The Gospel passage selected in the lectionary for today is from the Gospel of St. Luke Chapter 12. In the Orthodox Study Bible this passage comes under the heading Against Greed and Anxiety and lays out for out how we are to live our lives. I have written before that Jesus did not, regardless of what some claim, hate rich people. Jesus was concerned that our possessions would hold us back, in other words that we cared more about our possessions than anything else. Although I do not believe in the Prosperity Gospel as preached by some Evangelicals like Joel Olsteen, we need to be mindful of our possessions.
In verse 32 we come across the title of this essay, “fear not little flock.” We find that fear comes up again and again in Scripture and we are counseled not to hold on to fear for anything, about food, about clothing, about the future, that if we have total trust in God all will be well. The interesting words for me are “little flock” what does this mean to us? According to some who comment on this passage we, and by that I mean Christians, are called little because we are insignificant in the eyes of the world. There seems to be this desire to get the world’s attention and its approval of all that we do. Some Christians are locked in this constant battle with society on some kind of crusade to reform it when we should be concentrating on forming and transforming our own lives. Jesus clearly told us that the world would hate us. I am not interested what the world thinks of me, I am more interested in what my Heavenly Father thinks of me since He has, and always will, love me whilst the world has, and always will, hate me.
This passage is also a call to be vigilant, not in a doomsday preppers sort of way, but in a spiritual way. Again, some Christians spend for too much time worrying about their earthly existence and store up all sorts of things for what they perceive to be a massive government attack on them. What not spend that time and energy storing up spiritual things for the constant attack by the evil one that goes on around us all the time?
We are called to be virtuous at all times and to keep the lamps of spiritual discernment burning brightly and in order to do that we have to be like the wise virgins who had enough fuel for the long haul. The government cannot and will not make you virtuous nor can it make anyone else virtuous, only God can do that and it take time, energy, and much preparation to make it happen.
“Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.” It is easy to be a follower of Christ in the daylight when all is going wrong but blessed are those who follow in the darkest hours of the night and they stand fast to what they believe.
Let us spend less time worrying about what the world thinks of us, we have already lost that fight, and spend time getting our lamps ready and living the virtuous life in Christ.
