Cooking Life with a Giving God-Aug. 12, 2007

KNU International English Church
Josh Broward
August 12, 2007

Cooking Life with a Giving God
Luke 12:29-40

I love to cook. I don’t get to cook as often as I’d like (and definitely not as often as Sarah would like), but I love cooking. I love the sound of the food sizzling in the pan. I love the colors and the textures of the food. I love to mix together foods of different colors. Cooking is like art or play therapy for me. I’m like a little boy with my crayons.
But the thing I like most about cooking is adding the spices. I am sort of a spice collector. I brought my spice rack today. I love leaning over the pan, smelling the food, tasting a little on my spoon, and reaching into that spice rack to find a spice that will turn that ordinary food into something unique. I love helping food make that transition from bland to bold, simple to spicy. (About half the time, I go a little too far and make it too spicy for Sarah and Emma. I’m working on that.) I love how we can take a simple piece of chicken and some simple rice or pasta, add some vegetables, a few ingredients, and a wide mixture of spices, a little of this, a little of that, a lot of that over there, just a pinch of this one, and – Voila! – there’s a bold, beautiful, mouth-watering meal.

Our passage today puts together some very common themes, some passages pastors often talk about, with some very uncommon, spicy little statements. If the Bible is the “bread of life,” we might say that Jesus and Luke start with some basic “meat and potatoes” passages and cook up a bold, robust meal for us today. Let’s see what’s on the menu: Luke 12:29-40.

OK, so the first basic food here is the “Do not worry” passage. We really started reading at the end of this part. It starts with Jesus saying: “Look, people, God gives food to the birds, and God gives beautiful clothes the flowers. Don’t you think he’ll take care of you?” (Luke 12:22-28). OK, now be honest. How many of you are humming in your head, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”?

Here is a little song I wrote
You might want to sing it note for note
Don't worry be happy
In every life we have some trouble
When you worry you make it double
Don't worry, be happy......
Ain't got no place to lay your head
Somebody came and took your bed
Don't worry, be happy
The land lord say your rent is late
He may have to litigate
Don't worry, be happy.

But when we keep going with the passage and dig into the passage, we can see Jesus is not from Jamaica and is saying something more than this.
In verse 29, there is a very interesting word. Our translation says, “don’t be concerned about,” but really the Greek is just one word and it means: “to seek, to strive for, to demand, to crave.” This is the same word used in verse 31: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else.” So really, Jesus is saying, “Don’t demand or hunger for the things of this world. Seek, demand, hunger for the Kingdom of God.”
Jesus isn’t just saying, “Don’t worry.” Jesus is saying, “Trust God enough to make his Kingdom your first priority, your greatest concern, your deepest passion, your heart’s hunger.” That’s a little spicy.

Next, Jesus adds some nice herbs that go right to the heart of the dish. This is the baseline flavor that Jesus is working toward with this passage. Verse 32: “It gives your Father great joy to give you the Kingdom.” God is a giving God. This is was the point of all the talk about the birds and the flowers. God gives to them; God will give to us. But not only that, God will give us our greatest hunger: the Kingdom! We pray: “May your Kingdom come. May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God says, “YES! I thought you’d never ask. Yes, I am delighted to give you my Kingdom. I am so happy to give you my way of life.”

This is starting to sound like a really good meal. Then, Jesus puts in just a pinch of something we don’t quite understand. “Do not be afraid little flock” (12:31). “Little flock?” That’s a shepherding image. Sheep get scared pretty easily, and sheep were group oriented. If one got scared, they all got scared. A little lightening or a loud sound, and they might all run off like a stampede. It’s like Jesus is concerned that we’re all going to get scared and run away now.
Why would Jesus be afraid of that? Why would we get all scared? So far, God has told us: 1) Don’t worry I’ll take care of you. 2) Hunger for my Kingdom deep in your belly, and I’ll give you all you need. 3) God gets really happy by giving us the Kingdom. This all sounds great. What is there to fear?

Well, Jesus puts a hot pepper in the pot. “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (12:33). No wonder he said, “Don’t be afraid.” Can’t you just imagine that stampede happening? “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” Heads go up all over the pasture. A murmer of discontent rumbles through the crowd. “Huh, baaaa, wuh, sell, give, what?” Bodies start moving nervously. “Woah! Wait a minute! We didn’t sign up for this. All we want is a little less stress, a little less worry. All we want is a nice little trip into heaven. Sell our possessions? You’ve got to be kidding. Some of us have a lot. We’re going to need those. What will we eat? What will we sleep on? What will we wear? How will we email?” And most of the flock runs off, maybe without even really hearing Jesus. They just had some vague, uncomfortable impression of selling and giving and maybe a little homelessness thrown in.
Maybe we’re more afraid of losing our stuff than we realize. Maybe this is a little too spicy for us.

