The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection of Leawood, Kansas, United States Daily Guide grow. pray. study. for Tuesday, 30 December 2014 “Don’t be afraid, little flock”Daily Scripture: Luke 12: Steep Yourself in God-Reality
22-24 He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more.
25-28 “Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you?
29-32 “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! The Father wants to give you the very kingdom itself.
Reflection Questions:
“Don’t be afraid” is one of the most common commands in the Bible for a reason. We tend to fear, to worry about what the future might hold. Our minds may see truth in Jesus’ question, “Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life?” (We know that research says worry shortens our lives.) But our hearts still tend to worry. Jesus tenderly called his followers his “little flock,” an image of God’s deep desire for their ultimate well-being.
• Almost everyone who heard Jesus say “There is more to life than food and more to the
body than clothing” lived in near-poverty. They had few material assets, if any, so one accident, illness or unjust act by a powerful person could leave them destitute. Does the principle behind Jesus’ words apply equally well to the relative affluence and safety of life in the United States in 2015? How can Jesus’ wisdom help you set your financial and emotional priorities for the New Year?
• Our culture stresses “standing on your own two feet.” The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery noted, however, “The flock can also be an image of vulnerability. Thus we find the disciples called a ‘little flock’ that needs to be commanded to ‘fear not’ (Lk 12:32) … As a … metaphor, the flock is an apt picture of the combined people of God under his care.”
How easy or hard do you find it to put more trust in God’s care for you than in your own efforts? Are you okay with being part of God’s “flock,” not just a free-standing individual?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you told us that you are the good Shepherd, willing even to give your life for your flock. I thank you for your tender care for me, both now and in eternity. Amen.
Insight from Rev. Glen Shoup
Rev. Glen Shoup is the Executive Pastor of Worship and a Congregational Care Pastor.
Worry is the errand-boy of fear. It does fear’s bidding, carries its water, heightens our senses to all the variable “if this than that” scenarios that can possibly be imagined without regard for the fact that rarely do any of those scenarios materialize…and in the minority of cases where those scenarios do occur—they almost never happen with the degree of devastation that we worriedthey would—which is why worry is the enemy of peace.
But then if you really stop to think about it, the fact that worry is the enemy of peace makes perfect sense. Why? Because the entity which worry harbinger’s, has its sights squarely set on undermining that gift God wishes to give us that produces peace—namely—Faith.
You see the enemy (or the opposite) of Faith is not doubt…as we’re often prone to assume. No, faith and doubt can co-exist quite well in any thinking mind and heart. So if the opposite and opposing force of Faith isn’t doubt—what is it?
It’s Fear—plain and simple.
Fear is like a heat-seeking missile targeting the destruction of faith. But unlike most explosives, the destructive blow that fear seeks to employ on faith isn’t immediate and spectacular; rather it’s gradual and easily ignored. Which is where worry comes in…as the handmaiden of fear…trotting out ahead of fear to distract, entangle and occupy—not with stability-shattering fear which cripples and leaves its victims paralyzed with terrorizing inertia—but simply with an obsessive concern over “what if” scenarios. And then once we have gradually drunk in the deluge of concern that rises from all the different possibilities of what could go wrong (worry) we are in prime position to be over-run by the one whom worry came to prepare the way for (fear)—and in the process we have allowed worry to strip away our peace and then we then watch impotently as fear does a hatchet job on our faith.
You say Glen you’re overstating it! Really? Think about the times and places in your life where you worried. I don’t mean worried that if you didn’t leave right away you might be late—I mean really worried—up late, awake early—can’t sleep can’t eat kind-of-worried. Have much peace in those times? No, I didn’t think so. Why? Because of the deluge of concern you were drinking in over “what if” scenarios. And at some point, if you didn’t get a reality-check on that—what happened…you were a sitting duck for fear to begin its neutralizing work…and in the process, your faith was eroded and non-existent.
No, I’m not overstating it and we both know it. And most importantly, Jesus knows it. Which is why he said what he said in our reading today—a reading you and I would do well not just to read…but to commit to memory.
You see, you never know when fear’s errand-boy is going come knocking on your door. And when he does—you’ll need to remember not what I have to say about it—but what Jesus has to say about it.
Worries (and fear) are like any human emotions we feel; we have no control over them. They come to us involuntarily. However what we do with them—whether we make space for them or whether we shut the door in their face—that is our choice!
____________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment