Jesus is Coming – Look Busy! – August 17, 2025

Old Testament, Luke 12:32-48
August 17, 2025

A number of years ago, I was in a motorcycle shop, and I was standing by the display where they had patches that you could sew on your motorcycle jacket.  There were a lot of them!  And a lot of them I can’t tell you about from the pulpit.  But one caught my eye, and I had to buy it!  It was this little patch that says what I’ve used for my sermon title today.  It said, “Jesus is Coming – Look Busy!”

Again, I have to wonder what people were thinking this week as they were driving by the church and seeing that on our sign!  And, as I’ve said, I believe Jesus had a great sense of humor!  And I think he would like it if something like that caught people’s eye, and got them thinking about the kingdom.  He might even have used a funny line like that to “break through” to people and create meaningful conversations.

That’s what I thought about as I read the passage from Luke this week.  “Jesus is coming – look busy!”  And yes, I know that there’s a little bit of a negative implication to that.  There are jobs where bosses are uncomfortable if the workers don’t “look busy.”

I remember one job I had in college.  I worked two summers for the Montgomery County Board of Assessments.  We went around the county with big cards that had information about people’s houses.  And we measured houses and counted rooms.   But I’ll never forget the day I started, and the person who “trained me.”  The first thing he said was, “When you come to the office in the morning, you can talk to everybody, but always hold these cards in your hands, so it looks like you’re doing something.”  “Make sure you look like you’re busy!”  That’s how he “trained” me.  “Look busy!”

I think there’s also a positive way we can think about this.  In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus is telling the disciples that the Son of Man would be coming.  And remember, at this point they didn’t even know that he would be “going.”  So I wonder what they thought when he said that!  We the readers know what he meant, but they didn’t!  But he said that the Son of Man would be coming, and nobody would know when, so be ready!  And when he comes, they needed to be doing God’s work.  They needed to be busy, doing the work of the kingdom.

Where we find this this in Luke’s Gospel is interesting.  It follows the parable of the Rich Fool.  We read that a couple of weeks ago.  That’s the story of the man who thought only about his own things and his own world, and didn’t give thought to God’s kingdom.  But then, between that story and our passage for today, we find words that sound very much like the Sermon on the Mount.  Only this time they’re spoken “to his disciples.”

Now, people have debated over the years whether or not this actually was the Sermon on the Mount.  Some say it was, and that Luke “remembered it differently?”  But I don’t think so.  I know there are things I’ve said to one group that I said again at a different time to different group.  Why would we not think Jesus did that?  After all this is great stuff!  Why wouldn’t we think he’d use it more than once?  And(!) even if he had said it more than once, does it not make sense that maybe they needed to be reminded of it!  We all do, don’t we?  I know I’ve “reminded” you of things I’ve said before.  You’ve heard me say before, the words, “You’ve heard me say before!”

So, go back and read this part right before verse 32.  See if it doesn’t sound like the Sermon on the Mount.  Compare it to the Matthew account.  That’s in Matthew 5-7.  And notice that this ends with some very familiar words – words which I think are some of Jesus’ best!  It ends with, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

Well that leads us into this thought that we are to “look busy.”  Because, if you think about it, the “treasure” of our lives isn’t just about the “material things.”  What we treasure (using the verb) is also about the things we do.  You’ve heard me say before – there’s that phrase again!  You’ve heard me say before that we treasure our experiences and our accomplishments.  We’re proud of the work we do in this life.  Those things are of “great value” to us, and we “treasure” them.

So Jesus would tell us that we need to give the same value to the work we do in God’s kingdom.  Because as he says here, we are “blessed” when we do.  “Blessed are those servants who the master finds awake when he comes.” (Luke 12:37)  “Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find doing the work of the kingdom!” (Luke 12:43)  “Blessed are those who ‘look busy!’”  He’s telling us the importance of treasuring the things of heaven – the things of God’s kingdom.  And he’s also telling us of the importance of treasuring the work of God’s kingdom!

As we think about that, we might go back and “revisit” a little of James.  He’s the one who wrote, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” (James 1:22)  You know that verse.  But let me remind you of the rest of that passage.  He continues, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word, but not a doer, he is like a man who sees himself in a mirror.  He observes himself then, but then he goes away and forgets what he looks like.”  Isn’t that true?  Aren’t there times we see ourselves clearly, but then we forget?  James continues, “But, he who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being not a hearer who forgets but a doer that acts, he shall be blessed in his doing.” (James 1:23-25)

I wonder if he was thinking of the words of Jesus when he was writing that.  It’s almost a direct quote here at the end.  “He shall be blessed in his doing!”  We are blessed when we’re doing God’s work.  And don’t we feel that?  When we’re painting the hall or giving to the food bank or working on boards and committees, don’t we feel blessed?  But isn’t it also easy to forget?  As you’ve heard me say(!), there are many things in this world that call for our attention!  I had a day several weeks ago where my “Todo List” kept getting longer, the more I did things on it!  Did you ever have one of those days?

I was doing some cross-referencing on this, and I was drawn to these words from Ezekiel 33.  God was telling Ezekiel some of his frustration with the people, and what he could expect from them.  He told him they would be eager to listen to his words.  But then he said, “But lo, you are to them like one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument.  For they hear what you say, but they will not do it.” (Ezekiel 33:32)

Those are chilling words!  And they’re all about the “doing” of God’s work.  And even Jesus paints a harsh picture here are the end.  He said in this little mini-parable, that those found not doing the master’s work when he comes will be punished.  And I was surprised to learn that the words “the master will punish him” can also be translated, “will cut him to pieces.”  That’s what I found in some versions.  He goes on to say that one will receive a severe beating, one a “light beating.”  And I’m not sure I understand what he meant by which.  But we get the point.

This is like the Rich Fool.  It’s about those concentrating only on their own world and not thinking of the kingdom of God.  And as you know, the kingdom of God is what Jesus taught people about the most.  He was constantly saying, “The kingdom of God is like…”  He told them to think about it, he told them what it was like, and he told them it was coming.  And he also told them it was already among them – here in this life!  And they were to be doing the work of the kingdom – in this life!

So think about what that looks like in your life.  There are many things we do for the church.  There are many things we do for each other, in the church.  And there are many ways we relate to the world around us that casts a good light on God’s kingdom.  That’s a big part of this, isn’t it?  How we reach out to others, how we love others, how we show the “Hesed” that Pastor Kari talked about last week, that’s the “doing” that we are to be doing!

So I hope the little phrase I’ve given you this morning sticks with you.  And yes it’s humorous.  But it’s also something that’s easy to remember, and can remind us that God’s kingdom is indeed “in our midst.”  It reminds us that we need to be “Doers of the word, and not hearers only.”  And it helps us to remember that we are “Blessed in the doing!”  So, Jesus is coming!  Look busy!

Prayer

Eternal God, we are glad to be part of your kingdom that is truly in our midst.  Show us ways we can be working in your kingdom.  Help us to see ourselves as your ambassadors to everyone we meet.  Help us to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth.  And may we know that we are truly blessed in the doing.  For we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!