Luke 12:32 (from Sunday’s Gospel)
Jesus promises: Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to
give you the kingdom.
Do not be afraid. God repeats this comforting clause throughout
Holy Writ, for we truly have plenty to fear!
We are afraid of guilt, afraid of sickness and injury, afraid of death,
afraid of Satan, afraid of hell, afraid of failure, afraid of a just God…and
the list goes on. Christ’s perfect love
casts out fear, and we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us, a love
shown uniquely at the cross.
Little flock. Jesus speaks
here of a flock of sheep. The Lord is
our shepherd, so the Scriptures echo. As
sheep of God’s flock we belong to Him and He cares for us. We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture, because the Good Shepherd laid down His life and took it back up again
to save His sheep. The Lord’s flock does
not appear to be the flock of the very Creator of the universe, for most of the
time (if not always) it is a little flock, consisting only of a remnant, only a
relatively tiny group of seemingly helpless sheep. However, this little flock consists of those
who know their Shepherd and He knows them and He gives unto them eternal life,
carrying them through the valley of the shadow of death.
For your Father… When we were born into this fallen world, we
were of our father the devil. But when
the fullness of time had come God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born
under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive
the adoption as sons. Christ’s
redemptive work at the cross was to give us the adoption as sons, to bring us
back into the family of our heavenly Father.
Now we are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of us
who have been baptized into Christ have clothed ourselves with Christ. As surely as Jesus is God’s Son, so too we
who in our Baptism were completely clothed with Him are then seen by God the
Father to be His Son.
…is pleased to give you the
kingdom. Why is the heavenly Father thus
pleased to give us the kingdom? It is
only because of His beloved Son, with whom He is well pleased (Lu. 3:22; same
Greek word as here). Only in the Son of
God can the Father be pleased with anyone, and we are in the Son and He is in
us through the Word and Sacraments. The
Father is thus pleased to give us the kingdom.
Yes, give it to us! Salvation is not earned or merited, it is given; it
is a gift purchased by the death and resurrection of the sinless One. And the kingdom which is gifted to us is
more than can be grasped. Briefly the
kingdom is all that has to do with the person and work of the King of kings. It is forgiveness, it is membership in the
body of Christ, it is the indwelling of the Spirit whose work is to constantly
point to Christ, it is faith, it is newborn love for our neighbor, it is the
resurrection of the body and the life everlasting, it is heavenly bliss
beatifically realized when see Jesus as he is.
As surely as Christ is risen
from the dead, do not doubt His promise:
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you
the kingdom.
Context - Jesus is heading to Jerusalem - the anxiety will only
heighten.
Do Not Be Anxious
Luke 12:22
Εἶπεν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ·
Διὰ τοῦτο λέγω ὑμῖν, μὴ μεριμνᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ τί φάγητε, μηδὲ τῷ σώματι τί ἐνδύσησθε.
And he said to his disciples,
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat,
nor about your body, what you will put on.
- anxiety this is what we are
given to do - the reaction to what is given as gift.
- Διὰ
- “Therefore” - When Jesus says be not anxious read on!
Luke 12:23
ἡ γὰρ ψυχὴ πλεῖόν ἐστιν τῆς
τροφῆς καὶ τὸ σῶμα τοῦ ἐνδύματος.
For life is more than food,
and the body more than clothing.
- Life, see vs. 19, the man
who wanted to be happy, worried about his stuff.
Luke 12:24
κατανοήσατε τοὺς κόρακας ὅτι οὐ
σπείρουσιν οὐδὲ θερίζουσιν, οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν ταμεῖον οὐδὲ ἀποθήκη, καὶ ὁ θεὸς
τρέφει αὐτούς· πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑμεῖς διαφέρετε τῶν πετεινῶν.
Consider the ravens: they
neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds
them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!
- how much more value do you
have He cares for the whole
Luke 12:25
τίς δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν μεριμνῶν
δύναται ἐπὶ τὴν ἡλικίαν αὐτοῦ προσθεῖναι πῆχυν;
- which one of you by or
through worrying (genitive absolute) can add one hour to his life?
Luke 12:26
εἰ οὖν οὐδὲ ἐλάχιστον δύνασθε,
τί περὶ τῶν λοιπῶν μεριμνᾶτε;
- if you are able neither do
to this little thing why worry about anything else.
Luke 12:27
κατανοήσατε τὰ κρίνα πῶς αὐξάνει·
οὐ κοπιᾷ οὐδὲ νήθει· λέγω δὲ ὑμῖν, οὐδὲ Σολομὼν ἐν πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ αὐτοῦ
περιεβάλετο ὡς ἓν τούτων.
