Harmony #64: Choosing Between Two Masters (Luke 12:13-21, 33-34; Matthew 6:19-21, 24)

Then someone from the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But Jesus said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator between you two?” Then he said to them, “Watch out and guard yourself from all types of greed, because one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. ”He then told them a parable:[1]

“The land of a certain rich man produced an abundant crop, so he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, “You have plenty of goods stored up for many years; relax, eat, drink, celebrate!

“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded back from you, but who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ So it is with the one who stores up riches for himself, but is not rich toward God.[2]

“Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide yourselves purses that do not wear out—a treasure in heaven that never decreases, where no thief approaches to break in and steal, and no moth or rust destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”[3]

* * * * *

 The Bible has a lot to say about money.

• Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables Jesus told deal with money and possessions.

• 10% of the Gospels deal directly with the subject of money.

• The Bible has 500+ verses on prayer and 500 - verses on faith, but 2,000+ verses on money and possessions. There are a LOT more sections addressing poverty/the poor.

So, let’s talk about how to see and use money through the lenses of Scripture.

1. The Money We Have Is From God’s Provision

“Every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and has given him power to use it, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.”  But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 18:17-18)

2. We Are Stewards

David praised the Lord in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, Lord, the God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.  Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.

Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and give strength to all.  Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand… Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. (1 Chronicles 29: 10-16)

3. Money’s Has The Potential To be Destructive

• Mark 10:24 - “How hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!”

• Matthew 13:22 - “…the love of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word of God, and he becomes unfruitful.”

• 1 Timothy 6:10 - “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith…"

• Hebrews 13:5 - “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have…”

• Ecclesiastes 5:10 “Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.”[4]

Christian singer Steve Taylor wrote a song called Cash Cow. It’s a strange mini rock opera, to be sure, but you don’t hear many popular Christian songs calling out the danger of money. Here’s a taste.

It was a morning just like any other morning ...in the Sinai Desert ...1200 B.C. It glistened, it glowed, it rose from the gold of the children of Israel (and most of the adults): The Cash Cow.

The golden Cash Cow had a body like the great cows of ancient Egypt and a face like the face of Robert Tilton[5] (without the horns). And through the centuries it has roamed the earth like a ravenous bovine seeking whom it may lick. 

From the Valley of the Shadow of the Outlet Mall to the customized pet-wear boutique; from the trailer of the fry chef to the palace of the sheik, the Cash Cow lurks.

Who loves you, baby? Who'll give you good credit? Who says you'll regret it? "I was young and I needed the money." "I had money, and I needed more money." "I was filthy rich--all I wanted was love. And a little more money..."

Woe to you, proud mortal, secure in your modest digs. You think you're immune? I, too, was hypnotized by those big cow eyes the last time I uttered those three little words, "I deserve better!"

What are the warning signs, that money is becoming a problem? I like Tim Keller’s list.

You can’t give large amounts of it away. You get scared if you might have less than you’re accustomed to having.  You see people who are doing better than you, even though you might have worked harder or might be a better person, and it gets under your skin. And when that happens, you have one foot in the trap. Because then it’s no longer just a tool; it’s the scorecard. It’s your essence, your identity. No matter how much money you have, though it’s not intrinsically evil, it has incredible power to keep you from God.  – Tim Keller

4. Money Has Great Potential For Good

“Now, my brothers, we must tell you about the grace that God had given to the Macedonian churches. Somehow, in most difficult circumstances, their joy and the fact of being down to their last penny[6] themselves produced a magnificent concern for other people. I can guarantee that they were willing to give to the limit of their means, yes and beyond their means, without the slightest urging from me or anyone else.

In fact they simply begged us to accept their gift of supporting their brothers in Christ. Nor was their gift, as I must confess I had expected, a mere cash payment. Instead they made a complete dedication of themselves first to the Lord and then to us, as God’s appointed ministers.

 I don’t want you to read this as an order. It is only my suggestion, prompted by what I have seen in others of eagerness to help, and here is a way to prove the reality of your love. Do you remember the generous grace of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all? He was rich beyond our telling, yet he generously became poor for your sakes so that his poverty might make you rich." (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

When we realize that others are in need, and we have the resources to alleviate that need, we should generously and joyfully do so. It is a sign of the reality of our love for God and others. God does not prosper us so we can indulge ourselves. God prospers us so we can extend the gift of generous grace to others.

“All the believers were one in heart and mind.  No one claimed that any of his possessions were all his own, but they shared everything they had...it was distributed to anyone as he had need.”  (Acts 4:32-35)[7]

This is not government-mandated communism or socialism; this is Holy Spirit inspired, voluntary communalism. This is the financial implication of covenant community. We are part of a community that needs our contribution from the blessing God has given us. That could manifest in many ways, but here we see one clear and practical way: take care of each other’s physical needs.[8] The early Church Fathers were uncomfortably blunt on this issue.

• Didache (100s) “Share everything with your brother. Do not say, “It is private property.” If you share what is everlasting, you should be that much more willing to share things which do not last.”

• Irenaeus (130-200) “Instead of the tithes which the law commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor. And he said to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, and to be givers and sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who take away our possessions.”

• John Chrysostom (300s) “Not to enable the poor to share in our goods is to steal from them and deprive them of life. The goods we possess are not ours but theirs.”

• Basil the Great (300s) “The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry man; the coat hanging in your closet belongs to the man who needs it; the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the man who has no shoes; the money which you put into the bank belongs to the poor. You do wrong to everyone you could help but fail to help.”

• Ambrose (300s) wrote, “The things which we cannot take with us are not ours. Only virtue will be our companion when we die…The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns which last forever... You are not making a gift of your possession to the poor person. You are handing over to him what is his.”

5. Generosity is meant to be an act of worship, not a legalistic transaction followed by angry, begrudging givers. We will either worship wealth, or worship with our wealth.  Here’s how to worship with our wealth.

 “The important thing is to be willing to give as much as we can—that is what God accepts, and no one is asked to give what he has not got. Of course, I don’t mean that others should be relieved to an extent that leaves you in distress. It is a matter of share and share alike….

At present your plenty should supply their need, and then at some future date their plenty may supply your need. In that way we share with each other, as the scripture says, ‘He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack’…

Let everyone give as his heart tells him, neither grudgingly nor under compulsion, for God loves people who give cheerfully. After all, God can give you everything that you need, so that you may always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people. As the scripture says: “He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.”

The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving, and your gifts, administered through us, will mean that many will thank God. For your giving does not end in meeting the wants of your fellow-Christians. It also results in an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God.

Moreover, your very giving proves the reality of your faith, and that means that people thank God that you practice the Gospel that you profess to believe in, as well as for the actual gifts you make to them and to others. And yet further, people will pray for you and feel drawn to you because you have obviously received a generous measure of the grace of God. Thank God, then, for his indescribable generosity to you!” (Excerpts from 2 Corinthians 8-9)

6. In giving back to God, we reorient our hearts.

The NT does not mandate a tithe amount. Along with its many encouragements to be generous, it says this about the heart of the giver:

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

God’s not interested in a legalistic approach to generosity. Setting a number like 10% too easy; it lets us avoid our hearts. I suspect that God wants to use our relationship with our money like a fire in our lives (to use imagery from last week.  Do I think of what I have as mine, or am I a steward of what is God’s? Is my money merely for me and my family, or have I been given a resource that has communal obligations attached to it?  What does it look like to simultaneously be responsible for myself and my family while trusting God that I can be generous in ways that might even make me financially uncomfortable at times?  What should bring me greater joy: watching my retirement account grow, or watching my financially desperate brother and sister have their needs met?