Jesus goes back to adding some basic familiar foods. “This will store up treasure for you in heaven. And the purses of heaven never get old or develop holes. Your treasure will be safe; no thief can steal it and no moth can destroy it” (12:33). Ahh, that’s more like it. Back to talking about heaven and how rich and happy we’ll be there. Heaven is safe, no risk, no fear. Ahh, that’s the way we like it.
But even this basic food has a twist of lemon: “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will be also” (12:34). Now this verse can be interpreted lots of different ways. Sometimes, I’ve heard something like “treasure” means “whatever you value most.” This could be your time, your stuff, your family, your popularity, your job, not just your money. I think that’s basically true. Our possessions include more than just our money.
But sometimes, our very interpretation of the Bible becomes a way for us to avoid the direct point of the Bible. It is so easy for us to deceive ourselves. We might say, “Oh, what do I value most? That’s God, of course.” Some of us can easily quote that verse: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33) – in the King James Version, no less. We can easily agree that this is what we’re doing and that this is how we’re living without ever really hearing or tasting this “bread of life” dish that Jesus is cooking for us.
In the era leading up to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic church was selling “indulgences.” For a small (or large) price, a person could purchase a decree of forgiveness from the church to avoid punishment for sins – all kinds of sins. This money was then passed on to Rome to help build the beautiful St. Peter’s Cathedral. Martin Luther and the other reformers protested against selling indulgences as a basic corruption of the gospel, and the Protestant church was formed.
But I wonder if the Protestant church is still selling indulgences. “Give a little money and volunteer in church, and we’ll overlook what you do in your ‘private’ life.” “For the small price of 10% of your income, we will honor anyone and completely ignore what they do with the other 90% while the world starves.” “Big house, big car, big jewelry, big vacations, big secrets – it’s all OK as long as you’re still writing that big check to the church. Look at how he values God. See how much she gives!” Or maybe we sell indulgences even cheaper. “Just come to church faithfully, and we’ll faithfully not demand anything from you.”
Maybe we need reformation just as much as the medieval church.

This dish that Jesus is cooking for us is bold and spicy. It is so spicy that we cannot simply sit and eat it like we always have. The herbs, the spices, the twists wake us up to something new. Jesus is stirring this pot, trying to bring out the real flavor in our lives. If we really hear this passage, we cannot avoid Jesus’ challenge to us. How we use our money reveals our hearts. When we really listen to Jesus, we cannot escape the issue of money. He is relentless. What we do with our money tells the truth about our lives. Yes, it’s true; “treasure” probably means more than money, but it definitely means money, too. If we aren’t faithful with our money, if we aren’t giving to the poor, if we aren’t investing in Kingdom things, if we aren’t living generous lives, then we aren’t ready.

And that’s the point of Jesus’ next two stories: “Be ready.” The master could come back at any time; be ready. The thief may come at any time; be ready. This is more of the basic food. We’re used to this theme. Be ready. You never know when Jesus will come back. It might be today. It might be tomorrow. It might be when you least expect it, so be ready. That’s basic Christian preaching.
But when we put that basic Biblical food in the mix of this pot, we get something different all together. Within the context of this passage, these little stories about being ready, don’t really mean what we usually think they mean. They aren’t just about making sure we’re “right with God.” They aren’t trying to say, “Make sure you ask Jesus into your heart. Make sure you ask Jesus to forgive your sins today, so that you can go to heaven tomorrow.”
These stories in this context are trying to say, “Look, people. Being ready is a way of life. Being ready is not a one-time transaction with you and God – saying ‘The Sinner’s Prayer.’ Being ready is living in a godly way.”
And what is this “godly way”? In this passage, the only thing God does is give. He gives food to the birds. He gives beauty to the flowers. He gives the Kingdom to his disciples. He gives rewards to those who are ready. Our God is a giving God. To live like him, we give like him. We live lives of generosity.
But how? How do we become generous? According to Jesus, the first step is trust. We believe that God is a giving, generous God. We believe that God will take care of us. We trust God’s goodness and God’s giving-ness enough to pursue his Kingdom with all our hearts. We trust God’s generosity enough to be generous ourselves. We trust that God will give what we need, so we give others what they need.
I love the way this passage reads in The Message: “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 yourselves [or soak yourselves] in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find 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. Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt” (Luke 12:29-33).

Sometimes when I’m cooking spaghetti sauce, and I’m almost done adding all the spices, I taste the sauce, and it tastes a little sour. All of those tomatoes and onions and spices just combine with too much acid and it makes my cheeks kind of pucker. When that happens, I know a little trick I learned from my Mom. (Thanks Mom!) All I have to do is add some sugar to counteract all that acid.
Jesus must have known this meal was getting a little spicy and a little sour. At the end, he adds some sugar. The servants are waiting on their master to return from the wedding feast. They have their clothes on, sleeves rolled up. They have been adding oil to their lamps all night. They are ready to do their duty the moment the Master walks in, ready to wash his feet, ready to get the cushions and tables ready, ready to cook for him, ready to comfort him, ready to hear his stories about the wedding.
But then comes the surprise: “The servants who are ready and waiting for the master’s return will be rewarded. I tell you the truth, he himself will seat them, put on an apron, and serve them as they sit and eat!” (12:37). They were ready to serve the master, but the master served them. They were ready to cook for the master, but the master brought the wedding feast to them. They had their sleeves rolled up, ready to work, but the master rolled up his sleeves, put on an apron, and surprised them with generous service.
So often, when we give generously, when we serve others freely, we are surprised. Jesus shows up and serves us instead.
We go into the nursery to care for the kids. Then, Jesus shows up, and the children’s joy for life and play gets into our hearts, too.
We go on a mission trip to help people in a poor community. Then, Jesus shows up, and we find that we are the ones who were helped the most.
We practice the spiritual discipline of tithing – giving 10% of our income to God. Then, Jesus shows up, and we begin to understand that it all belongs to God and all of us belongs to God.
We give some of our movie money to sponsor a child. Then, Jesus shows up, and we get tears in our eyes reading a letter from that little kid telling how she is going to school and growing up healthy.

You never know when Jesus will show up. Maybe this meal is all about trusting God’s goodness and giving-ness enough to relax. Maybe this meal is all about helping us to relax enough to give freely, throughout life. God is a giving God. If we really trust Him, we will live like Him.



Big idea: God is a giving God. If we really trust Him, we will live like Him.