The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost
August 10, 2025
Luke 12:32-40

The people loved him, and the clergy feared him. His name was Clinton S. Quin, and he was the Bishop of Texas a hundred years ago. He’s the one who started St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston, he’s the one who started the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin. The people, like you, loved him. They loved Bishop Quin because he would show up unannounced in town and meet people. They loved that Bishop Quin remembered their names and confirmed their children. You never quite knew when he was going to show up, and that’s why people loved him. The clergy, like me, feared him. For the exact same reasons. This guy would have the guts to show up unannounced to priest’s offices during the week, just to make sure they were actually working. You know that he would call the hospital at the crack of dawn, ask if any Episcopalians were there, and then call their priests and ask them why they hadn’t visited the hospital yet. He would sometimes park his car in a church’s parking lot, get a ride from someone else, leaving his car behind, just to make the priest nervous. Like I said, the clergy feared him, the people loved him. Bishop Quin was loved and feared for the exact same reason. Because you never knew when he was going to show up.

Bishop Quin was not Jesus, certainly. But I can’t quit thinking about that line from the gospel today – “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. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”” (Luke 12:39-40).

This is one of the key pieces of the teachings of Jesus. Be ready. Stay alert. Keep awake. The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. You do not know when the bishop might just knock on your door. You do not know when your life will be demanded of you. You do not know your length of days. So be ready. And that’s what I can’t quit thinking about today. That the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

And that, that will cause two reactions within us. You guessed it – love and fear. The presence of the Lord God, the unexpected nature of God’s presence, will inspire both love and fear.

Love – this is the God of compassion and mercy; this is the God who takes pity on the poor and rescues the oppressed. This is the God who promises new life to the dead and solace to those who mourn. This is Jesus, the lover of our souls. In moments of darkness and grief and pain, we long for this God of love. We cannot wait for this love to show up. And yet, this is also the God majesty. The God who makes the mountains quake. This is the God whose magnificence is so overwhelming, that we mortals must shield at our eyes at the Presence of Glory. This is the God who, if we’re honest, is absolutely terrifying. And who, by and large, we would rather not go around meddling in our lives.

I think that Christian devotion, on a whole, swings between these two ideas. I’ve heard it, you’ve heard it. God is love, so whatever looks like love, must be okay. We’re free in Christ, God loves us, we’re no longer bound by laws, but bound by love. That sounds great. But taken too far, this becomes hedonism. It takes us to some weird places. And I don’t think it inspires faithfulness because, well, it’s just gobbley-gook. And yes, that is a theological term.

The other idea, of course, is just as dangerous. It’s that God is all fear. Constantly in terror, confessing our sins, scared that at any moment, God is wagging a celestial finger at us for doing this, that, or the other. Following Jesus, in that mindset, is mostly about making sure you’ve paid up your eternal life insurance policy. And that also takes us to some weird places, too. Sure, it might be a good way to fill churches and offering plates, but coercion, to me, is not faithfulness. 

Those are the two poles of Christian devotion – love of God, fear of God. And in today’s Luby’s Cafeteria-like options within Christianity, you can pick whichever side you want. But, it doesn’t have to be that way. I actually do think that there is place in Christianity for somewhere in between. Welcome to the Episcopal Church. We do believe that disciples like us ought to rejoice in the love of God. To celebrate this life-giving, liberating God who consistently challenges our narrow mindsets and opens us up to new wonders of love; a real progressive theology that challenges us to think about God and humanity in new ways. And at the same time, we know that this God is no joke, that we must not take God’s presence lightly, that there are real spiritual dangers out there. And that fear of God is reverence, and awe, and wonder. This is a real standing on the tradition passed down to us through the generations. 

Theologically, this is where I am. Desperately in love with and loved by this God who also fills with me holy dread. Call me a radical moderate. 

So we stay alert, we keep awake, we watch because the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour. It fills me with love because I cannot wait to meet Jesus. And at the same time, it makes me very nervous, because I know that this God is beyond my understanding. The Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour – this is both good news, and hard news.

But you know, this actually says a lot more about God than it does about us. After all, the only really interesting thing about Christianity is God, anyway. Switch all this around around, and think about this from God’s perspective.

I discovered a bit of that this week. See, I took a page out of old Bishop Quin’s playbook. The teachers at our school were having all of their back to school teacher meetings. So, a couple of times, I would show up, unannounced and unscheduled, and sit in the back of the room during their meetings. Now, I know these teachers, some of them fairly well. We are friendly with each other. They teach my own kid. But still, when I showed up unexpectedly, they ever so slightly sat up a bit straighter in their chairs. They put down their phones and really paid attention to the meeting. They turned their heads just barely to see if I was still there. Love and fear. I see why Bishop Quin got such a thrill out of it.

And two simultaneous and equal thoughts came into my head, into my heart. My presence there made me love, and made me fear. I love these teachers. I love what they do. I love their commitment to our children. I love how, at their best, they are dedicated to the subjects they teach. I love how they truly want to do a good job. And, and, I am afraid for them. I also see the pressures they are facing – of trying to teach in an increasingly complex culture. I fear for how many balls they have to juggle, of teaching students while also pleasing parents, and trying not to get burned out themselves. I fear for them. 

And I think, that maybe that’s how God looks at us. That God looks at us with absolute love. That God is deeply in love with who we are, no matter who we are. And at the same time, that God fears for us. God fears for how we behave so cruelly to one another. God fears for how difficult and fragile life can be. Just as we can both love and fear God, I get the impression that God fears for us, because God loves; and that God loves us, because God fears for us.  

So this week, keep your eyes and your hearts open. Because you just never know when the Son of Man will show up in your life. And pay attention to what that presence does to you, love or fear, because that will help you understand your own relationship with God. If your heart flutters with love, if your heart shudders with fear, both are good. And both will help you know this God who loves you and fears for you. So, as Jesus said, “be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be 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. Blessed 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. If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. But 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. You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.” That will be bring love and fear, fear and love.