“I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. If our giving habits do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we want to do but cannot do because our giving expenditures exclude them.” – C.S. Lewis

This, I think, is where our hearts get exposed. We love the stories of followers of Jesus who were radically generous with their money, trusting God to take care of them. We know it’s admirable. It’s just….really, really hard to think of doing that ourselves.

But God does a fiery work of purification through our love of generosity and kindness. There is something soul-transformative in giving. It frees us from the power of money, and it frees us to celebrate how God’s provision for His people (as a group) helps us to take care of each other.

I think we learn something about the heart of God, who is lavishly generous to us, when we are generous to others. Some ideas for generosity:

• the church (for our spiritual mission and our benevolence fund)

• your neighbor (Who is your neighbor? Everybody.)

• missionaries/missions organization (His House, VidaNet, Esperanza, Sal, Heather and Mila Sanchez, the Ducrozet family)

• organizations that work with those in need (locally, think Goodwill Inn, Father Fred, Single MOMM, Thrive, Freedom Farm and Affirm Ministries, Peace Ranch, Touching Hearts, Thomas Judd)

It doesn’t have to be much compared to others around you. We all have different amounts of resources. But being generous is part of God’s good plan to bless His people, both the giver and the receiver. 

___________________________________________________________________

[1] This parable has a parallel in Ben Sirach 11:18–19: “One becomes rich through diligence and self-denial, and the reward allotted to him is this: when he says, ‘I have found rest, and now I shall feast on my goods!’ he does not know how long it will be until he leaves them to others and dies.” (NIV First Century Study Bible)

[2]  Scripture warns against merely storing grain when others were hungry (Pr 11:26).

[3] The Testament of Judah 19:1 (second century b.c.) reads, “My children, love of money leads to idolatry, because once they are led astray by money, they designate as gods those who are not gods. It makes anyone who has it go out of his mind.”

[4] Proverbs 11:28 - “He that trusts in his riches will fall…”

Psalms 62:10 - “If riches increase, don’t set your heart upon them.”

Luke 18: 24-25  Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

Hebrews 13:5-6  “Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have because He has said, “I will never leave you; I will always be by your side.” 6 Because of this promise, we may boldly say, “The Lord is my help - I won’t be afraid of anything. How can anyone harm me?”

[5] A prosperity gospel televangelist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Tilton

[6] Deuteronomy 15:11 There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.

[7] Perhaps they were taking their cue from Proverbs: One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. People curse the one who hoards grain, but they pray God’s blessing on the one who is willing to sell. (Proverbs 11:24-26)

[8] “The Dead Sea Scrolls community also tried to live simple lives, and they were critical of wealth. Josephus claimed not one member of the sect had greater wealth or possessions than another. Upon joining the community, a person’s possessions were handed over to the leaders and became communal property.” (NIV First Century Study Bible)

Harmony #59: Loving Your Neighbor: The Good Samaritan (Luke10:25-37)

This passage continues the theme of the presence of the kingdom:

• the sending of the seventy (“The Kingdom is coming.”) (10:1-16)

• the announcement of Satan’s fall (10:17-20)

• praise for God’s revelation in the Son incarnated (10:21-24)

The question that prompts the Parable of the Good Samaritan is a teacher of the Law basically asking, “How do I participate in this Kingdom?”[1] Before we get into the story, let’s set the background for why it matters that the hero of the parable is a Samaritan.

Samaritans and Jews had notoriously bad relations. The following Jewish texts give just a few examples.

• Sirach 50:25-26: “Two nations my soul detests, and the third is not even a people: Those who live in Seir, and the Philistines, and the foolish people that live in Shechem (Samaria).”

• Testament of Levi 7.2: “Shechem shall be called ‘City of the Senseless,’ because as one might scoff at a fool, so we scoffed at them.”

• Rabbi Eliezer used to say: “He that eats the bread of the Samaritans is like to one that eats the flesh of swine.”[2]

Their intense disliked played out in practical ways.

• At the time of Antiochus Epiphanes (2nd century BC), the Samaritans denied being related to the Jews and renamed their temple a temple of Zeus to avoid persecution.[3]

• Josephus records that at one point Jewish people destroyed the city with the temple down to rubble. Meanwhile, the Samaritans desecrated the Jerusalem Temple by scattering bones in it one night during Passover (shortly before 9 A.D. which would have been close to the Jesus, as a 12-year-old, was hanging out at the temple as recorded in Luke 2).

This brings us to the text.

Now an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”

The expert answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as if your neighbor were yourself.” Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” But the expert, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him up, and went off, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road, but when he saw the injured man he passed by on the other side.

So too a Levite, when he came up to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan who was traveling came to where the injured man was, and when he saw him, he felt compassion for him. He went up to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them.

Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever else you spend, I will repay you when I come back this way.’

“Which of these three do you think became a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” The expert in religious law said, “The one who showed mercy to him.” So Jesus said to him, “Go and do the same.”

Let’s talk about the Priest and Levite first.

At the time of Jesus' ministry in Palestine, Roman military occupation was causing breakdown in local law enforcement. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notoriously dangerous, with robbers often setting set ambushes for people travelling the road. Finding a dude beaten near to death and robbed meant bandits were close by. The first two men might have hurried on because they thought the guy was already dead and they feared being attacked. They may have thought the whole thing was a trap, like Loki’s “Get help!” in Thor:Ragnarok.

Also, priests were prohibited from having contact with corpses except those of close relatives,[4]and this exception was not allowed to the high priest[5] or a Nazarite.[6] Since you could be defiled just by being in contaminated air, the rabbis established a ‘six feet of distance minimum’ rule.[7]

I can imagine the early audience nodding along at this point. Of course. These were holy men. They couldn’t afford to get defiled; if it was a potential trap, they were just being wise.

However…. Let’s say the Priest and Levite thought he was dead. Jewish people were commanded to bury a neglected corpse, as were priests and Nazarites.

Second, for most Jews, saving a life was far more important than ritual uncleanness. Whether the priest and the Levite thought he was dead or alive is unclear, but in either case they had the obligation to help, either to bury the corpse despite defilement or to assist the man in need.[8]

So, now maybe think of Jesus’ audience nodding along: “Yep. This is a “real world” tension on that road. We understand their fear and desire for purity, but they really should have stopped.” Of all people, the teacher of the law should have been tracking.[9]

But…let’s add another layer. The Jewish people thought of their responsibilities as a series of concentric circles: family first, then those of Jewish descent, then those not ancestrally Jewish who followed the Law and lived in Jewish community. The closer one was to the center, the more one deserved help. To those outside – Gentiles, foreigners, strangers - there was no obligation. But…. a debate raged about these lines.[10] Some people loved the lines; others didn’t.

• Tobit: “Place your bread on the grave of the righteous, but give none to sinners.”

• “Give to the devout, but do not help the sinner. Do good to the humble, but do not give to the ungodly…”

• Rabbi Nathan: “If he acts as thy people do, thou shalt love him; but if not, thou shalt not love him.”

However, some of the Jewish people thought those lines were a bad idea:

• Josephus, Contra Apionem: “He who refuses to a suppliant the aid which he has power to give is accountable to justice.”

• Testament of Issachar: “I acted in piety and truth all my days. The Lord I loved with all my strength; likewise, I loved every human being as I love my children.”

