Junk Drawer Jesus: The Rabbit's Foot (1 John 5:18-21)

An Abrupt Ending

This letter from St. John is about as emotional as St. John gets.. He writes a letter to a group of churches that were planted out of the church of Ephesus… church plants. And for a few years these churches thrived. You can read about them in another letter of John.. the book of Revelation. But after years of thriving, things are not well. Competitor preachers show up and turn the churches against John, and they are emphasizing behavior, not Jesus. The way John writes, it’s as if he is a failure at church planting because his churches don’t have the numbers as the competing churches made up of former members. And here’s how he ends his letter. John ends his letter with an abrupt, almost jarring sentence: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”

1 John 5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

There’s no explanation. No illustration. No list. It’s like the last slide of a movie… he’s just going to let it sit there and let you stare at it a long time. “Watch out for idols.”

Go running after alternative versions of the Gospel that downplay Jesus and that’s idolatry. John knows something we often forget: idolatry is not an ancient problem—it’s our daily problem. And not because we bow to carved statues. Most of us have no Baal altar hidden in the garage. Our idols are quieter, subtler, friendlier. They slip into the pockets of our lives unnoticed—little helpers, little comforts, little assurances we lean on for safety or love or hope.

Which brings us to today’s junk drawer item: the rabbit’s foot.

The Rabbit’s Foot

How many of you remember those rabbit’s foot keychains—dyed blue or pink or green—hanging from backpacks or stuffed inside glove compartments in the 80s and 90s? But the superstition is much older. The idea goes back over 2,000 years. Celts in ancient Britain believed a rabbit lived underground and therefore had special access to the spirit world. So a rabbit’s foot became a portable charm of protection luck, or favor from unseen powers. Eventually the superstition traveled to Europe, then to America, mutating along the way: a rabbit’s foot could keep evil away, bring success, break curses, improve romance, help harvests, provide good luck on exams. All you had to do was keep it in your pocket. If you a really authentic one it had to not just be any foot but the left hind foot taken from a graveyard during a full moon.  These days, just about any arcade and kids pizza places still have them as prizes.

But here’s the thing: It’s not about the rabbit’s foot. Not really.

Sparky Anderson’s superstition

One of my all-time favorite managers — Sparky Anderson, legendary skipper of the Big Red Machine — absolutely refused to step on the white baseline on his way to the mound to pull a pitcher. Every time — every single time — Sparky would walk around the chalk. Because stepping on the line was “bad luck.” And he wasn’t alone. Baseball is full of superstitions: the rally cap, the same socks during a hitting streak, not talking to a pitcher throwing a no-hitter.

And here’s the irony: Sparky Anderson was a brilliant manager. That team was absolutely loaded. Still considered one of the best teams of all time. The Big Red Machine won because they were really, really good at baseball — not because Sparky was avoiding chalk lines. But that’s us, isn’t it? Even the smartest of us can’t shake the sense that maybe — just maybe — stepping on the baseline will jinx something.

We knock on wood. We avoid the number 13. We don’t walk under ladders. We wear lucky shirts. We pray… but add a little ritual just in case. We bargain with God. We create spiritual routines we think guarantee blessing. And so often, we Christians baptize superstition and call it “being careful” or “being spiritual.”

Here are some of the ways, we make superstition seem like it’s totally Christian:

“If I have a good week, God will bless me.” “If I treat God right, He’ll treat me right.” “If I skip church, I’ll lose God’s protection.” “If I read my Bible every day, then God owes me a smoother path.”

That’s not faith. That’s vending-machine theology. God becomes the lucky charm. We become Sparky Anderson stepping over the baseline. “If I do this, this will happen. If I don’t do this, something bad will happen.”

And underneath all of it is this hidden declaration:

“Jesus isn’t enough. I need something else — something more — to guarantee safety, hope, or love.”

That’s idolatry, the problem we’ve had from the very beginning. Idolatry is the central problem of our fallen humanity.  It is so fundamental to who we are as sinners, God put it at the top of his top 10 no-no’s:

Exodus 20:3 Do not have other gods besides me.

That command is summarized another way, also found in the first five books… and repeated by Jesus, by the way:

Deuteronomy 6:5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

Having no other gods besides the True God of the Bible means fearing, loving, and trusting in God above all things… which is how Luther described it. So, why do you break promises? Idolatry. Why do you take things that aren’t yours? Idolatry. Why do you hurt others? Idolatry. It is at the center of all the bad stuff we do.

