Sermon for Proper 8B
Judy
Dear Friends,
This Sunday’s sermon is entitled “Share What You Have” or “Reach Out and Touch” and deals with Jesus and life. Here it is:
Good morning. Once again we have really thought-provoking Bible lessons, but this time they meddle, because each of them is talking about a subject we’d really like to say is our personal business- i.e. nobody’s business but our own. Paul sums up what these lessons are about in the epistle when he says: “It is only fair for you to share with others when you have so much and they have so little” (2nd Corinthians 8:13b-14). That’s the Christianity-rubber-hits-the-road topic: sharing. Our Bible lessons teach about five important aspects of sharing for us to use as we walk with our Lord through life. Then our thought for the week tells one important reason why we share: “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” (Norman MacFinan).
Let’s look at the Old Testament lesson from Exodus (15:7-11). As you can see, the topic is loans, but its basic teaching is about lending a helping hand. Moses, speaking for God, tells his people that they are to help those in need whenever they can, even if it is at their own disadvantage. Their society had a wonderful custom given to them by God. That’s where Jubilee comes from. Every Sabbath year of Sabbath years (7X7 years plus 1- due to how they counted), all property reverted to its original owner, all slaves were freed, every family had a second chance. What we heard Moses warning the Israelites about was to forget about which year it was if someone was in need. Just help them. If it is year one of seven years, you have six years to get your stuff back; if it is year six of seven years- you only have one year to get it back. Don’t think about yourself- think about the person in need and help them, even if you yourself end up getting shortchanged. How many friendships have been wrecked, how many relationships have been destroyed, how much violence has been done because someone couldn’t (not wouldn’t- couldn’t) pay back a debt. That’s hard teaching, because the message to us is “Forget about yourself and concentrate on the needy person and help him or her.” If you get your stuff back- fine. If not (and it’s not their fault)- forgive.
The Psalm reminds us that what goes around comes around- good as well as bad. Do you want blessings? Well then- be a blessing to others. Did you hear the story of the little girl who went to the doctor’s office with her mother? She was usually absolutely awful in the waiting room, but this time she was wonderful- even when she had to be left alone while her mother went in to see the doctor. The receptionist was so impressed that she offered the child some candy from her candy jar, but the little girl dropped her eyes and looked shy, so the receptionist just took a handful and gave it to her. As soon as they were outside, her mother couldn’t stand it any longer- since she knew her daughter was NOT shy. “Why didn’t you get your own candy?” she asked. “Oh, that’s easy,” said her daughter. “The receptionist has bigger hands!” That receptionist’s hands may be big and therefore able to hold more goodies, but God’s hands are infinitely bigger and they can hold an amazing amount of blessings. We don’t give to be blessed, but when we give- blessings just seem to find us.
In today’s epistle, we hear Paul trying to get his church in Corinth to share. What you need to know is that the Jerusalem church was in serious difficulty because there was a famine in that part of the world. People were starving. Paul did his best to get the other churches to send money to the Jerusalem church to relieve their desperate food needs. The problem was- most of the Christians in the Jerusalem church were Jews, and many of the Christians in Paul’s churches were gentiles. You already know that Jews discriminated against gentiles, so you can only imagine what people said when Paul told them to send some of their hard-earned cash to help those Jews, but Paul didn’t back down. The lesson for us: don’t worry about if you like the person in need; don’t even worry about if they are your enemy- in Jesus’ name, help them.
Today’s gospel shows Jesus in the act of sharing- reaching out to those in need, not with money- but with himself. First he starts to Jairus’ house to heal his daughter. Part way there, he feels a woman touch him- and you know the rest of the story. He stops and has a rather lengthy discussion with her to be sure she is healed and whole, then goes on to Jairus’ house. The lesson for us- those distractions; don’t we hate them! We just start one task when the phone rings or someone calls our name. We stop to help them and while we are still doing it- someone rings the doorbell. What did Jesus do? He went with the flow. He handled the interruptions as they came, without anger- but with compassion. Easy? NO, but who ever said following Jesus would be easy? It seems I remember something about a cross.
Listening to these lessons, it sounds like we should help everyone who comes to us, but that’s not what the Bible teaches. Paul faced a problem in his Thessalonian church that speaks to this. Members in this church were sure that Jesus was coming back soon, like maybe today or tomorrow, so some of them didn’t see any need to work. They quit their jobs and just sponged food from their hard-working Christian sisters and brothers who had maintained their jobs. When Paul found out about it, he wrote that under circumstances like these when someone was just being lazy and not using the gifts God had given them, he gave them this rule: “If you don't work, you don't eat” (2nd Thessalonians 3:10). The lesson for us- don’t let people misuse your goodness, or you will just enable and weaken them. Help those who need it, but use good judgment. (Some people would call it “Tough Love.”) and don’t let people con you.
In closing, I’m going to tell you a personal story, something that really happened to me, so you can learn from my mistake. It’s a warning about how important it is to reach out, share of yourself, even if we’re talking about a huge interruption. Shortly after I was ordained, I was doing a hospital call at St. Mary’s. Along with the person I was seeing from St. Paul’s, there was also an out-of-town woman who had asked to see an Episcopal priest. I was still teaching full time then, and I was really tired when I finished seeing the St. Paul’s person, so I went to the nursing station to see how the out-of-town woman was doing. (These were the old days when I could find out.) The nurse said she was doing fine and would probably be going home in a day or two, so I decided I would just drag my tired self home to my recliner and TV set- I could go back the next day. Well, the next day I went up to the floor, but couldn’t find the lady. When I asked at the desk, the nurse said, “Oh, she died last night.” Lesson for me? You bet- it changed my priesthood. Never again! I’ve learned to listen to those Holy Spirit whispers.
May God bless you as you share from your abundance with those in need. Amen.
For anyone who is interested, this sermon and updated African-American wisdom statements are posted on our parish’s web site under “Sermons & Stuff”. The address is: http://www.stpaulsepisag.org .
Blessed preaching,
Judy Boli
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Saginaw, Michigan