• There was a popular story of rabbi Bar Kappara helping a shipwrecked Roman proconsul by taking him home and giving him food, drink, and money.[11]

So here we are in the tension again. The lawyer’s question implies that there is such a thing as a non-neighbor. Traditionally, “neighbor” would refer to a fellow Jew, so his viewpoint is not that unusual. But there were plenty of Jewish people who pushed back on that notion and believed there were no non-neighbors.[12] 

This is a profoundly weighty question. Jesus is not going to settle them with his answer; he’s going to unsettle them. Let’s see if we can join them J

* * * * *

1. With the parable, Jesus’ audience surely remembered Leviticus 19:33-34.

“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Love does not permit us to merely love those who are “our kind.” No one is a non-neighbor. Disciples of Jesus should refuse to stop expanding the circle that defines “neighbor” and instead continue drawing bigger circles until they surround everyone, even their enemies, and the line becomes pointless. It’s hard – it might feel like carrying a cross - but no alternative is allowed for followers of Jesus.[13]

2. When we truly experience the love of the truly Good Samaritan (Jesus), we will “go and do likewise” (Luke 10:37). We love our enemies because Jesus loved us first. We offer merciful help to those who are troubled – i.e. everyone - because Jesus showed us mercy first. The word used in the original Greek means the Samaritan had “pity from the deepest part of the soul.” The original Greek says that the Samaritan showed the kind of care that is “shown by parents and nurses to children.”

Do you want to have the heart of the Good Samaritan as you interact with others? Get to know the heart of the Ultimate Good Samaritan: Jesus found us; saved us; washed us in the baptism of water, the Holy Spirit, and the Blood of Jesus; and set us in the ‘inn’ of a local church congregation for ongoing ministry and safety.[14] Let’s go and do likewise  by imitating the heart of God for others.

3. Jesus does not specify the identity of the victim. This establishes what some call “the universal neighborhood of mankind.” Even if someone is not a brother or sister in Christ, they are a neighbor to whom we should show love and mercy. The Samaritan treated the wounds with oil and wine he could have sold or used for himself. He may have torn up his own clothes to bind the wounds. He walks, and put the man on his donkey. I think this is what the now hotly debated “He gets us” foot-washing commercial was trying to convey – the “universal neighborhood of mankind” as described and lived by Jesus. Maybe they should have done this quick parable instead. This idea is now copyrighted J

4. If the Good Samaritan is a model for us, so is the innkeeper.  The Good Samaritan helped in the moment; the innkeeper helped long term. Maybe think of the inn as either church life in general or a long-term relationship we have with someone who has been beaten up evil, sin, or just life. We have no idea what followed in the parable: how long it took for the man to recover; whether there were more bills to pay; if the man ever did recover.[15] Turns out there are two merciful people in this story,[16] and where to draw the line on extending mercy and generosity remains open-ended at the end of the parable.[17]

5. I wonder who the controversial hero and anonymous victim would be in the United States today? They would have to be someone from a people group who scares or angers us; a group whose worship we think is terribly misguided; a group with whom the Christian community may have a combative history; a group we cannot envision God ever using in a meaningful way; a group in which we think people have no idea how to do good. Then, we would have to change the Levite and priest to respected members of our church or community or political party. Adam Clarke, say more!

“Remember, this kindness is for any person, of whatever nation, religion, or kindred, whom he finds in necessity. [The language] signifies one who is near, [or] next, [which]makes any person our neighbor whom we know; and, if in distress, an object of our most compassionate regards. If a man came from the most distant part of the earth, the moment he is near you he has a claim upon your mercy and kindness, as you would have on his, were your dwelling-place transferred to his native country…. Any person whom you know, who dwells hard by, or who passes near you, is your neighbor while within your reach.”(Adam Clarke)

The possibilities for new Samaritans and victims are nearly endless, but the characters need to shock us as much as it did Jesus’ audience. Remember, Jesus said to the teacher, “Do this and live (the life of the Kingdom),” implying that Samaritan was doing just that. Jesus chose someone they assumed was sooooo far from God and demonstrated that person understood the Law better than they did, and thus lived more in tune with the heart of God. So for us, maybe this story is (hat tip to Tyler Watson for this list)…

The Parable of the Good Atheist. The Good Religious Right Christian. The Parable Good Progressive Christian. The Good Drug Addict. The Good Oil Tycoon. The Good Homeless Man. The Good NRA Member. The Good Black Lives Matter Activist. The Good Blue Lives Matter Advocate. The Good Communist. The Good Capitalist. The Good Undocumented Immigrant. The Good Border Patrol Officer. The Good Joe Biden Voter. The Good Donald Trump Supporter.

Find the one that makes you the most uncomfortable, and you’ll know you’re on the right track.[18]

Or….maybe that’s the list of victims on the side of the road. Maybe that’s all the people who, when they are in distress, all that matters is their distress. We are a church in the evangelical tradition, so let’s call this the Parable of the Good Evangelical. When we see those battered and bruised by life, do we ask if they deserve our help? Do we need to know if they are they Christian or Atheist, Religious Right or Left, Citizen or non-citizen, rich or poor, activist on the Right or Left, Communist or Capitalist, Biden or Trump supporter? Why would it matter?

“Love should not be limited by its object; its extent and quality are in the control of its subject.”[19]

When we can bring practical healing and introduce people to the Great Physician, we should do it. When we can bring practical hope and offer Gospel hope, we should bring them. When we can lead people to a place where they can find practical and spiritual rest, we should do that. And in all of this, we demonstrate the heart of Jesus in order to point to Jesus.

6. After the parable, Jesus asks his own question: Which of these was a neighbor?  “Who is my neighbor?” is not the right question. The right question is, “Am I a good neighbor?” Being a good neighbor is now a moral goal for us, not a label for others. We should stop asking whom we must care for and just care for people. We should be State Farm.[20] Jesus didn’t close with, “Now think differently;” he said, “Go and do likewise.” The more merciful we are in tangible ways, the more we know we are moving toward that goal.

7. The parable, like most of Scripture, is concerned with identity. The teacher asks Jesus, “What do I have to do?” Jesus basically responds, “What kind of person are you?”

This is not a question of mere belief, but of what we are, particularly in relation to God and what motivates us and controls our being. Who we are cannot be separated from what we do. Or life with God in Christ is intended to be a relation of love that establishes an identity that we live out in our families and communities (1 John 4:10-11). The ‘doing’ that follows ‘being’ is not about earning salvation; it’s about being who we already are in Christ. [21]

 
_____________________________________________________________________________________

[1] Stories with Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables of Jesus, by Klyne R. Snodgrass

[2] Stories with Intent, by Klyne R. Snodgrass

[3] Heyoh! I didn’t realize this last week when I floated the idea that, when the 70 went to Samaritan territory and cast out demons, “I saw Satan fall from heaven” might have referred to Zeus and Olympus.

[4] Leviticus 21:1-4; 22:4-7; Ezekiel 44:25-27

[5] Leviticus 21:11

[6] Numbers 6:6-12

[7] Interesting side note about this distance. During the bubonic plague in the 1300s, when Catholic churches were closed, the priests would administer mass to parishioners by going door-to-door, handing the elements to them on a six-foot pole. Today, when we worry about spreading airborne disease (like Covid), the recommended distance to keep is still six feet. #fortrivianight

[8] Stories with Intent, by Klyne R. Snodgrass

[9] My discussion so far is built on the insights from “The Foolish Samaritan,” by Frances Coppola. 

[10] The early church would continue to teach all-encompassing mercy:

·  Didache 1:2: “The Way of Life is this: First, thou shalt love the God who made thee, secondly, thy neighbour as thyself. . . .”