But it’s also in the DNA of all superstition. Superstition is just idolatry in church clothes. And John knows this. Which is why his final words land with clarity:

1 John 5:21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.

John is quoting the 10 commandments there… the very first command. And John starts with “little children.” Not “church members,” not “disciples,” not “the elect.” He says little children—because idols work on us like lullabies. They rock us to sleep. They convince us, “We’re just fine… we’re doing okay… this is helping… this is necessary.” We don’t need a golden calf. We just need something that promises to make tomorrow easier.

1 John is not primarily about assurance

And here’s where this gets even more important for us as Christians living in the age of commentary blogs, TikTok theology, and “Ten Signs You’re a Real Believer” articles. The problem with many interpretations of 1 John is that they lean right into the very thing John is warning about. Open up a handful of popular commentaries, religious websites, or listen to certain social media voices, and you’ll walk away convinced that the whole letter of 1 John is about assurance of salvation based on your obedience… on your fruit… on your performance. Based on your obedience. Based on your spiritual track record. Based on your ability to measure your faithfulness over the past seven days.

We’re told to “Love more. Do better. Show you belong. Measure yourself. Look for proof.” Prove that you’re actually a Christian. But that’s the very thing John is trying to rescue us from. If we walk away from 1 John clutching a spiritual checklist, we’ve traded Christ for an idol. If you read 1 John and think, “Welp… I’d better love more… obey more… produce more fruit… or I might not be saved,” you’ve taken the ruler out of the junk drawer and made it your savior.

John is not handing you a checklist. John is not putting you back on the hamster wheel. John is not handing you a mirror so you can anxiously inspect yourself for signs of life. John is handing you Jesus. When he says, “Little children, keep yourselves from idols,” he is saying: “Don’t aim your faith at your performance. Don’t rest your security on your fruit. Don’t trust your good works to give you what only Jesus can give.” He is forcing us to consider the most important question a Christian can ask:

Where is my faith aimed? Or on what does my faith lay hold?

Any answer other than Jesus—any answer, including your best works, your purest motives, your holiest week ever— is idolatry. Because your fruit doesn’t save you. It doesn’t sanctify you. It doesn’t make God any more happy with you. Your obedience doesn’t give assurance. Your progress doesn’t make you more holy. Your spiritual consistency doesn’t give you brownie points with God. It cannot give you assurance of your salvation. Only Jesus saves, holds, keeps, and assures you of your salvation. And John wants nothing—absolutely nothing—to take His place.

Idols Demand; Jesus Gives

That leads us to John’s central claim:

Idols always demand something from you. Jesus always gives something to you.

Listen to John’s own words:

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God.” (1 John 5:1)

Not “Everyone who behaves.” Everyone who believes. Idols say: “Work harder. Earn more. Do better. Perform.” Jesus says:

“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” (1 John 5:11)

Given. Not earned. Idols whisper: “Do your part. Bring your offering. Show your worth.” Jesus says:

“The one who has the Son has life.” (1 John 5:12)

Not “the one who tries hard.” Not “the one who gets it together.” The one who has the Son. The problem with idols is that you’re always having to measure yourself. Where am I at on the performance chart today with God? But that verse right there says the opposite. The one who has the son “has life”. You have all the measurement you need. Jesus has given you life.. he gives you His measurement. He’s the One holding onto you. If you lack assurance of your salvation, just simply believe what he has said… he has you.

I don’t know how many times over the years, I have succumbed to the terrible idea… the superstition that says… “If I do this, God’s going to love me.” Superstition says: “If I treat God right, He’ll treat me right.” But John says this instead:

“If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (5:14)

He hears you — not because you’ve had a good week, but because you have a good Savior. Every idol—from the ruler to the duct tape to the spiritual earbud in your soul—exists to put you back on the hamster wheel. Like the Sadducees in Luke 20, idols make you live life with lists. And once you’re on that wheel, you start believing the lies in your junk drawer:

“It happened because I wasn’t good enough.” “God must be trying to get my attention.” “God helps those who help themselves.” “I need to make the best decision of my life.” “God won’t give me more than I can handle.”

None of that comes from Jesus. It comes from idols. And idols always break the people who trust them.

Superstition: Faith turned backwards

Before we go on… we live in the RGV… and I’d be remiss if we didn’t address the elephant in the room… about superstition:

Superstition is a form of unbelief — a way of trusting created things, rituals, or signs instead of the living God revealed in His Word. When we start using the rabbit’s foot or other items to ward off something bad, we are leaning into the human tendency to seek control apart from faith in Christ. We cling to superstitions because of anxious unbelief.

