As we continue our journey up to Jerusalem with Jesus in Luke’s Gospel,
we are presented with a stark contrast between one who is unprepared
for the coming of Son of Man, and another who is always prepared.
In the “Lucan School of Discipleship,” as we learn how to live justly in this life
and so prepare wisely for the next life, the contrast between the Rich Fool
and the Wise Steward reveals how to care for the things of this life.

Last Sunday in the Parable of the Rich Fool a man was blessed with a bountiful harvest. Instead of sharing this bounty, he tries to hold onto all of it by building bigger barns and storing it all away for his own pleasure, but he dies suddenly.   

This is what greed looks like, a holding onto the things of this world, being possessed by one’s possessions.

Those who choose the way of faith, like the faithful and prudent steward
in today’s Gospel parable, depend on God and understand everything they have
comes from the hand of God.
The faithful steward realizes what he has is not his, but belongs to another,
and so he cares for it wisely, distributing the food to the ones placed under his care.
Those who live lives of faith, who are not controlled by fear but depend upon God,
give away what they have been given and become free to receive even more.
This is what generosity looks like!

Wise stewards notice the birds of the air do not need to build barns to store their food, because the hand of God feeds them.
Wise stewards notice how God clothes the flowers of the field in splendid beauty,
flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow.
Wise stewards know their lives are much more valuable in God’s eyes
than the birds of the air or the flowers of the field, that God will provide what they need.
This kind of trust is the foundation of Faith, which drives out fear.

Because it is so difficult for us to trust, to believe that God will provide,
we need someone to show us how to do so.
Because it is so hard for us to have faith that God will be true to God’s promises;
we need others to show us how to do so.

Abraham and Sarah show us what faith looks like.
They live by the conviction that the future will be as God promises.
Sarah and Abe live by the evidence of things unseen,
trusting that what may not be visible is just as real as what we see with our eyes.
They teach us that faith will empower us to respond to what God asks of us.

Responding to God’s call, Abraham and Sarah leave their home
and live as strangers in foreign lands, as resident aliens in a strange land,
trusting that God will grant them a homeland.
(In the United States, they would have needed a green card.)

Abe and Sarah trust God’s word that they will be the parents of a son
even when the reality of the old age and sterility seemed to contradict such a promise.
They also are willing to sacrifice that son, Isaac,
as a testimony to their confidence in God’s promises.
Abraham and Sarah’s faith strengthened them to respond to all these challenges
and to keep trusting that God would be faithful to them.

Surely they grew weary at times as they wandered as strangers in foreign lands,
as the promise of a son was not fulfilled on their timetable.
Surely they were worn down at times, but they persevered in trust.

Abe and Sarah were unafraid to go where God called them to go,
even though they did not know where God was leading them.
Even when both of them were “as good as dead”, they were not afraid to trust
that God would somehow, someway bring them new life.

The quality of discipleship laid out for us by Jesus in Luke’s Gospel today is “fearless.”
Fearless are his followers, because they trust with Him in the Father’s providence.
Fearless are his followers, because they know they are not alone—
the Lord Jesus is with them on the journey.
So, the disciples of Jesus can sell their belongings and give alms,
knowing that the Father will provide even more for them to give away.
Selling and giving away are a natural result of those who are fearless, who live in trust.
Because greed does not rule their lives, they can be generous to others.

As these disciples prepare for the unexpected visits of their Lord and Master,
they do so not in fear but in joyful expectation.

Fearless disciples expect the Lord Jesus to break into their daily lives,
to visit them in unexpected places and unexpected faces.
They are prepared to welcome Him, because they live lives
where they are storing up treasures in heaven
and not holding onto or hoarding the things of this earth.

Because disciples of Jesus spend each day welcoming Him as He comes to them through others and in the events of their day, they do not live in fear of the day of their death.
Preparing each day of their life for the next life, disciples of Jesus live not in fear
but in joyful expectation.
They know that when the Lord knocks on their death day,
they open the door and welcome him who is coming to take them home.

So, for us fearless disciples, what should we be afraid of?

That when the Lord Jesus returns he will find us doing our business and not his.
What should we be afraid of?
That when the Lord returns he will find us living as if this world were all that is,
seeking only its treasures and pleasures.

Instead, what preoccupies our waking thoughts should be how to better seek
the Kingdom of God.
What sustains our emotions is the desire to love God above all things.
What engages our will is seeking God’s will first and foremost.

Disciples prepare for their Master’s return not in fear, but fearlessly.
Not in greed, but with great generosity.
Not in sadness, but joyfully.