·  Barnabus 19:2, 5: “Thou shalt love thy maker. . . . Thou shalt love thy neighbour more than thy own life.”

[11] Stories with Intent, by Klyne R. Snodgrass

[12] Thanks to “Going Deeper in the Parable of the Good Samaritan,” by Michelle Barnewall for an insightful foundation on which I built.

[13] Stories with Intent, by Klyne R. Snodgrass

[14] “The bandages, oil, and wine are sacramental images for (1) the garment of baptism, which delivers us from the wounds of sin; (2) the oil of chrismation, which gives us new life in the Holy Spirit; and (3) the communion of the divine Blood, which leads to eternal life…the inn reveals the Church in which Christ's care is received.” (Orthodox Study Bible) This was the primary view of the Early Church Fathers.

[15] “The Parable Of The Good Samaritan’s Deeper Meaning,” by Candice Lucey

[16] “The Foolish Samaritan,” by Frances Coppola 

[17] Which, I suspect, led to a LOT of conversation afterward.

[18] Rereading the Parable of the Good Samaritan, by Tyler Watson

[19] Expositor’s Bible Commentary

[20] “Every one… to whom the circumstances analogous to the instance of the Samaritan direct thee to exercise helpful love in order thereby to become his neighbour, thou hast to regard as thy neighbour.” (Myer’s New Testament Commentary)

[21] I am summarizing some marvelous thoughts from Rereading the Parable of the Good Samaritan, by Tyler Watson.

Harmony #24: Choosing A Master (Matthew 6:19–34; Luke 12:22-34)

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body.[1] If your eyes are healthy (generous? sincere?), your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy (stingy?), your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness![2] 24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.[3]

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?

31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the nations run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. Luke 12:32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness[4], and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Heads up: I want to unsettle us this morning like Jesus unsettled his original audience. What he is offering here is an extended look at the connection between money, worry, and trust. Let me explain some of the imagery first, then we are going to try to let the weight and importance of what he said get into our souls.

THE EYE IMAGERY

The Jewish community used “good eye” to describe people who were morally sound, and often associated it with generosity:

'He who has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor' (Proverbs 22:9).

Sirach, a Jewish book of ethical teachings written about 200 years before Jesus was born, declares: 

Evil is the man with a grudging eye; he averts his face and disregards people. A greedy man's eye is not satisfied with a portion, and mean injustice withers the soul. A stingy man's eye begrudges bread, and it is lacking at his table.  (Sir 14:8–10)

The book of Tobit (which is included in the Catholic and Orthodox Bible), written a little before Sirach, notes this:

Give alms from your possessions to all who live uprightly, and do not let your eye begrudge the gift when you make it.. If you have many possessions, make your gift from them in proportion; if few, do not be afraid to give according to the little you have. So you will be laying up a good treasure for yourself against the day of necessity. For charity delivers from death and keeps you from entering the darkness; and for all who practice it charity is an excellent offering in the presence of the Most High. (Tobit 4:7–11)

Jesus is using imagery his audience understood. If the eye is healthy, it shows that someone is sincere, generous and helpful. When the eye turns bad, the person is stingy and envious, even to the point of wishing that the wealth of others be destroyed.[5]

After that image, Jesus describes those two contrasting kinds of people as serving two masters. In the final paragraph we read, note that all the sources of worry could be solved financially (food, water, clothes).

All this leads me to believe our Sermon on the Mount portion today is specifically about trusting God over our money and with our money. Though the application can be expanded, I want to keep our focus narrow this morning on how wealth competes with Jesus for our loyalty and trust.

Jesus is putting it on the line.. Either money will matter the most and you will let it order your life, or God will matter the most and you will let God order your life. You will live for one or the other. You will fix your eye on one or the other. Where your treasure is, there your heart will be. This isn’t the only time Jesus made this connection.

17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’”  

20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth.” 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. 

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed[6] at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:17-25)

The issue is not that the man has money. Plenty of other people with whom Jesus interacted had money, and he didn’t call them on it. He’s calling out something in the ruler that was deeply attached to his money.

·      Was he wealthy because he wasn’t generous?

·      Did he find his security in his money?

·      Was it a point of pride?

·      Was he building trust in himself rather than in God?

The text doesn’t say. We just know that he was seriously committed to following God, but he had a huge blind spot that was keeping him from following God like he thought he was. Lest we think he was an outlier, the disciples immediate response is telling:

And they were exceedingly astonished (“dumbfounded to the point of emotionally ‘shutting down’), saying among themselves, "Then who is able to be saved?" (Mark 10:26)

It hit a nerve. Prosperity was often linked to God’s blessing in the Jewish community; now Jesus is warning that, if you aren’t careful,  prosperity might be the very thing that hinders you from fully following God. Jesus told a parable that riffs on a similar theme.

“Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man brought forth plentifully; 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns, and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; take your ease, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you; and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21)

Jesus is not forbidding successful farming. He is calling out the pride that comes with arrogant self-reliance and the lack of generosity in the farmer’s heart. And as he points out in the end, what does it matter if you gain the world and lose your soul? [7]

Here’s where I note that Jesus never said that wealth itself is inherently evil, or that financial planning reveals a lack of trust. Money, wealth, and possessions have purposes in Scripture. The Bible: 

·      requires people to provide for relatives if they are capable (1Timothy 5:8)

·      commends work and provision for the future (Proverbs 6:6-8),

·      encourages us to enjoy the good things that God has given us (1 Timothy 4:3-4; 6:17)[8]

·      cautions not to hoard riches in the last days (James 5:2-3), which suggests it is a good thing to have accumulated resources to share.

·      Commands generosity to those who are in need, and that generosity comes from resources.[9]

Wealth is a tremendous gift if used properly, and a terrible master if not. Paul combines the upside and downside of wealth in his letter to Timothy:

“As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17–19)

You know I like Adam Clarke’s commentary. Here’s an example of why that is so:

“A heart designed for God and eternity is terribly degraded by being fixed on those things which are subject to corruption. "But may we not lay up treasure innocently?" Yes. First, if you can do it without setting your heart on it, which is almost impossible; second, if there be neither widows nor orphans, destitute nor distressed persons in the place where you live. 

"But there is a portion which belongs to my children; shall I distribute that among the poor?" If it belongs to your children, it is not yours, and therefore you have no right to dispose of it.  

"But I have a certain sum in stock, shall I take that and divide it among the poor?" By no means; for, by doing so, you would put it out of your power to do good after the present division: keep your principal, and devote, if you possibly can spare it, the product to the poor; and thus you shall have the continual ability to do good. In the mean time take care not to shut up your bowels of compassion against a brother in distress; if you do, the love of God cannot dwell in you.” (Adam Clarke)

I suspect God’s work of freeing us from the tyranny of the love of money – and freeing us from all the worries associated with it - is deeply intertwined with practicing generosity.  I want to bring this together by looking at what Paul wrote the church in Corinth about generosity.

2 Corinthians 8:1-9

 “Now, my brothers, we must tell you about the grace that God had given to the Macedonian churches. Somehow, in most difficult circumstances, their joy and the fact of being down to their last penny themselves produced a magnificent concern for other people. I can guarantee that they were willing to give to the limit of their means, yes and beyond their means, without the slightest urging from me or anyone else…     

 Now this had made us ask Titus… to complete his task by arranging for you too to share in this grace of generosity. Already you excel in every good quality—you have faith, you can express that faith in words; you have knowledge, enthusiasm and your love for us. Could you not add this grace to your virtues?  

