Tawa Baptist

Faith, Healing & Miracles

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 12:9-10a

Video Link: https://youtu.be/XLsvppBdCtQ

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 5 Oct 2025 – Faith, Healing & Miracles by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The gift of faith
  • The power of faith
  • The obedience of faith
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Three weeks ago we began a new sermon series on spiritual gifts. Spiritual gifts are like tools, given by God to help the church. We need a variety of different tools because not every job is the same. A hammer is good for driving in nails but you need a screwdriver to work with screws.

Steve, the clock maker, in the TV show The Repair Shop, sometimes uses tools handed down to him from his grandfather. More than once, I’ve heard him say how working with these tools is like holding his grandfather’s hand.

Working with the gifts of the Spirit is a bit like holding the hand of God our heavenly Father. It is not something to be afraid of. It is a warm connection.

In First Corinthians 12, Paul lists nine spiritual gifts. Paul’s list is not exhaustive; it is an ad hoc sample. There are any number of ways in which the Holy Spirit equips the church. Today we continue our series on spiritual gifts by focusing on the gifts of faith, healing and miraculous powers. From First Corinthians 12, verse 7 we read…

7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers…

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Three weeks ago, we heard about the gifts of wisdom and words of knowledge. Our primary focus this morning is the gift of faith. However, it is difficult to talk about faith without also including the gifts of healing and miraculous powers. These three go together; they feed and nourish each other.

The gift of faith:

Let us begin then with the gift of faith. What is faith? Well, at its heart Christian faith is the capacity to trust in Jesus. For example, trust in Jesus’ righteousness. Trust in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Trust in Jesus to provide for our needs. Trust in Jesus to justify us.

Faith for Christians is like rope for a mountain climber. Just as a climber trusts their rope to hold them, so too we trust Jesus to keep us from falling.

Or faith is like an oxygen tank for a scuba diver. Faith in Jesus keeps us alive when we are overwhelmed and feel like we are going under.

Faith might also be compared to a key. Faith unlocks the door to peace and it locks the door against fear and anxiety.  

Okay, so that is faith in a basic sense, but is that what the apostle Paul means by the gift of faith? Most people agree Paul has something more in mind here than basic faith in Jesus. The gift of faith refers to industrial sized faith.

To paraphrase one commentator, the gift of faith is a heroic belief in the supernatural, an unshakeable inner assurance that God can overcome any difficulty. [1]

The faith to move mountains, not just climb them. The faith to part the sea, not just swim underwater. The faith to mend broken relationships and end wars, not just calm our personal angst.   

Or to put it in more poetic terms: ‘Faith is the bird that knows the dawn and sings while it is still dark’. [2] This is the kind of faith that steadfastly believes God can make good things happen, even when there is no evidence to support belief.  

In Luke 7 we read about the faith of a Roman Centurion. This army officer had a servant who was gravely ill and about to die, so the Centurion sent messengers asking for Jesus to come and heal his servant. From verse 6 we read…

Jesus was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Apparently, the Centurion had the gift of faith. This Roman army officer had a heroic belief in the supernatural, an unshakeable inner assurance that Jesus can overcome any difficulty. The Centurion knew the dawn was coming with Jesus and his faith sang while it was still dark.

George Müller was another man who had the gift of faith. George lived in England during the 19th Century. He cared for more than 10,000 orphans throughout his lifetime and provided Christian education to more than 120,000.

According to Wikipedia, Müller never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God.

If the orphans had a need, Müller prayed in faith that God would provide and God did provide. On one occasion, thanks was given for breakfast when the pantry was empty. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with enough fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them fresh milk because his cart had broken down in front of the orphanage.

In his diary entry for 12 February 1842, George Müller wrote: “A brother in the Lord came to me this morning and, gave me two thousand pounds for furnishing the new Orphan House … Now I am able to meet all of the expenses. The Lord not only gives as much as is absolutely necessary for his work, but he gives abundantly. This blessing filled me with inexplicable delight.”

George Müller had the gift of faith. What we notice here is that faith produces more faith, and delight. Faith is like a seed; even a little can bear far more fruit than one expects or imagines.

The power of faith:

Okay, so the gift of faith is something more than the basic faith needed for salvation. The gift of faith acts as a channel or a vessel for the power and provision of God.

If we think of the power of God like water, then the gift of faith is like a fire hose which carries and directs the water of God’s Spirit.

Or if we think of the power of God like wind, then the gift of faith is like the sail which catches the wind of God’s Spirit moving us where God wills.     

The gifts of healing and miraculous works are practical expressions of God’s power. What then does Paul mean by the gifts of healing and miracles?

Well, healing is just what it sounds like, the restoration of good health for body, mind, soul and spirit.

In the ancient world, people did not have the medical knowledge that we have. There were no anti-biotics, no immunotherapy and no ultra-sounds. They did not have much in the way of painkillers either. Therefore, the sort of healing in view in Corinthians 12 is most likely the kind that comes by divine intervention.  

