Desire

Text:  Luke 12:32-40

            A calm recorded voice accompanied cartoon characters.  The cabin crew chipped in with pointing motions directing our attention to emergency exits.  How many flights have I been on?  How many times have I heard variations of the same safety message?  Why do they bother with all the palaver. 

            One of the phrases that struck me on Wednesday night was the command to evacuate the plane was accompanied by the instruction to leave behind all belongings.  This took me back to school days and the fire drills.  It horrified me when the teachers told us that when we heard the alarm we must leave quickly and quietly and leave all our belongings behind. 

“What about our coats?” we asked. 

“No, you must leave your coats behind.  Smoke is deadly and fire spreads fast.  There’s no time to lose.”

“But it’s cold outside!” we protested.  Snow lay on the ground.  The temperatures were perishing.  We’d freeze to death.  The basic response went like this:  “Better to freeze than to fry.”  The fire service would come and help and sort everyone out.

Have you ever been in a fire drill or participated in the real thing?  Did you ignore advice drummed into you taking what you could?  It’s immensely difficult to resist the urge to gather our most precious things.  We’ve seen this in Pakistan in which farmers have refused to leave their livestock and lands despite urgent warnings that they must flee the deadly waters of the swollen river.

If your house was on fire and you had moments to get out, what would be the hardest thing for you to leave behind?  If the plane was being evacuated what item in the overhead locker or in the pocket of the seat would you find it hard to resist taking?  Who are the people you would die for?  What are the things you treasure most?  What are the desires of your heart that absorb your time and attention?

Earlier in Luke 12, Jesus urged his followers against greed and worry.  Striving after ‘things’ is futile.  The one ‘striving’ that matters is to ‘strive for his kingdom’ and to accept the provision of food, drink, and clothing as a gift of God.  If our one desire is for God’s kingdom then we trust that the Father who made us is the same one who will look after us.  Even when followers of Jesus face persecution and dying for their faith they do not need to be afraid.  Our bodies die but no one can take our life (12:4).  So we don’t need to fill the deep freeze and accumulate huge bank balances.  We don’t need to be frightened of sickness and death.  Each day is a gift of God which we receive with open hands and grateful hearts. 

Children of the Father and followers of Jesus have one aim:  to gain the kingdom.  The kingdom of God has nothing to do with a nation.  It has nothing to do with borders.  The kingdom of God is a way of living.  It is living before God and faithfully living according to his will. 

Jesus is aware that his followers – his little flock – may be fearful of not being able to receive the kingdom.  Will they have what it takes to strive for the kingdom?  Will they be able to live out the prayer that Jesus had taught them?  Would they be able to let the kingdom come into their lives, to trust their Father for daily bread, to forgive as they have been forgiven, to stay true through trial?

Jesus tells his little flock that the Father wants to give them the kingdom.  It is his pleasure for them to receive the kingdom.  The Father wants to free them to completely trust him.  Like these early followers of Jesus, we fool ourselves into thinking that God is miserly.  We buy into the false view of a God who tantalises would-be disciples by waiting for them to measure up before he will give the kingdom.  God does not hold a bag of sweeties and say, “Now if you are good boys and girls...if you try hard enough...if you do your best...you will have a treat.” 

God is not like this.  He is Love.  His desire for us is for us to live the purpose for which he created us:  to love and serve him.  An anonymous Carthusian monk wrote, “In our relations with God, the great – in fact, almost the only – fear we ought to have is of being afraid.  We do not know how to reach the end of God’s love – it has no end.”[1]

The way to receive the kingdom is to be set free from fear.  Greed is motivated by fear.  Worry is motivated by fear.  Greed is the desire to look after number one.  It is the desire to make sure that I have enough for me and that I will be able to preserve myself into the future.  The farmer with the bumper crop tore down his barns to build bigger silos.  His pension plan was in place.  His savings were secure.  It was time for retirement.  He’d earned the easy life.  Little did he know that the giver of breath was about to take it back.  He would not be around to enjoy his accumulated wealth.  He had invested heavily in himself and was bankrupt towards God. 

Worry is the desire to secure tomorrow.  Worry goes beyond “Give us this day our daily bread” and wants to be sure of tomorrow’s food and clothing.  Worry is the belief that life is up to me.  Worry is turning a thing over and over in my mind thinking that if I think enough I can fix my problems.  Worry forgets that God is the Creator of life.

