NOTES for Luk 12:32

One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that, although the Lord calls everybody, His Church is always a “little flock”. Jesus said: “go and teach all nations”, and at the same time: “you are the salt of the earth” - but the salt is never much.

But it is first of all about another thing here. We feel weak and uncertain when we are little. It is always most comfortable to be in the "torrent", to experience power and safety. Here we are, Jesus says that we should fear not, even in our fewness (this fewness is corollary of the fact that we “aren’t of the world”), because safety and intelligence aren’t given by human forces, but rather by the paternal love of the Almighty God.

"Fear not, little flock!" That was also the title of an article by Fr. Georgy Chistyakov, which contains the following passage:

"If we analyze Sacred Scripture on the basis of what linguists call the 'frequency' of the use of a given word, we discover that almost 370 times in it there is the call: 'Fear not!' It is addressed now to Abraham, now to Jacob, now to Gideon in the Old Testament, now to the apostles and the myrrh-bearing women in the Gospel. This call is constant and insistent. God does not say: do not be afraid of this or that. He addresses us with extreme simplicity: do not be afraid. Never and of nothing! Of course, fear is embedded in our nature from the beginning - as are many other things. But some natural traits must be developed, while others must be outgrown. Overcome. God addresses precisely our animal memory: 'Fear not, little flock!' - and even more sharply: 'I send you as sheep among wolves.'" ("Ogonyok," 1999).

Everything here is said with the utmost precision and unity; it is hard to add anything. Still, one can recall these well-known words of the evangelist: "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, because fear has torment. The one who fears is not perfected in love" (1 John 4:18). For us this is paradoxical; with us everything is usually the other way around: the more we love, the more we fear for the beloved. But that is only the beginning of love. After all, if the Lord is all-good, and the final "station" will be the state when "God is all in all," then what is there for us to fear? Only to endure and wait remains, and to endure and wait means to believe. But the fearful thing stands clearly before our eyes, while the angelic world is hidden. How can one not be afraid? How can one not want to eat, not want to sleep, and so on... It is impossible. And precisely because of this impossibility, this is something utterly true.

I will accept all, take all that You give,
Whatever You give, whatever You send me.
Let wild folly come to pass,
Let dark falsehood envelop me.
Grant that I may hear You amid the lie
And not confuse Your voice with another.
Help me, strengthen me, uphold me
With Your careful breath.
(Yuly Shreider)

"Let wild folly come to pass" - somehow these words really are frightening. Still, as another poet said, "We do not need to fear this darkness, and we will not pretend to be happy" (B. Okudzhava).

One of the paradoxes of Christianity is that although the Lord calls everyone, His Church is always a "little flock." Christ says, "Go and make disciples of all nations," but at the same time, "You are the salt of the earth," and there is never much salt.

But here the matter is still something else. When we are few, we feel weak and uncertain. It is always more comfortable to go with the flow, to feel strength and protection. And Jesus says that even in our small number, which is a consequence of our being "not of the world," we should fear nothing, because the security and meaning of our life are given not by human powers, but by the fatherly love of Almighty God.

“You are worth more than many small birds”—today these words sound like news to many people. When the price of a human life is a penny—or many pennies—food inevitably becomes more important than the soul and clothing more important than the body. The reality of God’s Kingdom frees us from this slavery to money, food, clothing, and the oppressive anxiety about life. The Lord simply tells us, “To Me, you are more important and more precious than all these things.” We are very skilled at seeing the ugliness of this world and the ugliness of the people around us, and sometimes our own. But the Lord says, “To Me, you are more beautiful than the flowers of the field.” We tremble with fear for our well-being, health, and life. But He says, “Do not be afraid; My Kingdom belongs to you.”

Speaking to the disciples about the Kingdom, Jesus describes it above all as a new life opened to those who seek it. But it can be found only in the case of absolute openness on one's own part. To live the life of the Kingdom, one must renounce one's own life. Not one's life-space as such, not that flow of life which the Bible calls the soul, but the attempt to appropriate this space and this flow for oneself, to regard it as one's inalienable property, belonging to oneself by right.

In the Kingdom everything is different. There life is shared. One life for all. It is not owned; it is given for use. And the measure of this use is limited by nothing except the spiritual potential of the person himself. As much of the life of the Kingdom as he can contain, that much he will receive. But it does not become anyone's own in the sense in which we are accustomed to use that word with reference to property relations in our world.

The life of the Kingdom is yours insofar as you can live by this life. And therefore Jesus advises surrendering oneself to the flow of the life of the Kingdom. Enter it like a river. And move together with it. Without trying, as people say today, to fix anything in place. Without trying to evaluate one's own states, achievements, or failures. Without clinging to anything that attracts and holds a person in this world. And certainly without trying to fit the life of the Kingdom into religious frameworks: the new life cannot be kneaded on either Pharisaic or Sadducean leaven. The Kingdom does not fit into any human frameworks, but it does fit into the human heart. If, of course, it becomes the person's chief treasure. For where the treasure is, there is the heart.