Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Richard Davenport August 7, 2022 - Proper 14 Luke 12:22-34 Back in my late 20's, when I finally realized I needed to pay attention to all of the hints God had been dropping into my life for quite a while, I entered a religious studies program at a local university to try and finish off a bachelor's degree. Based on what I had already done, the process looked like it would take about two years to complete if I took classes over the summer also. I got started there and my first semester was going really well. After years of wandering and willfully ignoring God's prompts, things were finally falling into place. Everything was going well, that is, until the semester was ending and it was time to register and pay for the next one. Registering for classes wasn't really a problem. However, for whatever reason, some form had disappeared and until it turned up, I wouldn't actually be eligible to take those classes. There wasn't anything for me to do about it. I had no control and no ability to fix the problem. If my paperwork didn't get sorted out somehow, that would be the end of it, at least for that semester. Maybe not life ending, but certainly discouraging and would making the timing for seminary a lot trickier. Thankfully, the situation did resolve itself in time and I was able to continue on in the next semester. Unfortunately, another problem cropped up at the end of that semester, something having to do with my grant money paperwork and things not showing up where they needed to be. Again, if the situation didn't resolve itself I wouldn't be able to continue and again, I had little or no control over it. Yet again, the situation resolved itself just in time and I was able to continue on in the next semester. This happened every single semester I was there over two years. Something would happen that I couldn't control and then it would somehow all get fixed. I remember at some point in there having a discussion with God. I told him if this was really where he wanted to be, then he was going to have to sort it out. It seemed like he had gone to a great deal of effort to finally get me here, so if that was really the goal, then he'd have to see it through. Throughout the whole process, I was regularly visiting the guidance counselor to plan out my schedule to make sure I'd get done in the time frame I was hoping for. The last summer, I met her to sort out my schedule and she assured me all of my required classes would be completed at the end of the summer. So I applied to Concordia Seminary and was accepted to start in the fall term. After I have finished my summer classes, I had the urge to go back and talk to her again, just to make sure everything was taken care of. Come to find out, it wasn't. I had gotten all of my required classes, but there was still a minimum credit requirement to meet and I wasn't there yet. It didn't matter at all what the classes were, I just needed to take classes. Given that I had already been accepted to the seminary and was due to start in 3-4 weeks, this was a bit of a problem. Thankfully, she told me about some college credit tests I could take for various subjects. If I passed enough of them, I'd have the credits I needed to graduate on time. So, over the next two weeks I took the four exams that would give me the four classes worth of credits I needed to graduate. It was quite the whirlwind of activity, but, in the end I did get to the seminary in time for fall term. The whole thing was quite the learning experience. We talk all the time here about trusting in God, but we also know exactly how difficult that is to do. Probably the only reason I could be so calm about it all was because I realized there was nothing at all I could do about any of it. The whole thing was completely out of my hands and I knew it. If it didn't work out, I'd be right back to where I was before getting there, so little would have changed. That said, all of it really only came into perspective in hindsight. I saw how, through it all, God was taking care of the problem. I can say that rather offhand right now, but at the time it was pretty stressful, and it was two years of stressful before the whole thing finally came to an end. I'd say I've learned some, but it's just as likely when something new crops up I'll be stressed about that as well. Life in Cincinnati was becoming extremely stressful and it was starting to look like we were going to be in real trouble. It was tough trying to put on the brave face and stay calm, but neither of us really knew what we were going to do and it wasn't looking good. Still, here we are. Looking again in hindsight, everything lined up so neatly it's almost as if the whole situation had been planned from the beginning. In the moment, though, that wasn't evident at all. At the time, it was looking like life was going to start being very uncomfortable, unsustainable. If there was a future, we couldn't see it. Jesus says, "Do not be anxious about your life," as if it's that easy. As if you can look into the forest fire that is your life and just know it's all taken care of. That's exactly what he says though. Don't stress over food or clothes. All of those basic necessities of life are already handled for you. It just isn't very realistic. When you've lived for a little while, you start to realize how fragile everything is, how it could all come crashing down in a moment, how you need to be ready for all of the various eventualities that can come your way. To just sit back and relax in the face of oncoming disaster is a little more than most of us are willing to do. Of course, Jesus isn't saying, "Do nothing." He says, "Do not be anxious." Still, a tall order, probably too tall. This whole, "not be anxious" thing isn't really how we're wired. Thankfully, Jesus doesn't say, "Just take my word for it." It might be nice if we could do that, if we could just take anything he said at face value, but we aren't very good at that either. But, Jesus doesn't make us do that. I'm reminded of the times Laurie and I have looked into getting a contractor to do some work on our house, or a mechanic to work on our car. The idea of just calling up a random contractor around town or pulling into an auto shop without doing a little research on the people beforehand seems crazy. You want to know something about who's going to do the work. Are they going to do good work? Are they going to try and scam you? Are they going to treat you with respect? Are they going to follow through on what they tell you they're going to do? That's not the kind of thing I'm going to do. When it comes to the things my family and I need, I want to make sure it's going to be done right. So, before I just give the folks a call, I'm going to get the recommendations from those who have used them before. Were they treated right? I check online to see what other people have said. How long has this place been in business and what do their customers have to say? I look at their track record to see whether this is a place I trust with my business. God doesn't ask us to trust him sight unseen either. He comes with many recommendations. Moses tells us all about how God rescued a poor, enslaved people and, against all odds, brought them to their own land to thrive. David tells us about how he was saved from death at the hands of both his predecessor and his son. Many times when things looked pretty dark, but God had made a promise and stuck to it. We get all worried and busy about what we're going to do in the face of disaster, thinking maybe we need to find another contractor, or maybe try our hand at dealing with the problem ourselves. But, God reminds us of the contract. It's a contract that doesn't require anything from us. No money, no favors, no payment of any kind. He simply tells us to trust him to take care of it, and if we need to see a list of recommendations, he's happy to provide those too. And, if that weren't enough, he asks us to look back on all of the work he's already done for us, all of the times he's picked us up out of the pit and made life livable again. You may not have known it at the time, but they're there if you look back at them. We come to God looking for a solution to the problem of death. He's the only one who has demonstrated he can deal with that. He's even done it himself. We come to him asking for his forgiveness, to wipe away our former doubts so eternal life can be ours. Sometimes we still struggle with that, but we generally accept God will make good on what he told us. Now he asks us to make the comparison. If God can and does take care of our needs in eternity, it is surely within his power to take care of our needs here and now. He's taking care of the needs of all sorts of things. Even grass, which is basically worthless, is something he takes the time to care for, and if he takes the time to personally care for each blade of grass, he will surely do so for you as well. His reputation depends on it. Remember what God has done for you. Remember how his grace is already here to carry you into eternity. Remember what God has done for all those who trust in him throughout the ages. Remember what he has done for you in your own life. God will take care of you whether you trust him or not, he promised. He just asks that you not worry about it. He already has your life well in hand.