God wants to give us the kingdom.  He wants to free us from greed into a life of generosity.  The little flock receive the kingdom by selling possessions and giving alms.  This giving away of ‘things’ launches us into a life of trusting God. 

The flock makes purses that don’t wear out.  Instead of a having lots of ‘things’ their ‘savings’ – their ‘treasure’ - is in heaven.  Their treasure is something that cannot be stolen by a thief.  Unlike expensive clothing – heavenly treasure is moth proof.

The question is not whether God wants to give us the kingdom.  The question is what we desire in our hearts.  This is the trick.  How do we know whether our desires are selfish or whether they are from God?  This is where discernment comes in.  Are our desires directing us towards our purpose to love God with our whole being?  All things have been created for us to enjoy so long as they lead us to the worship of God.  What people or things do you desire with your heart?  Are they enabling you to express your love for God or are they drawing you into the vortex of selfishness?

Food is good.  Wine is good.  Sex is good.  Music is good.  Sport is good.  Work is good.  Yet if any created thing becomes the focus of our lives, where we are controlled by them or idolise them, then the desire of our heart is not for God.  These things have become our treasures. 

If the desire of our hearts is to receive the kingdom of our Father, we will not only desire to be generous but we will desire to serve faithfully.  Striving for the kingdom means serving our Lord faithfully whether he’s looking or not. 

Let’s go back to the safety message on the aeroplane.  Most of the people on the plane have heard it gazillions of times before and switch off even though they’re asked to pay attention.  It seems to me that if we go down we go down and the chances of survival are pretty grim.  So what’s the point of this routine?  After all air travel is one of the safest forms of transport. 

It seems to me that it would make more sense to have such a rigorous routine every time we get into the car.  Pass your driving exam and that’s you.  You’ll never have to do another test again.  No safety messages.  No pointing to the exits.  No refresher courses on the Highway Code.

The rigorous training of pilots, the theoretical and practical testing, as well as the medicals, assure us of the high levels of competency.  Cabin crews are well trained to do their jobs and to manage crisis.  The safety message is designed to train passengers “in the unlikely event” of a forced landing.  Everyone and everything is geared to deal with the emergency.  The only way to be ready is to ensure checks are carried out and that everyone is given as much information as possible. 

Jesus urges his followers to be prepared for his coming by giving them two different scenarios, the first assurance of blessing for faithfulness and the second a warning to be alert.  The first is of the master – the lord of the house - who has gone to a wedding and left his house in the safe hands of his slaves.  The slaves do what they are meant to do even though the master is not present.  They are dressed for action, their robes tucked into their belts.  Their lamps are lit.  They are ready to answer their master’s knock at any moment and welcome him home whether he comes home in the middle of the night or at dawn. 

The master who finds his slaves ready and waiting will fasten his belt and make them sit down and serve them.  This is a moment of enormous surprise in Jesus’ words.  Slaves would not be served by their master.  This is the upside down kingdom of God.  The slaves do what is right and shockingly their master serves them.  Those slaves found doing what they are meant to do will be blessed. 

The second scenario underlines the unexpected return of the master by comparing it to a burglary.  The owner of a house would not allow his house to be broken into IF the thief had given him a date and time.  The little flock live in constant readiness for the coming of the Son of Humanity.  Each moment is a moment of trust - faithfully getting on with kingdom living.

What is the desire of your heart?  The Carthusian monk writes, “To desire is to love:  our desires are the measure of our hearts.”[2]  Our desires tell us where our treasure is – what is the direction of our lives.  Do you desire what the Father desires for you – his kingdom?  Do you desire to trust God in generosity and service?

Gerard Hughes wrote in his book God of Surprises (p.55):  “I lived once in the same house as Fr. Patrick Treanor, a Jesuit astronomer, a small man with a large brain and the face of a child.  He would often dart out of his room, stop suddenly, spin round several times on his own axis, his finger-tip on his lips, and explain to any passer-by, ‘I’ve forgotten where I’m meant to be going’.  Walking with him in the Oxford countryside, especially in spring, was always full of surprises, for he would disappear into a ditch without warning, appearing later gazing in wonder at a wild flower.  Having contemplated it, he would then give its genus, species, and point out its particular qualities before disappearing again.  He usually arrived home clutching a bouquet.  He was never quite sure of his immediate direction, but there was a very clear general direction to his life.  He was fascinated by all the wonder of God’s creation on earth and in the heavens and this fascination determined the general direction of his life.”