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In a church in the Deep South the preacher was moving toward the end of his sermon,
and with growing crescendo he said, "This church, like the crippled man, has got to get up and walk."

"Do Not Be Afraid ..... "         Jack Keating              Cicero United Methodist Church

August 8, 2010           Text: Luke 12: 32-40             11^th  Sunday of Pentecost

            In a church in the Deep South the preacher was moving toward the end of his sermon,
and with growing crescendo he said, "This church, like the crippled man, has got to get up and
walk." And the congregation responded, "That's right, reverend, let it walk." And he added, "This
church, like Elijah on Mount Carmel, has got to run." "Right, let it run, preacher. Let it run."
"This church has got to mount up on wings like eagles and fly." "Let it fly, preacher. Let it fly."
The he added, "Now if this church is gonna' fly, it's gonna' take money." "Let it walk preacher.
Let it walk. Let it walk."

            Today we take up this week where we left off last week ... with Jesus speaking to the
crowds concerning the love of God and the way to eternal life - a life that is both lived and
prepared for here and now - and which extends - with greater blessings that we can imagine -
into the next life.

            How often do we think about the next life?

            Last week Jesus reminded the people of how close that life is to us with a parable
about a rich man who was intent on building new and bigger barns so that he can store even
more wealth and enjoy it for years to come - who suddenly died - his wealth unspent- and he
himself totally unprepared to meet God.

            Jesus said at the conclusion of that story: "So it is for those who store up treasures for
themselves but are not rich toward God."

            This week's reading begins with the words:

            "Be not afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Sell 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. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also."

            Sell your possessions.
Give alms to the poor.

            Make purses that do not wear out.
Be rich towards God ....

            Do not be afraid, for it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom .....
So how many of you have made up a last will and testament?

            It is a good thing to do - in terms of the ways of the world - it is a smart thing to do; by it
you go a long way towards seeing that your wishes are carried out; and just as importantly - by it
you normally help your family members avoid the temptations that any unspecified inheritance
generally causes a family. It helps that family both materially and spiritually.

            A last will and testament sees, of course, to the distribution of your worldly possessions -
be they many or be they few. It is a thing of great foresight and planning for the future. It helps
to shape what will happen in your family - and perhaps even in your community for some time to
come.

            But what if your soul, like that of the rich fool, in last week's parable, is suddenly
required of you, or what, as Jesus speaks of later in today's reading, the Master, the Lord,
suddenly returns, if the Son of man not only comes at an unexpected hour - but comes right
now.

            Do you have a last will and testament that applies towards God?
Do you have a plan for eternity?

            Have you been rich toward God and saved a treasure in heaven?

            The other day I overheard a group of people talking about lottery tickets. They agreed
that if they ever won the big one, they could afford to be generous. Lots of people think about the
"Kingdom of God" that way. Once they have it, they can afford to spread good will and random
acts of kindness.

            But that is not how it works. And it never has.

            The kingdom comes in the giving. The gates at the entrance to the way of life open when
you are prepared to let your life go, when you are prepared to trust the God who created life to
the first place, when, like the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, you are content to let
God feed and cloth you.

            Be not afraid, says Jesus, for it is God's good pleasure to give you the kingdom ... Be
not afraid, and make for yourselves purses that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in
heaven.

            How many of you carry purses?

            Interesting things purses ..... as I man I always marvel at them ... how so many things can
be crammed into them - how they can look so small and weigh so much - how a person can laden
themselves down with so much stuff that at first glance seems useless - but often turns out to be
needed the very next day .....

            In the mid-east at the time of Christ - just about everyone carried a purse with various
useful things in it ... including of course money. Jesus tells us that it would be good for us to
make for ourselves spiritual purses - with spiritually useful things in them - and especially with
treasures that will not fail in heaven - but continue to provide for us the things we need.

            Unfailing treasures in heaven.

            What is this unfailing treasure? And how do we accumulate a purse full of it?

            It is in giving away God's blessings - here and now. It is in living as Christ lived, here
and now.