- consider how the lilies grow
- they do not spin or work (what God gave Adam to do) but I say to you not only Solomon in his
glory was clothed as one of these.
Wherein lies contentment?
Luke 12:28
εἰ δὲ ἐν ἀγρῷ τὸν χόρτον ὄντα
σήμερον καὶ αὔριον εἰς κλίβανον βαλλόμενον ὁ θεὸς οὕτως ἀμφιέζει, πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑμᾶς,
ὀλιγόπιστοι.
- but if the grass is here
today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow how much more will God cloth you oh
little faiths.
Luke 12:29
καὶ ὑμεῖς μὴ ζητεῖτε τί φάγητε
καὶ τί πίητε, καὶ μὴ μετεωρίζεσθε,
- and you do not worry seeking
after what you should eat or drink.
Luke 12:30
ταῦτα γὰρ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τοῦ
κόσμου ἐπιζητοῦσιν, ὑμῶν δὲ ὁ πατὴρ οἶδεν ὅτι χρῄζετε τούτων.
- for these things all the
nations of the world seek
Luke 12:31
πλὴν ζητεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτοῦ,
καὶ ταῦτα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν.
- seek first the kingdom and
all thee shall be added to you.
Luke 12:32
Μὴ φοβοῦ, τὸ μικρὸν ποίμνιον, ὅτι
εὐδόκησεν ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν δοῦναι ὑμῖν τὴν βασιλείαν.
- the kingdom is already
yours. It is continually given. "These things" are added. So we do
need not concern ourselves with the periphery things....all these shall be
added.
Luke 12:33
πωλήσατε τὰ ὑπάρχοντα ὑμῶν καὶ
δότε ἐλεημοσύνην· ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς βαλλάντια μὴ παλαιούμενα, θησαυρὸν ἀνέκλειπτον
ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, ὅπου κλέπτης οὐκ ἐγγίζει οὐδὲ σὴς διαφθείρει·
- sell your possessions give
(a mercy gift) to the poor. Provide purses
(money bags) for yourself that will not wear out. A treasure in heaven is not
exhausted.
Luke 12:34
ὅπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρὸς ὑμῶν,
ἐκεῖ καὶ ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν ἔσται.
- where your treasure is there
is your heart. Where are you storing up? Where your treasure is there is your
heart.
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Society of
Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software
ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a
publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
LCMS lectionary summery © 2016 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
Collect for Proper 14, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia
Publishing House, St. Louis
Lutheran Senior Care Reflection
Proper 14
Luke 12:22-34
Don’t Worry
Law/Gospel Theme: Following up from last week - We remember that we have true JOY when we place God first. Others Second. Yourself last. In our reading for this week, we are reminded that God wants us to love Him above all things.
Sometimes we worry. Or have a tough time separating ourselves from our things. We might look around and see what we do not have. This might cause some to become anxious.
But then we remember that God takes care of our needs. And we want to make Him our hope and true treasure.
Sometimes we might worry ourselves over what we might want. Have. Or try to get.
But no matter what we might have or lack. God is with us. If He provides for the flowers and birds. He will surely care for us. We can be thankful for His blessings and confident in Him.
Prayer: Almighty and merciful God, it is by Your grace that we live as Your people. Accept our service. Grant that we may walk by faith and not by sight in the way that leads to life eternal. In Jesus’ name. Amen
Jesus wanted to remind people to focus on what was most important. And to put God first and foremost in our lives. This is something that people of His time struggled with. And it’s something we often have a hard time doing today, too.
We can get distracted and think we need to have more or fancier things. Sometimes we worry about what we have or what we do not have. This takes our minds off of God.
In this passage today, Jesus wanted to share with people that God will take care of the things that we need. Our focus is to build Heavenly treasures. How do we do that?
First, we can pray and read our Bibles so that we can be connected to God and His promises. We can also take care of one another. Because by serving God’s people we serve Him.
We listen to those who care for us here. Because we know they have our best interests in mind, too. And sometimes we have even more when we give some of our things away! God will bless our lives and the lives of others.
So we might have collections and “treasures.” But let’s not forget the true treasure. All those other things eventually fade away or disappear. But if our first love and priority is following Jesus. That will last forever!
Today we pray thanking God for His blessings. and we can ask for help in putting Him first. When we have Jesus first. Others second. And you last. Then we will have true Joy. And your joy can never be taken away!
Prayer: Thank you, LORD for your love and care. Thank you for the words and promises. Help us have true joy in following you above all things. And to remember that Your grace is our greatest treasure.
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