Every person on earth fears something, loves something, and trusts something above all else. That thing — or that person — is their god. In the Large Catechism (on the First Commandment), Luther explains that whatever one relies on for blessing or protection apart from God becomes a false god:

“A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distress… That upon which you set your heart and put your trust is properly your god.” - Luther

It’s a simple definition — and devastatingly honest. Whatever you fear, love, and trust the most is your god. For some, it’s money. For others, reputation or security. For others still, it’s religious ritual, a charm, or a bit of “holy habit” they think can guarantee God’s favor. But that’s all superstition — a word that means “false faith.” Superstitious practices—charms, omens, relics, or formulas—replace trust in God’s Word with trust in objects or human works.

Superstition is faith turned backwards. The human heart is a workshop of idols. That’s how Luther once described it — always busy making new gods, even while our lips say we believe in the true one. We were created to worship. We cannot stop. The question is not whether we will have a god, but which one.

In the past, people have filled their homes with relics, prayed to saints, wore charms, and thought these things would protect them from sickness, demons, or misfortune. And while almost all people who do this are not denying God’s existence — they simply didn’t trust Him to be good on His own. So they add a little insurance policy — a saint here, a medal there — just in case. And some of us may smile at all that superstition, but ours is no better. We carry a different kind of amulet — a savings account, a résumé, a phone in our hand. We imagine that if we plan carefully enough, eat healthy enough, read the right blogs, or repeat the right prayers, we can secure our future.

Jesus is the end of superstition

But Jesus is the end of superstition. John has this astonishing conclusion:

We are in the true One — in His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. (John 5:20)

Which means our hope doesn’t rest in rabbit’s feet or talismans or charms or anything else we give power to. We don’t knock on wood, skip over chalk lines, put our confidence in spiritual performance or lucky routines. Our hope rests in Jesus — the true God and eternal life. Jesus alone. Always Jesus. Only Jesus. Whatever takes His place—however innocent it looks—is idolatry.

You see… John ends with “keep yourselves from idols,” but he isn’t calling us to self-improvement. He’s not calling us to try harder. He’s calling us to a Savior. John ended his letter this way because the whole letter has been saying one thing over and over and over:

Jesus is real. Jesus has come in the flesh. Jesus has done everything. Jesus saves idolaters.

The fight in 1 John is never about morality. It’s about reality.

Is Jesus real? Did He really take on flesh? Did He really bleed? Did He really suffer? Did He really die? Was He really buried? Did He really rise? Does He really forgive sins? Does He really give life? Does He really feed His sheep? Is He really present now?

John says: Yes. Absolutely yes. Every bit of it. Superstition collapses in the presence of this Jesus. When John says “guard yourselves from idols,” he’s reminding us of the truth that we’ve seen again and again:

Jesus is the end of the idols. Jesus is the end of the lists. Jesus is the end of the measuring. Jesus is the end of the duct tape. Jesus is the end of the anxiety. Jesus is the end of the insecurity. Jesus is the end of the fear.

John is clear throughout his letter. Eternal life is not a goal; it’s a gift. Fellowship with the Father and with the Son is not an achievement; it’s given to us. And finally keeping from idols is not self-project; it’s being held in Christ. The only thing that keeps us from idols is being seized by the One who is Eternal Life Himself. When Christ grips you, idols loosen their grip—not because you have become better, but because He has become your eternal life.

Little children — keep yourselves from idols. Not because Jesus is withholding anything. But because idols cannot give what Jesus has already given. His life. His love.

Jesus’ love for us breaks our idols

And here is the Gospel’s final word — the word your heart needs most today:

Christ’s love for you is unconditional. For you. For us. Forever.

His love does not depend on your rituals, your performance, your progress, your superstition, or your good week. The reality is that we all have our superstitions.. and we’re always chasing after stuff that we think will give us hope and protection and safety. And look, I’m not going to stand here and say that there is nothing real about all those things that create fear, including the supernatural and the demonic. I get it. But here’s what John is saying: Jesus has you. The stuff about which we are superstitious? It’s not to be feared. Christ’s love casts down that fear.

So that our confidence is this:

Christ alone is your identity. Christ alone is your safety. Christ alone is your hope. Christ alone is your life.

And His love is for you. And for us. Always.

Let’s Pray.

The Table

Everything we’ve talked about today is why the Church needs the Table. When John says, Little children, Keep yourselves from idols, he is saying: Come to the Table where Jesus gives you Himself. Superstition says you must bring something to God. But there is no bringing anything to God except our sin, our need to control, our superstitions. When you come to this table in faith, every idol goes silent. Because idols cannot speak grace. Idols cannot give forgiveness. Idols cannot promise resurrection. Only Jesus.

Benediction