“What Are You Waiting For?”

Ninth Sunday After Pentecost

August 10, 2025

Hand knocking on a door

Genesis 15:1-6

Luke 12:32-40

Children’s Message:

Have you ever tried to count the stars in the sky? Especially when your outside of the city where you can see so many more stars? What makes it so difficult? (some are too faint, hard to mark which ones you’ve counted already, way too many to count)

So, today we heard part of Abram and Sarai’s story—you may know them as Abraham and Sarah. But before God gave them new names, they were an old couple without children. Having children was important to a family and a tribe. In that time, people believed that a couple without children meant that God had abandoned them. But God had made this couple a promise--a promise of a land and a nation. Yet, they still didn’t have children. And Abram was worried.

He asked God what was the holdup. And God told him to be patient. God’s timing doesn’t always match out timing…but that’s okay. And God’s ways don’t always match what we want…but that’s okay. Because God does some pretty amazing things, and God always keeps God’s promises!

God told Abram to look up at the sky and count the stars. His descendants—his children, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and so on would outnumber the stars in the sky. So, what do you think? Did that happen? Did God keep God’s promise? He sure did. And to remind us that God keeps God’s promises, I have a little extra something to give you for your backpacks. Now, I know Karrie will be passing out something after worship and after your backpack blessing, but this one is different. Every time you look at this star during the day, I want you to remember that God keeps God promises.

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank you for being faithful. Help us to remember that you keep your promises, even when doubt. Amen.

Message:

I am a master of procrastination. Even growing up, that was my default. In my AP English class, we got to pick several books to read and then take a test on them. One of my books was Anna Karenina by Tolstoy. Sadly, I didn’t get very far in the book over the few weeks I had to read it. So, I tried to skim it the night before the test. Yeah…you can imagine how well that went.

I would also procrastinate on chores. As my mom would leave the house, she’d instruct my sister andmeI to accomplish a few tasks around the house. Inevitably, we’d wait until the last minute, realizing she would be home soon, and scramble to get it done. We didn’t want to get in trouble. I’m sure that’s a legacy I’ve passed along to Avery.

And yet, I can also remember getting ready for things I looked forward to, as well—like a dance. I’d shop for a dress, experiment with my makeup and hair. I didn’t wait until the last minute because I was excited for the event. I wanted to be ready so that I wouldn’t panic about a detail gone wrong.

What we wait for determines the preparations we make.

Today’s passage comes after Jesus talks at length about not worrying. Don’t worry about what you wear or what you eat. Don’t worry so much about the things that bring fear and anxiety. Do not fear, little ones. God is pleased to be giving you the kindom. What you are waiting for is good news!

It’s like awaiting a beloved homeowner’s return from a wedding. Have food ready, change the sheets, dust the shelves, lay the fire. Because when they get home, they will be filled with stories of music and dancing and feasts. They will want to sit you down and light the fire and serve a meal while they tell about the young couple and the hopes and dreams that are just beginning. Even if they show up in the early hours of morning, you won’t want to miss a detail.

Jesus’ parable is one of anticipation, not anxiety. Hope, not fear. And yet, we continue to hear it as a warning. Do the work…or else.

Maybe it’s because of the second mini-parable that follows right behind the first. If the homeowner knew when the thief would arrive, they would have been prepared. So watch out—the Promised One will arrive unexpectedly. Like a thief, apparently. To steal what? To steal the earthly treasure we have horded? To take our lives before we can enjoy said treasure—like the farmer we heard about last week who horded his harvest and then died?

What we wait for determines the preparations we make.

Are we to assume that Jesus is the homeowner or the thief? Or both? In these parables, the return of the homeowner is expected and desired. They just don’t know when. The arrival of the thief, on the other hand, is unexpected and unwanted. Both demand vigilance. And perhaps both are defined by the arrival of Christ. But the distinction is defined by us. What is it we are waiting for—a master who brings good news or a thief who will take what we’ve grown to love?

What we wait for determines the preparations we make.

And we see this playing out all around us—in how we view the Other. Are they friend or foe; dangerous or good? Will they bring good news or take things from us?

How we define the Other impacts our preparations for their arrival—with cookies or weapons. With healthcare or deportation. With affirmation or extermination. Many in our country have bought into the idea that the Other is a thief. Immigrants are free-loaders. Queer folx are degrading family values. People of color and women are DEI hires. Environmental protections are keeping us from being prosperous. Truth is inconvenient and dangerous and should be hidden. This kind of thinking will always prepare us for the unexpected with fear and loathing. And anyone who knocks at the door will be met with a gun in the face.

However, if we open ourselves to the idea that the Other brings good news, it changes our preparations. It changes our actions. It changes us. What if immigrants bring new ideas, new energy, and new hope? What if they offer benefits we can’t achieve on our own? What if—stay with me now—what if we view them as human beings with stories we can’t even imagine? Stories of courage and hardship and hope and faith?

What if queer folx offer us a new way of viewing love and relationship? What if they strengthen the values of faithfulness in family? What if they expand how we experience the world? What if—again, here we go—what if we view them as human beings with stories we can’t even imagine? Stories of courage and hardship and hope and faith?

What if people of color and women are *gasp* more qualified than their white or male counterparts in a given field? What if they bring the brilliance and fortitude of a people who have had to work 3 times as hard to get where others are? What if—you know where this is going—what if we view them as human beings with stories we can’t even imagine? Stories of courage and hardship and hope and faith?

What if we open the door having anticipated good things? Will we be disappointed? Maybe. But will we have done the good work and preparation that is not only good for the one knocking but good for us and whole world? I sure hope so! Not out of fear of what might happen if we don’t but out of hope that what we’ve done will be a blessing.

And so, as Jesus instructs, we will share our wealth and light our lamps and lay the fire and prepare the food and change the sheets and dust the shelves and clean the bathroom and open the pantries and protect the environment and defend the voiceless and fight for civil rights. We’ll do the work of blessing the Other. We’ll do it, not realizing that sometimes we are the Other who comes knocking at the door. We’ll do it, not knowing who will meet us on the other side. We’ll do it, because we know that what we wait for determines the preparations we make.

Pastor Tobi White

Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church

Lincoln, NE