God is love, and those who live in love, live in God and God lives in them. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Do not be afraid little flock…for it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
Surrounded as we are by sheep at the moment – the Shaun the Sheep trail at the Cathedral and around our City, our own Woolly Wednesday Family activities – and our Lost Sheep Prayer Trail – it would be easy to think today’s Gospel was especially chosen for our summer theme this year!
Do not be afraid is something we hear God say to us in one way or another throughout the Bible.
And quite often it comes at a time when something wonderful but also quite scary is being asked of us.
‘Do not be afraid, Mary for you have found favour with God’, the angel says to Mary before inviting her to accept the awesome task of becoming pregnant with God’s own son.
‘Do not be afraid, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine’ – God says through the prophet Isaiah as he gives his people words of hope and encouragement.
‘Do not be afraid’, says the Risen Jesus – ‘peace be with you’ – as he appears to his rather startled disciples after his death and resurrection and as they are called onto acts of courage as they witness to him in a hostile world.
This repeated refrain is comforting and encouraging but actually so much more than that.
It is about the foundation of faith that underpins all our lives and all we do. Faith that is both about what we already know and also what we long for.
And we certainly long for a world in which we really don’t need to be afraid.
Because there seems so much to be afraid of right now – ever-increasing war and violence, the horrific situation in the Middle East and in Europe and in Africa. Concerns for the environment as yet another heatwave sweeps in and wildfires, storms, flood and drought affect our world. Financial insecurity, social unrest, trade wars, mass migration of desperate peoples – so much to weigh us down and leave us feeling powerless and hopeless.
But our readings today remind us that we can have faith in God – we can trust Jesus when he says ‘Do not be afraid, little flock.’
In Genesis we meet God and Abram talking to each other under a starry sky – and what does God say to Abram?
‘Do not be afraid’!
Abram is an old man who has not yet seen God’s promise of a child born to him and Sarai, come true. Do not be afraid, Abram, says God – your descendants will be as countless as the stars in the sky.
Abram and Sarai have faith in God and continue in trust and hope – it’s a faith which is made up of what they already know of God and what they long to find out too – a belief in the as yet unrealized future – but one which they are prepared to trust will come to be because God promises that it will be so!
And this is how it is for us – our relationship with God starts from the knowledge of how God has already acted in the lives of so many others before us – and from our knowledge of Jesus, the son promised as the means of grace and salvation for us all. Our faith is based on the faith of our forefathers and mothers, of the saints whose stories so inspire us and of the history enshrined in these buildings and parishes of which we are a part. And yet, there is still so much we don’t yet know and yearn to discover.
In difficult times, such as the ones we are living through, faith can start to waiver – how can we believe that God is there when so much seems to go badly, when its all doom and gloom, and when we can’t see it getting better. Well, the Bible is full of these cycles of times of joy and sorrow, faith and doubt, good and bad – but God is there constantly just waiting for us to start looking for him again.
The God we see described in Jesus’ words in the Gospel – like a master who is known and loved by his servants, and yet they never quite know what he will do or when he will do it! He might return at an unexpected hour, but when he does, he’s the sort of master who will come home in the middle of the night, and instead of demanding his servants wait on him – will prepare a splendid feast for them!
Jesus said to his disciples ‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’
Oh to truly believe that – to be held by the enormity of this promise.
God’s promise to Abram and Sarai – that their family will be as many as the stars of heaven – is not something they see coming true in their lifetimes – they do have their longed-for son, yes, but the Great Family does not begin to grow for another two or more generations.
Faith, as we hear in the letter to the Hebrews, is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen – it is what we know of God already in our lives and in our world, and it is that longing to know more – an excitement for the future, a readiness to believe that, despite all appearances sometimes to the contrary – things will get better!
But this reassurance ‘Do not be afraid’ comes with a challenge too. It’s not easy to let go of all our fears – and in such a materialistic and competitive society, we so often end up buying or desiring possessions that can overtake our lives in the misplaced idea that they will offer us security and happiness.
Last week’s Gospel puts paid to that idea – to hoard up riches for ourselves is pointless, when this may turn out to be our last night on earth!
In today’s Gospel, Jesus also calls us to ‘be dressed for action’ – to be ready for his coming again – like the master who comes in the dead of night.
Are we on the look out for the signs of the kingdom, and are we ready to take action? To care for the needs of others and to stand up against injustice?
Jesus the prophet calls us out of complacency or self-satisfaction at the same time as offering us reassurance and comfort – Do not be afraid – and be ready to act – all will be well – but we must play a part in making this so.We are not powerless or hopeless then, far from it, in the face of the world’s scariness – instead we are called to be active collaborators with God and one another in the revolution of love.
Amen.
Service: Revd Michelle Dalliston 10th August 2025. (St John the Baptist Church Peterborough UK)
Readings: Genesis 15.1-6; Psalm 13.12-end (or 33.12-21); Hebrews 11.1-3, 8-16; Luke 12.32-40