     I don’t want you to read this as an order. It is only my suggestion, prompted by what I have seen in others of eagerness to help, and here is a way to prove the reality of your love. Do you remember the generous grace of Jesus Christ, the Lord of us all? He was rich beyond our telling, yet he generously became poor for your sakes so that his poverty might make you rich." (2 Corinthians 8:1-9)

The Corinthian church had going for it: faith, knowledge, diligent obedience, and agape love. Awesome! But there is a virtue missing from this list: generosity.  A couple things stand out in this portion of Paul’s letter.

The Macedonians gave as much as they were able  - and beyond.

The Macedonians could have said, "Don't talk to us about the problems in Jerusalem. We’ve got our own problems." Paul says that their lack of resources became a motivation for giving. They determined what they could comfortably contribute - and then went beyond this figure.  Basil (329-379), bishop of Caesarea, preached a blunt sermon on Jesus’s parable of the Rich Fool. In it he said,

“The bread that you hold back belongs to the hungry. The coat that you guard in a chest belongs to the naked. The shoes that you have left wasting away belong to the shoeless. The silver that you have buried in the ground belongs to the needy. In these and other ways you have wronged all those you were able to provide for.”[10]

1500 years later, Charles Spurgeon (1800s) received an invitation to preach at his rural church as a fundraiser to pay off some church debt. The man who contacted him told Spurgeon that he could use one of the man’s three homes (he had one in the country, the town, and by the sea). Spurgeon wrote back, "Sell one of the places and pay the debt yourself."

When we realize that others are in need, and we have the resources to alleviate that need, the Bible states that we should generously and joyfully do so. It is a sign that the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives.

Of course, it will cost something. David wrote in Psalms, “I will not give God sacrifices that cost me nothing.” The story is told of a man who was giving money for a good cause, and he said to a friend, “I think I can give $100 and not feel it.”  His friend said, “Why not give $200 and feel it?”

It’s a daunting challenge, but one that God uses for our good.

2. They gave entirely on their own, by a free choice.

They were not pressured into giving. Paul did not use guilt to motivate them.  It was gratitude in response to the grace of God. The actual amount is not mentioned. That’s because it wasn’t about the amount; it was about the heart. They didn’t even wait until they had a lot to give God; they gave from what they had. God is good with that approach.

“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”  (Mark 12:41-44) 

God cares about motives more than amount. God does not want you to be generous out of fear or because you are concerned about what people will think. You can’t buy favor with God, and you shouldn’t try to buy favor with others. These Macedonians gave because their hearts were moved by the generous grace of God through Jesus, and wanted to pass it on in a practical way.

Did you know that Paul never commands Christians to tithe? It is not a New Testament teaching. The tithe functioned much like a tax on the Jewish people (as much as 20% tithe some years, and perhaps higher). There is no tax on the New Testament.

This does not mean our money is ours. The opposite is true. God is no longer laying claim to 10%; He is laying claim to all of it. We are stewards of what we have, not owners. 10% is too simple. It allows us to pay our tax to God and then do whatever we want with the rest. When we do that, we miss the point.

The question is no longer, “How much do I get to keep after I give God his tax?”  The question is, “How much am I able to give back into the service of the Kingdom of God?”

10% let’s us off the hook. There is no need to analyze the thoughts and intents of our heart, to see if money is an idol, to be honest about if we are greedy or if we have placed our trust in material things rather than God.

10% lets us avoid how we think about money in our souls.  Jesus constantly moved The Law inside. It’s not just, “Do you kill people or cheat on your spouse?”  It’s, “What do you desire in your heart? What do you want to have happen? What are you really thinking?” We are to give generously and voluntarily as we understand and are moved by the grace and generosity of God.

Here’s my challenge this week: re-examine your relationship with money in light of God’s Word. Examine your heart. This isn’t about whether you are rich or poor; it’s not about amounts; it’s not about how you are doing compared to your neighbor.

It’s about whether our money is a tool we use for God’s purposes or a master that controls us. It’s about checking where our trust, our hope, our assurance is grounded.

Then, consider what God’s call is in your life to commit to generosity. I’m not going to tell you what that is, because I don’t know your situation or how God will lead you. You get to wrestle with God about what responsible stewardship looks like as you balance responsibilities at home and responsibilities in the church and community.

But one thing I know, because the Bible makes it clear: there are treasures of the Kingdom waiting for those who can let go of the love of treasures on earth.

 _____________________________________________________________________________________

[1] “The good eye looks to God as its “master” (v. 24) and fills the person with the “light” of God’s will. The bad eye looks to “treasures on earth” (v. 19) and admits only the “darkness” of greed and self-interest. The person’s whole life will be determined by the kind of “light” the “eye” lets in.” (Reformation Study Bible)

[2] “The eye (similar to the “heart” in Jewish literature) is a lamp that reveals the quality of a person’s inner life. A healthy eye (clear vision) suggests loyal devotion to God. A bad eye (impaired vision) suggests moral corruption.” (ESV Global Study Bible)

[3] Materialism may be God’s greatest rival competing for the allegiance of human hearts, not the least because constantly striving to secure one’s life via possessions produces anxiety. (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[4] By definition includes sharing one’s surplus with fellow Christians who lack the basic necessities of life or the ability to acquire them. When God’s people worldwide do this, “all these things” (food, drink, clothing) will be given to them as well. This is not a promise that faithful believers will never starve to death, but there need never be any poor among them (Deut 15:4)” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)

[5] A contextualised reading of Matthew 6:22–23: 'Your eye is the lamp of your body.' Francois P. Viljoen. School for Biblical Science and Ancient Languages, North-West University, South Africa

http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0259-94222009000100023

[6] “Dumbfounded to the point of emotionally ‘shutting down.’” (HELPS Word Studies)

[7] His warning in Matthew 16:26?

[8] Expositors Bible Commentary

[9] See “Bible Verses About Generosity,” biblestudytools.com

[10] I found this anecdote in John Dickson’s Bullies And Saints.

Harmony #8: "Out With The Old, In With The New: Part 2" (John 2:13-22)

If we are like Jesus, zeal that our lives and our church become a holy space, “set aside” for God’s purposes, will consume us. So, what tangible Kingdom attributes should we be zealous to put in the courtyard of our church and our lives so that the church flourishes as God’s transforming presence is made manifest in our transformed lives?

Sweep out Stinginess and replace it with Generosity – giving to those in need[1]

• “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”  2 Corinthians 9:11

•  “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?”  1 John 3:17

• “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”  Hebrews 13:1

A generous community is a healthy community. The book of Acts records of the early church that “they sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” This was one of a number of things recorded in Acts that led to them “enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”[2]  Turns out generosity is a great witnessing tool. God’s people have a Great Commission: go everywhere, preaching the gospel and making disciples. Things like generosity cultivate the soil in which the seeds of the gospel will be planted. It helps to break up the hard ground in the hearts of souls of people.

Sweep out Harshness and replace it with Gentleness – keeping strength under control[3]

• Ephesians 4:1–3  “I… urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness...”

• 1 Timothy 6:11–12  “Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith.”

• 1 Peter 3:14–16  “Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

 Gentleness is not weakness. Gentle people are those with the ability to do harm who are careful not to do harm. You have to train dogs about the power of their own bite so they know how to be gentle. Kids have to learn it at an early age so siblings and pets don’t get hurt. Gentleness occurs when those who could hurt others, don’t.

• “I could say this and leave no tip and let that waiter know just how bad of an experience this was.” Be gentle.

• “I could gossip and throw him under the bus.” Be gentle.

• “I could take that past failure of my friend or spouse or parent or that person across the room right now and use it against them for a long, long time.” Be gentle.

