“Reasonable fears”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Thursday, October 31, 2024
Luke 11: 53 – 12: 12 (Forward, p. 94) CEV p. 1076
Fears, of some sort or other, will probably always be with us—or, at least, with most of us. Here’s where Jesus is an obvious exception. In verses 53-54 of chapter 11, we hear of the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees plotting to try to catch Jesus out, to try to catch Him saying something wrong. But Jesus wasn’t in the least bit put off by it or intimidated. Instead, He went on the offensive, warning His disciples about the false, corrupting, and deceitful teaching of the Pharisees. (Jesus literally refers to it as ‘yeast’, which the text explains as ‘their hypocrisy’). He then goes on to explain to them that one day all this deceit, this hypocrisy, will be brought to light. And so, by extension, this is one area where it is quite reasonable, quite logical, to be afraid—that is, if we are not who we claim to be.
Jesus, however, doesn’t leave it there. He announces that these enemies of the Cross, enemies of the Gospel, His enemies, may well kill them. “But so, what?” He says. “So, what?” we say. Jesus says, “if this is the worst they can do to you, you have no worry. There is nothing else that they can do to you.” To us, this sounds pretty ultimate, pretty final. To us, this is the worst that could happen to us, but Jesus tells us that hell is worse. And so, He is intimating, it is our eternal destiny that we should really be thinking about--not something as fleeting and insubstantial as our earthly lives. It is the loss of our eternal destiny that should leave us afraid.
A bit later He spells this out a bit. He tells His disciples that it is essential that they continue faithful to Him no matter what, and not in any wise reject Him. He lets them know that they will indeed by brought to trial before the authorities, but that they need not worry or be afraid. The Holy Spirit will give them the words to say.
But shortly before this, He offers them—and us--a word of assurance or comfort. He reminds them of their infinite worth to God. He tells them that even though sparrows are sold in the market for a mere pittance, God doesn’t forget even one of them—and we are worth far more than them. In fact, even the hairs of our heard are numbered by God. (For us who are aging in years, this says a lot!)
And so, we are of great worth to God, loved and valued. Of that, we do not ever have to be afraid. This only thing we should ever be afraid of is so walling Him off, so rejecting Him (sins against the Holy Spirit), He is unable to get through to us. And even this does not happen overnight but through our continually, constantly saying ‘no’ to Him. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” (verse 7b).
“We were developing some needed best practices for the administration of church life. The process meant some changes in roles that certain parishioners had held for years. One particular person was anxious because the new structure would diminish her role. I later learned that it was less of a control issue and more of a worth issue. She was retired and on a fixed income, and she felt this position in the church was the best way to earn her place in this community; if I was lessening her role, I was lessening her worth and value.
“I told this to her, and I tell this to you: your value and worth is not determined by what you bring to the table, what you produce, or on what you do. Your value and worth come from you being you: a child of God whom God deeply loves and is pleased with. Friends, you are loved by God. Nothing you say or do will make God love you less or more. You are loved because you bear the image of God. May you never forget that.”
Moving Forward: “Dear friend, know that you are deeply loved and that you are God’s beloved child.”