            Last week I received a card of thanks from three young people who had been helped

by this congregation. In it one young person wrote that the kindness he had received had made
him begin to think that people really can and do care, that there is something more than darkness
out there ... something more than selfishness, something more than indifference toward strangers.

Treasures in heaven are those things we give away here on earth. The kingdom comes in
the giving.

            Which means you will never have treasure in heaven, and you will not be as glad to see
the coming of the kingdom as you might be, if you wait until you have enough of whatever it is
you think you don't yet have enough of, before you spread good will and engage in random acts
of kindness.

            On Tuesday I got a phone call from a young man and his wife who were stranded here in
central New York. They live in Canada and had taken a few days off from their work and taken
their old van with the intention of going camping.

            They planned two weeks away from the labors of their jobs and just before it was over-
their van was robbed - their purse and wallet and stereo stolen.

            They filed a police report. They called a brother in Canada but they were on vacation.
Such was the story and I gave them alms so that they could get home, and asked that they
might return the money, if they could so that these funds could be given to someone else, to

someone who might never repay back what was given - or at least not directly to me. And they
said they would - and that they would send me a bit more - so that others less fortunate than
themselves could be helped without the expectation of return.

            And that got me to thinking, how easy it is for us to give to those who can give back to us
- but how hard it is for us to give to those we think will not give back - how hard it is sometimes
to give from what we have today - and to trust God to look after us tomorrow.

            We find it hard to forgive those who are seeking forgiveness, never mind forgiving those
who still seem intent on hurting us and others.

            We find it hard to love well those who love us ... so most wives tell their husbands and
most husbands tell their wives at least once in a marriage, never mind loving well those who
just want to use us or those who actually hate us.

            We keep waiting for more money before we do that nice thing we would like to do.

            We keep waiting for more time before we do that special something with somebody that
we have been planning to do someday.

            We keep waiting until we feel more fit before we engage in getting fit. We keep waiting
until we have learned more before we begin that project we've been putting off.

            We keep waiting for the right time, the right person, the right circumstance, rather than
risking with what we have, and with who we have before us, right now.

            Make for yourself purses that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven.

            With what we do, with what we think, with what we pray, ultimately, even with what
we feel, makes our purse - and helps to establish the unfailing treasure we shall enjoy in heaven
and here on earth. Remember, the kingdom begins here - in our experience of what happens
when we live as if it was coming to us soon, when we live as if it was already here.

            Be not afraid little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the
kingdom.

            Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourself that do not wear out,
an unfailing treasure in heaven where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where
your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

            I wonder if you might be familiar with the story of how the Apostle Thomas took
this story to heart and maybe overdid it. The story is told in the apocryphal Acts of Thomas
which tells how Thomas was sent by Christ to India.

            Thomas was employed by the local king Gundaphorous to build a new palace, and
Thomas was given the money to buy materials and hire workmen. Thomas gave the money to
the poor, but always assured the king that his palace was rising steadily. The king became
suspicious when Thomas kept putting off his requests to see the work in progress and finally
sent for Thomas. "Have you built me my Palace?" he asked. "Yes", Thomas replied. "Then
we shall go and see it", said the king. Thomas answered, "You cannot see it now, but when
you depart this life you shall see it. I have built you a palace in heaven by giving your money
to the poor and needy of your kingdom. "

            Somehow Thomas survived intact and eventually Gundaphorous became a Christian,
along with many others.

            Apparently Thomas was a believer in the words that would not yet be written as he

lived here on earth. You know those famous words:

            Do your givin' while you're livin'; then you're knowin' where it's goin'.
Thomas knew that for Christians

            --- light had come into the darkness.

            --- a pearl of great price had been discovered.

            --- the world was changed.

            Treasures in heaven. Enjoyed even while on earth.
Don't wait to forgive.

            Don't wait to visit the sick.

            Don't wait to give alms.

            Don't wait to begin that special project that God is gifting you for.
Don't wait to start thinking better about other people.

            Don't wait before you adjust your attitude about life.

            But believe in Christ. Trust God. And do what the Spirit urges you to do, in this
good book, and in the depths of your heart.

            Blessed be the name of God, day by day. Amen.