Sweep out Self-indulgence and replace it with Self-control – not being ruled by our appetites[4]

• “Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”  1 Corinthians 9:24-27

• “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other. So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”  Galatians 5:13-16

God gave us appetites and the proper fulfillment of them. If we are hungry; there’s food. If we want companionship, there are people. If we want order, there’s organization. If we want family, there’s marriage and sex. If we want independence (or agency) and there’s free will. If we want to learn, there’s knowledge. Appetites (or desires) are not necessarily the problem. What these verses highlight are two ways appetites and desire can go wrong:

• They could knock us out of the race (compromise our witness)

• They could cause us to bite and devour others to get what we want

When things other then Jesus begin to order or control our lives, we will live in such a way that we will begin to bite and devour others to get what we want.

• Our desire for companionship becomes manipulative control of those around so we get all our needs met on our terms. Those around us become the sacrifice as we consume people to fill that void within us.

• Our desire for order becomes a coercive demanding that people and things be just like we like them all the time, with the attached message that those not as orderly are not just physically deficient, but probably morally deficient in some way. And when disorder strikes, those around us become the sacrifice as we lash out at those who messed up our world.

• Our desire for family becomes our desire for the perfect, ideal family, which becomes a fixation on everybody being perfect – well, everybody being what I want them to be. And when Billy doesn’t act or dress just right, or your spouse falls short…look out. They are about to become the sacrifice.

• Our desire for agency becomes an excuse for indulgence and rebellion at all authority. “Nobody can tell me what to do.” Anytime there is a sense that we might be responsible to something or someone bigger than ourselves we reject it, because nobody is bigger than ourselves. When this happens, community gets sacrificed – and that includes the relationships with the people in it.

 The opposite of being ruled by our desires is self-control, which is surrendering our desires to God’s desires. “Serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[5] This Paul calls “walking in the Spirit.” We talk about living a Spirit-led life, one in which the gifts and the fruit build up the body of Christ and serve as a witness to God’s transformative power at work in us. What does this look like? Serving one another in love. 

Sweep out Self-Sufficiency and replace it with Prayer,[6] pouring out our soul to the Lord (Hannah, in 1 Samuel 1:15)

• “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. “  Matthew 26:41

•  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Philippians 4:6

I don’t know if ‘self-sufficiency’ is the best word, but here’s what I’m getting at: Prayer reminds us that we need help. We are not good at being autonomous. We lack the ability to be righteous and holy on our own. We thrive in the service of a King who is ‘far beyond what we ask or think,’[7] and without this King reigning in our lives, we’re in trouble (as are the people around us).

• We resist temptation, but we also recognize the need for Holy Spirit power in that resistance, and we ask for and remind ourselves of that through prayer.

• If we think we can be good or righteous through our own will, we will either be proud (“I nailed it and all these losers around me haven’t figured it out yet”) or ashamed (“I am the loser. I just can’t get it right!”), so we pray for God’s power to bring about righteousness in us that we simply can’t do on our own.

• I realized a while ago I often said, “I’ve been thinking and praying about this,” and I wasn’t trying to be dishonest, but it turned out I was just thinking. Why? Because of course I could figure it out. I didn’t need God’s input. Ummmmm…

 Prayer is, among other things, a constant acknowledgment that I can’t do this by myself. It’s an act of surrender in which we take the ball and put it in God’s court – which is where it was always meant to be.

Sweep out “Right”ness and replace it with Righteousness – doing that which God would approve[8]

• “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God…”1 John 3:10.

• “Then Peter said: ‘In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation, whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.’” Acts 10:34-35.

I am defining “right”ness as, “But it’s my right!” But doing what we have the right to do can sometimes be very different from doing what is righteous. Paul as clear: even when things are permissible, they are not always beneficial.[9] I have the right to say almost anything I want here in our country, but not all of it would be righteous; so, as a child of God, I can’t exercise that right like others can, at least not in good conscience.  I have a right to hoard my money; I have a right to gamble it all away. I have a right to drive around town with offensive bumper stickers.  I have a right to go all kinds of places online.

But, as a follower of Jesus, my rights exist in service to the righteousness to which I am called. Righteousness is “right living” in the eyes of God, and living righteously is not just a necessary goal for the individual health of Christians, it’s an act of love for others. How can I love you well? Do what God tells me is the right thing to do.

Sweep out lords and replace them with servants – looking to serve rather than be served

• "Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins… As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." 1 Peter 4:8-10 

• Philippians 2:3  “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

• Luke 22:26-27   “Let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”

 So this comes back to the question of power. God gives us power in order to help us serve more effectively. In the corporate world, those with power are often those for whom others work. The more people you lead, the more people work for you, and the more important you are.

Not so in the church. The more people you lead, the more people you serve. The more power you have, the more you are called to be broken and spilled out for others, not them for you.

Sweep out unrighteous Judgment and replace it with Nurture – caring for those who are hurting or broken[10]

• Romans 14:19  “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

• 1 Thessalonians 5:14  “And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.”

• “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29

I’ve recently head the analogy of a garden to describe our lives. I like it.  Comparing people with plants and farms is good biblical territory. J So, what do we do if we want a garden to flourish? WE TAKE CARE OF IT. I don’t angrily pound plants into the ground because they have bugs on them. I don’t withhold water because I’m mad the beans aren’t a tall as they should be. I don't ignore weeds that are overwhelming my plants because I figure the plants should be dealing with their own problems. I fertilize, weed, prune, water, dust for bugs.  I take care of my garden because fruit follows nurture.

You want to see Holy Spirit fruit in your life? Nurture yourself in the Word, in prayer, surrounded by God’s people. You want to see fruit in the people around you? The Holy Spirit is doing Holy Spirit work, but we are on a co-mission with God. . Nurture them.

Sweep out Timidity and replace it with Boldness – fearlessly doing and saying what is righteous[11]

• 2 Corinthians 3:12  “Since we have such a hope, we are very bold.”

• 1 Thessalonians 2:2  “But thought we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi…we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict.”

• Philippians 1:14  “And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear.”

 Bold is not brash, pushy or obnoxious. It’s just confident and unashamed in spite of whatever difficulties result. And notice the passage from Philippians: because of my chains, most have become confident. Apparently, persecution clarifies for people that it is time to go big or go home.

Church: we need to ‘go big’ all the time. By that I mean unashamed confidence ought to characterize our lives.  Some of you get the opportunity sitting around a dinner table or a family reunion; for some of you, it’s every day at work. Some of you might take it to a larger scale. Wherever we are, unashamed confidence ought to characterize our lives.  We are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ; it is the power of God unto salvation.[12]

Help us, Lord, to play our part in this church becoming increasingly a holy community of love, truth, prayer, worship, repentance, forgiveness, justice and mercy – a place for people of all neighborhoods and nations, a place where the grace of Jesus’ saving atonement is central, a place where God’s name is honored in our words and actions and God’s presence is experienced as transformative, saving, and healing. May zeal for the integrity of your house, guided by your Word and empowered by the Holy Spirit, consume us.[13]

____________________________________________________________________________________

[1]  “Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered.”  Proverbs 21:13

“Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.”  Proverbs 28:27

 “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.”  Luke 6:30

[2] Acts 2:42-47

[3] 2 Timothy 2:24–25  “And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness.”  

Titus 3:1-2  “Remind them to be in subjection to rulers and to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, not to be contentious, to be gentle, showing all humility toward all men.”

