Year C Proper 14 Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Luke 12:32-40

The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.

In today’s first reading, from the very first chapter of Isaiah, the prophet has had a vision, a message that God wishes proclaimed to His people. And thus today’s reading is addressed to Jerusalem.

The prophecy begins in a way that might be at first confusing. It sounds like it is being addressed not to Jerusalem but to Sodom and Gomorrah. But this is not the case. The story of the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, that for their sins the citizens of those cities were completely wiped out, is well known to the Israelites. Only Jerusalem stands, and there a remnant of God’s people still survive. Unfortunately, the mindset of the inhabitants of Jerusalem is that though God brought judgment on those ancient cities, and none survived, some of us are still standing, so at least we are not like them

By calling those in Jerusalem by the names of Sodom and Gomorrah, which are recognized examples of iniquity, God, through the prophet, is letting the Children of Israel know, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that they are just like “them”. Jerusalem is not as innocent as it would like to think, and that if it continues to follow its present course, it could be next to feel God’s wrath.

Shockingly, and no doubt God wants to shock, today’s reading begins with God rejecting the form of worship the Children of Israel have been practicing.

What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts;

The first thing we learn from this, aside from the depth of God’s anger, is that many of the citizens of Jerusalem are well off. The sacrifices God denounces are costly, and only those who have sufficient means could afford to offer them. There is nothing wrong with them. The animals are clean, they have been properly offered by the priests, and by all the laws and rules they should be totally acceptable to God. But God, through the prophet, informs these wealthy worshippers, bringing offerings is futile; incense is an abomination to me. And God tells them why. I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. What has gone wrong?

The answer to that question is stated next, as God tells Jerusalem what its people need to be doing, and obviously are not. It is the moment when God shifts from anger to a plea for His people to return to the correct path and live according to His will. Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.

What the Children of Israel, the wealthy ones who make those expensive sacrifices, have been doing, is building their lives on the backs of others, hoarding their wealth, and striving for material security. They live, as do we, by the assumption that more is good and better is best, and this is what they want for themselves and their posterity.

What they do is what they think is important, and how they live mirrors what they think. Worship has its place, but serving others as the Law requires – that they ignore completely. Clearly God is telling them, that being pious in religious practices but inactive in social justice, in love for one another, will bring the destruction of them all.

And Jesus said, “Fear not, little flock . . .”

The “little flock” was, of course, Jesus’ followers – not a particularly large group during His earthly lifetime. We might look at the Christian faith today and, as here in the northeast where churches seem to be emptying, consider ourselves a little flock too. And Our Lord has a message for us, “it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

This reassuring opening, found only in Luke’s Gospel – confirms for the little flock, and us, that the Father has already given them, and us, the Kingdom. And so they, and we, have a treasure in heaven that cannot be removed, stolen, or in any way diminished. The kingdom is ours by grace and it is every bit as secure as Jesus says it is. We may be few, but we can sigh with relief.

But our Lord in His wisdom knows that with rock-solid security can come a sense of entitlement, a coolness toward life, maybe even a measure of smugness mixed with laziness. He is keenly aware that when people know everything is locked in, already assured, the tendency is to just relax and enjoy life. Soon comes rationalization. What are a few sins here and there, especially if we enjoy them? After all – the Kingdom is already ours.

I can remember a friend of my youth, a Roman Catholic, who was laidback about their sins, because they could go to confession every week and be forgiven – be immediately put back in God’s good graces. This sort of thinking is a pitfall just waiting - a common attitude, expressed thus by the German philosopher Heinrich Heine, “God likes to forgive. I like to sin. Really, the world is admirably arranged.”

It is against this sort of attitude Jesus is cautioning His disciples, and us. And to make His point, Jesus tells two short parables, both of which are very familiar to us.

The first presents us with servants who are prepared for the arrival of their master. But the story goes one step further in that when the master arrives the servants are invited in to enjoy a meal. As always, Jesus wishes to shock His listeners, and undoubtedly this parable does so. A wealthy master sitting down to table with his servants, or slaves, would have been appalling to ancient listeners. The assurance in the story for His “little flock” and for us, is that our vigilance and service to God, no matter what our station in life, will reap its reward. The caution of the second parable is obvious – be ever vigilant.

It all sounds very simple and straight forward. We get it! We understand! But, despite what Jesus has told us, despite being told we must be ever alert, despite “understanding” the message, there is a subtle temptation that creeps up on us, and to which we often succumb.

We get attached to things, to our possessions, to our, pleasure, to our security, and in order to hold on to these things, we start paying attention, not to our task of being vigilant, but to how to better hold on to what we’ve got and, if possible, get more. We get distracted from the chief work of our lives, which is being ever ready to respond to Jesus, and become bogged down with the things of this world. That is why Jesus tells us, “sell your possessions, and give alms”. Break the attachment.

This is not easy to do, and it isn’t what our society endorses. So, we tend to find ways to excuse our ongoing worldliness our attachment to material things. First, we are skilled at simply ignoring this flaw that Jesus so obviously condemns – acting as if it does not exist or is unimportant. If we acknowledge that we are straying from the path, that we are deeply materialistic, we comfort ourselves by looking at the sins of others, the violence around the world, the inequities in our society – and reason, like the inhabitants of Jerusalem to which Isaiah addressed God’s warning, “at least we’re not like that”.

As anyone who has dealt with a truly stubborn child knows, reasoning will not deter disobedient behavior. It doesn’t matter if a child “knows the rules”, he or she will protest and defend themselves by saying that they are not as bad as this child or that child – and that someone else has done something worse, or it is someone else’s “fault”. Sadly, this is not uncommon behavior even in adults today. We have been called to be childlike, not childish, and Jesus is counting on our adulthood to understand the gravity of our situation.

No amount of worshipful practices will ever be pleasing to Jesus, to God, if we are not paying attention to what really matters. And the key to paying attention is silence – interior and exterior silence from the noises of the world, achieved through prayer and letting go of our attachment to our “precious” worldly things and the time we spend worrying about and acquiring them. This prepares us and allows us to be ready to respond to Jesus in every moment of our lives. And that response should take the form of generousity, patience, loving kindness in all our dealings and in every situation, and the desire, as Micah put it, to walk humbly with our God.

Jesus tells His little flock, and us, “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.”

Let us pray:

O God of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of Your Spirit lift us, we pray You, to Your presence, where we may be still and know that You are God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.