Unexpected Visitor

Luke 12.32-40

Jesus said to his disciples, 32‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.’

Sermon at Dulverton

An Unexpected Visitor

Back in 1987 the Collins Biennial Religious Book Award went to ‘God of Surprises’ by the Jesuit spriest spiritual director Fr Gerry Hughes, whom I know and with whom I have been privileged to work.

Today’s gospel reading is headed in the Jerusalem Bible by a summary of its message as ‘On being ready for the Master’s return’. Our Lord suggests to his followers that they would be wise to remain ready and alert for his return for he could well turn up on their doorsteps ‘at an unexpected hour’. ‘Standing ready’ appears to involve a detachment from money and material possessions, basic dress appropriate to serious work, and a preparedness for his arrival as a surprise and at a time unexpected – even under cover of darkness or at an approaching dawn.

Most bible commentators naturally place this teaching of the Lord as relating to his return at the parousia or at the hour of our death but, following the thesis of my friend’s book, I want to suggest a somewhat different application. Fr Gerry starts with the idea of the contemporary Jesus not being so much ‘out there’ as ‘in here’ ie.dwelling deep within. It is from there that he waits to reveal himself to us. The stance of readiness relates to the spirituality of desiring to be ready for him through self exploration and prayerful reflection. He may well be there clothed in the darkness just as in the light that we find within ourselves. In the preface to the book the author writes “I dedicate this book in gratitude to all with whom I have walked the inner journey and who taught me by sharing their own inner experience.” He goes on “I thank the Society of Jesus which introduced and guided me through the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, which permeate this book.”

“Through the painful in-breaking of the God of Surprises the truths of the Christian faith begin to take on a new meaning. As God breaks down the cocoon of our closed minds, he enters in. No longer remote and out there, no longer dwelling only in tabernacles and temples of stone, we meet him smiling at us in our bewilderment and beckoning us in our confusion as he reveals himself in our failure and disillusion as our only rock, refuge and strength”.

Over the last 4 weeks there has been a new comedy on bbc2 on Monday evenings at 10 called simply ‘REV’. It has received quite a lot of appreciation in unexpected church circles from the Archbishop of Canterbury downwards. It is all about the struggles of an inner city vicar. He is trying to overcome the problems of a tiny congregation, to deflect approaches from atheist parents attempting to gain places for their children at the church school, whilst contending with the church’s behind-the-scenes politics. At the same time he has to try and lead a normal married life with his wife in the vicarage and community. He tries to pray honestly wanting to do his best for God and the people. The archbishop describes it as ‘really rather good’ whilst the bbc admit ‘a sort of gratification from messages telling them that some vicars have found it too painful to watch. It ends with the vicar finding himself and God as the police rush him to to the bedside of a dying parishioner to minister to her and her husband. If you missed it I recommend you to look out for any repeats.

We should never give up on God in our lives and experience. He may seem absent or hidden but in fact he is nearer than breathing and could very well reveal himself at an unexpected hour and in a most unusual manner if we remain ready to welcome him.