[4] “Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.”  Proverbs 16:32

“Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.”  Proverbs 25:2

[5] Galatians 5:13

[6] “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

[7] Ephesians 3:20

[8] “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3.

“If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him.” 1 John 2:29.

[9] 1 Corinthians 6:12

[10] James 2:14-17   “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

[11] Proverbs 28:1  “The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are like a lion.”

[12] Romans 1:16

[13] Colin Smith, https://openthebible.org/sermon/zeal-for-gods-house/

Patterns of Gracious Love (1 John 3: 11-18)

John just finished writing about practicing righteousness rather than sin. He moves right into this.  

11 The central truth—the one you have heard since the beginning of your faith—is that we must love one another. 12 Please do not act like Cain, who was of the evil one. He brutally murdered his own brother. Why would he do something so despicable? Because his life was devoted to evil and selfishness, and his brother chose to do what is right. 

This is like saying to us, “Please don’t be like Charles Manson.” To John, murdering a biological family member is on par with not loving a spiritual family member. He’s building on Jesus’ teaching that one who kills and one who hates have the same heart in the eyes of God.[1] So whatever follows is going to be a big deal. The stakes are high.

13 Brothers and sisters, don’t be shocked if the corrupt world despises you.[2] 14 We know that we have crossed over from death to real life because we are devoted to true love for our brothers and sisters. Anyone who does not love abides in death (“lives among corpses”). 

John compares those who don’t love to someone who lives in a cemetery. This would have been unimaginably impure to John’s Jewish audience (and probably creepy to his Gentile readers). Living without love is like living among the dead. So unloving people are 0-2 here: they are like murderers of family who hang out with their dead victims. 

15 Everyone who hates other members of God’s family is a murderer. Does a murderer possess the eternal, beautiful life that never ends? No. 16 We know what true love looks like because of Jesus. He gave His life for us, and He calls us to give our lives for our brothers and sisters. 

Rather than taking life (like Cain), love gives its life. Rather than living in places of death, love lives in and points toward the beautiful life that never ends. Once again, note the language of murder. John does not want us to take this lightly.

17 If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need,[3] is it even possible that God’s love lives in him? 18 My little children, don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.

One could have read up to the last paragraph and thought, “I have not killed anyone and don’t hang out with dead people. I think I’m good.” John basically says, “Are you, though?” And he gives one example that hits close to home: our pocketbook. Lest this seem abruptly out of place, John is just highlighting a topic that Jesus highlighted.[4] Jesus talked about money more than he talked about heaven and hell. 1/3 of the parables are about money. The only topic he talked more about was the Kingdom of Heaven.  

Straight up: this is going to be an uncomfortable sermon about money. It’s going to make you uncomfortable like it has me, but that’s John’s fault. I encourage you to table all the excuses you are going to think of and just let the core teaching settle in. Then come to Message+ and we can unpack the nuance that ought to follow. 

John says if we don’t want to live like murderers – his analogy not mine – we must love of neighbor with “the kinds of things we need to make it in the world.” This is another way of saying “livelihood,” the material objects that sustain life: food, clothing, and shelter.[5]  Giving sacrificially for the needy around us is ‘righteous practice’ for laying down our lives in honor of what Jesus did for us. In fact, what we do with our money might reveal just to what extent we actually would be willing to sacrifice for them – or for God. 

“Here is a test of this love; if we do not divide our bread with the hungry, we certainly would not lay down our life for him. Whatever love we may pretend to mankind, if we are not charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to our profession. If we have not bowels of compassion, we have not the love of God in us; if we shut up our bowels against the poor, we shut Christ out of our hearts, and ourselves out of heaven.”  (Adam Clarke)

I want to (briefly) walk you through how this has played out in church history just so you can see how seriously followers of Jesus have taken this, and then talk about what it looks like for us today.  

• The early church practiced this kind of love right away was through agape feasts or "love feasts."[6] The meal provided an opportunity for congregations to give practical expression to their love through action (Acts 6:1 - 6; 1 Corinthians 11).[7] It was usually hosted by someone wealthy who provided food for all. Sharing material goods replaced possessing the goods as a value for Christians.[8] Possessions weren’t wrong; they just understood that God expected generous stewardship of what He gave. We are not our own;[9] neither is our stuff.  

• The Shepherd of Hermas (100 to 150 AD), a popular book in the early church, states that the wealthy should “assist widows, visit orphans and the poor, ransom God’s servants, show hospitality, help oppressed debtors in their need… the Master made you rich for this purpose that you might perform these ministries for him.”[10]

• Ignatius of Antioch (died in 108 AD) characterized heretics not in a theological sense but a practical one: they “have no regard for love; no care for the widow, or the orphan, or the oppressed; of the bond, or of the free; of the hungry, or of the thirsty.”

• By around 1100 or so, Canon Law (church law) had developed guidelines for giving alms: “the quality of the beggar[11], the capacity of the donor. . . the reason for the demand, . . .[and] the quantity being requested.”[12] This allows some ‘outs’ that aren’t necessarily spelled out in the Bible, but I there is an argument that stewardship includes not only sacrificial generosity but wise generosity.

• The Catholic Church became a societal hub of charity by the Middle Ages. While they encouraged helping people personally, over time charity became largely channeled through the church, who gave that money to the needy.

• With that much money, there was bound to be problems (giving counted as an indulgence; money intended for the poor made the clerics wealthy rather than helping the poor). Martin Luther, as part of his Reformation, wanted to reform the corruption that crept into that process.[13] He began the movement of shifting the care of the poor to the government,[14] which he thought was better suited to distribute it.

 So, followers of Jesus were taking this seriously. There were some problems because greed crept in, because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.[15] But it was a central focus in the life of the church. 

This brings us to the first attempt to create an Acts-style community in the history of what we now call the United States. This is my last (and longest) example. 

John Winthrop was with the Massachusetts Bay Company, part of a group that established a Puritan community in New England. Winthrop was the governor for nearly twenty years. His 1630 speech, "A Model of Christian Charity"[16] provides a record of how Puritans (who wanted to “purify” the Church of England) sought to form bonds of Christian community in line with what the Bible has to say about doing life together such that they would fulfill the biblical mandate to be a light in a dark world. 

"A Model of Christian Charity" became one of the most well-known Puritan works ever printed. Over time it became thought of as sort of a prophecy because of its famous line about MBC being “a city on a hill,”[17] which has, for 350 years, been applied to the potential for America.

However, Winthrop’s ‘city on a hill’ was not a national vision. He wasn’t thinking of making a nation. He was thinking of a church-based community united by Christ’s love expressed in taking care of each other financially. It’s what the entire speech is about; it’s why the charter was drawn up. I can’t stress the enough: the entire premise is that when Christians take care of each other financially, they will be the city on the hill that shines the light of God’s Kingdom into a dark world. 

Now, John Winthrop was just a dude, so don’t hear what follows as sacred Scripture. He built on Scripture, which is good but not the same. I just want us to hear how, in our very specific history in the United States, people we admire as godly founders thought to build communities that made Christ and his Kingdom compelling. 

THE PRINCIPLES

• First, Winthrop assumed there would be rich and poor (as the book of Acts assumes), and Winthrop thought that was fine.[18] His emphasis was not on equality of living but on communal[19] living, with the wealthiest and most prosperous members of society freely giving to the poorest members. 

• Second, Winthrop points out that the interests of God must come before any person's interests, and God's instructions are clear: "If thy brother be in want and thou canst help him, thou needst not make doubt of what thou shouldst do; if thou lovest God thou must help him… We must love brotherly without dissimulation, we must love one another with a pure heart fervently. We must bear one another's burdens. We must not look only on our own things, but also on the things of our brethren.” 

• Third, individual households are intrinsically connected in Christian community: "It is a true rule that particular estates cannot [be maintained] in the ruin of the public." In other words, individual households might prosper more than others, but the community cannot prosper if there are individual households that fall into ruin. Think of the body analogy in 1 Corinthians 12. 

• Fourth, he describes the structure of the church in the book of Acts, where "44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2) As with a body, each individual part serves the whole.  The members of the community are united toward a common goal—serving God—and therefore should work to support and protect God’s family.

THE PRACTICAL

• First, a person is responsible to make provision for one's family and the future, but the overriding principle is: "if thou lovest God thou must help [thy brother]."

• Second, charity consists of providing money and material goods to others who need them. Material things "are subject to the moth, the rust, the thief," and therefore should not be held in excess of what one needs for one's own self and family. 

• Third, charity can be exhibited by forgiving a debt that is owed. When a person can repay, it’s just business, not charity. When approached by people who can’t or probably won’t repay a loan, Christians should simply give the person whatever he can afford instead of lending it. 

• Fourth, charity can be shown by offering love to others without expecting anything in return. Just as a truly loving mother gives love without any expectation of receiving something in return, so must a Christian freely dispense love and mercy to other Christians in need. 

• Fifth, the amount of help given should be regulated only by one's own most basic needs. Under normal circumstances, people should give away whatever they do not reasonably need.[20] Clearly, giving up all of one's wealth is not required,[21] but Winthrop encourages Christians, especially in times of emergency, to help "beyond our ability rather than tempt God in putting [others in need of] help by miraculous or extraordinary means." Winthrop refers to this as a "duty of mercy." 

Winthrop believed that if the MBC could do this, “we shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eyes of all people are upon us; so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken, and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be a by-word through the world." 

In his own diary, Winthrop reported the frustrations and failures. "As the people increased, so sin abounded." By the late 1600s, the material success of MBC had killed the dream. Too many people wanted the city upon a hill to be just another mercantile colony. What was left was just the shell of Winthrop's model.[22] In other words, though we love his vision of the United States as “the city on a hill,” Winthrop himself was convinced it collapsed long before there were states to unite because people loved money more that God.

And yet, his speech and his vision have remained, and I think rightly so. There is something compelling about this kind of community. Why? Because it’s a community model taken from the Bible. Winthrop quoted our text today in his speech: 

“ If a person owns the kinds of things we need to make it in the world but refuses to share with those in need, is it even possible that God’s love lives in him? Don’t just talk about love as an idea or a theory. Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.”

______________________________

So, what’s the big takeaway here from John’s text and the way in which the church has tried to live out this reality? What’s the practical implication for our lives? 

•  Those who love God love others.

• Self-sacrificially loving people do self-sacrificially loving things. 

• We practice dying for others by dying to self and living for others. 

• Let’s start with our money, which Jesus and the writers of Scripture seem to emphasize as kind of a barometer for how much we are actually ready to sacrifice for others. If we get this one right, the rest of the sacrifices will probably fall into place.   

I’m not saying you have to give more here at CLG. This is not a sermon to guilty you into raising your tithe (though we will never complain if you do J). If you want to give to the Benevolence Fund here, we will distribute it within our church family as we see needs arise. However, you don’t need us as a mediator. Odds are good you know someone who needs financial help. Or that you know someone who would be encouraged by a gift card or an anonymous donation. I encourage you to think locally first, then think more broadly. Practice showing love by being generous. 

“Make it your true way of life, and live in the pattern of gracious love.”

__________________________________________________________

[1] Matthew 5:21-22

[2] “This was a lesson to the Church, preparatory to martyrdom. Expect neither justice nor mercy from the men who are enemies of God.”  (Adam Clarke)

[3] Let’s get this out of the way. Are there boundaries to this command? Yes. But don’t worry: there are plenty of opportunities that remain J “IF A MAN WILL NOT WORK, HE SHALL NOT EAT” (3:10)….The Greek text makes clear that Paul is not speaking about the inability to work but rather the refusal to work (the text literally reads: “If someone does not want to work...”). While the church must continue to care for those who genuinely need help (3:13, “never tire of doing what is right”), it must not tolerate those who are unwilling to work. The Didache, an early Christian manual of instruction, makes the same point in its teaching on how to deal with visitors “who come in the name of the Lord”: “If the [visitor] who comes… wishes to settle among you and is a craftsman, let him work for his living. But if he is not a craftsman, decide according to your own judgment how he shall live among you as a Christian, yet without being idle. But if he does not wish to cooperate in this way [i.e., to work], then he is trading on Christ. Beware of such people.” (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Of The New Testament)

[4] “ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?” (James 2:15) In some Jewish traditions, withholding goods from someone in need made you complicit in starving them.  Also, this from Jesus: 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth…20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven...21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, (fixed on good treasure –the things of God) your whole body will be full of the light of God’s will. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy (greedy or envious for things they see), your whole body will be full of the darkness of greed and self-interest.[4] If then the ‘light’ within you is darkness, how great is that darkness![4]  (Matthew 6:19-23

[5] The Bible has plenty to say on how we should treat the poor among us:

 “Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will protect them from those who malign them.” (Psalm 12:5) “I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy.” (Psalm 140:12) “Whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.” (Proverbs 14:31) “If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. ... Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.” (Deuteronomy 15:7–8, 10)

[6] 1 Corinthians 11 links it with a celebration of the Lord's Supper, but it eventually became something done separately.  Jude warns about protecting it: “ These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead.”  (Jude 12)

[7] New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology

[8] https://openbookreligion.org/read/early-christians-speak/section/22728118-08ad-470e-8705-276290e2f001

[9] 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

[10]https://place.asburyseminary.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1074&context=firstfruitspapers

[11] Probably based on biblical passages like this: 

·      Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!  It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard?  When will you get up from your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a thief and scarcity like an armed man. (Proverbs 6:6-11)

·      For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.” 

·      “We hear that some among you are idle and disruptive. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. And as for you, brothers and sisters, never tire of doing what is good.”  (2 Thessalonians 3:7-13)

[12] https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1040&context=dhp

[13] See the addendum at the end.

[14] Some see this as the beginning of what has turned into the ‘welfare state.’

[15] 1 Timothy 6:10

[16] Read the whole thing here, in all of its confusing1600s English language glory:https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Model_of_Christian_Charity

[17] JFK used that line in 1961, and Reagan quoted the "city upon a hill" passage as part of his Presidential inaugural speech in 1981 and is on record saying it at least 30 times as President.

[18] A Model of Christian Charity" begins with the following proclamation regarding inequality in human society: “God Almighty in His most holy and wise providence, hath so disposed of the condition of mankind, as in all times some must be rich, some poor, some high and eminent in power and dignity; others mean and in submission.”

[19] Not the same as communism, in which the government forces economic equality. In communalism (see the book of Acts) individuals voluntarily take care of each other from their abundance. 

[20] As for saving wealth to be prepared for disaster or tragedy. Winthrop argues that a man who gives will be taken care of by God, and that all those he helps will stand as witnesses of his generosity and mercy when his day of judgment arrives. In addition, Winthrop notes that physical objects of wealth "are subject to the moth, the rust, the thief," and that they can cause a person's heart to lose sight of the true treasure of serving God.

[21] "There is a time when a Christian must sell all and give to the poor, as they did in the Apostles' times." But, he is clear, not all the time.

[22] All my information on Winthrop is from https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/educational-magazines/model-christian-charity