That said, we would not want to exclude medical science. Advances in medical research are one of the ways God continues to heal people today. We don’t have to choose between faith and science.

We accept what medical science has to offer and we pray for God to heal at the same time. Sometimes God heals using science, sometimes he heals by supernatural means and often by a combination of both.  

Miraculous powers cover a broad variety of supernatural phenomena.

Like when Jesus walked on water or turned water into wine or cast out evil spirits or multiplied the loaves and fishes. Or when Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake on the Island of Malta and suffered no ill effects. Or when Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead.

With each of these demonstrations of miraculous power, God is glorified. Indeed, that seems to be the point of miracles, to make people more acutely aware of the presence and goodness of God. Miracles have the power to inspire faith; to support people to believe in Jesus.       

When I was about 14, I started to experience problems with my back. There were times when I could not move without spasms of pain shooting through my body. We were living on the DPB (a social welfare benefit) at the time so no money for doctors or physios.

We had recently become Christians, so my mum asked for someone to come and pray for me. When the faith healer came, they found me lying still, flat on my back on the floor, the only position that gave any sort of relief.

As this person prayed for me, my surroundings faded out of focus and I felt like I was floating upwards into a different realm. I won’t try to explain what happened while I was out of my body. Some things are just between me and God.

After a while, I’m not sure how long, I became aware I was floating down again. I have never felt so relaxed, so at peace. When I came to my senses once more, the pain in my back was gone. I had been healed, supernaturally I believe.

I tell you about my experience for a number of reasons. Firstly, to show that God still works in miraculous ways today. But also to illustrate the faith connection. You see, it was not so much my faith which channelled the healing, it was the faith of others; in particular the faith of my mother and the person who prayed for me.

I was not against being prayed for, but by the same token, I was not in a position to get up and walk away either. I was like the paralysed man who was healed by Jesus after being lowered through the roof of a house by his friends. It was the friends’ faith which Jesus noticed.

Returning to the healing story in Luke 7; it was not the faith of the servant that channelled God’s healing power. It was the faith of the Centurion and the faith of Jesus.     

Now for the sake of perspective, it needs to be acknowledged that as painful and debilitating and frustrating as a sore back can be, there are worse things that can happen to you. Indeed, I have endured much worse.

So you might wonder, why did God heal my back? Why not tackle the bigger stuff? Why does the Lord of the universe not intervene in a miraculous way to end the suffering in Gaza or Ukraine or domestic violence in New Zealand?

Well, God has intervened to save the world in the person of his Son, Jesus.

The day is coming when Jesus will return in glory and God’s kingdom will be realised in its fullness on earth.

As we read in Revelation 21: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

That is the Christian hope. In the meantime, we wait in the in-between. And as we wait, every now and then, by God’s grace, we catch a glimpse of heaven, as I did. The healing of my back may seem small and inconsequential, but we should not despise small things. We thank God for whatever grace we receive.  

Now in talking about the relationship between faith and miracles we need to be careful. Many of us here have ridden the roller coaster of praying earnestly for someone, believing wholeheartedly that God could and would heal them, only to feel disappointed when our prayers appeared to make no difference.  

I am not suggesting that all unanswered prayer is due to a lack of faith. Sometimes it might be, but not necessarily.

If the wind of God’s Spirit is not blowing, then raising the sail of faith is not going to make much difference. Or if the water tap of God’s Spirit is turned off, then the hose of faith cannot put out the fire.

C.S. Lewis once said, ‘Miracles are for beginners.’

A baby needs milk, but as the child grows the parent weans the child off breast milk and introduces solid food. It’s similar with the Lord. When we are young in the faith, God may give us special experiences of himself. But as we grow, God sometimes says ‘no’, to our requests. God wants us to learn to trust him, not the miracles.

There is a sequel to my back healing story. For 24 years my back was fine.

But then, around the age of 38, the trouble with my back returned. It started again when I was preparing a sermon series on the suffering of Job. 

This time I did not receive supernatural healing for my back. These days I manage my back pain through a combination of better posture, targeted exercises and going to the chiropractor.

I am thankful for God’s gift of miraculous healing when I was 14. The memory of that experience is precious to me. It nourishes my faith still. But I am also thankful that God says ‘no’ to me sometimes. God’s ‘no’ is still a gift, just in a different form. I have learned to take better care of my body, and I have gained a quantum of understanding for others who live with far worse pain.

We need to remember, God is free not to intervene in miraculous ways if he chooses. And God’s choice may have nothing to do with how good or bad we are or how much faith we have.

God is not a puppet with strings we can pull to get what we want. He is not a genie in a bottle that we can release by faith to get our three wishes. Yes, God cares for us, but ultimately, we are his servants, we live for him.

In many ways, it takes more faith to live with powerlessness and vulnerability, than it does to perform miracles.

Even the apostle Paul (who had far greater faith than most people) lived with unanswered prayer. In Second Corinthians 12, Paul talks about his ‘thorn in the flesh’. From verse 8 we read…

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me… For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The point is: healing and miraculous powers are not the proof of faith. Obedience to Jesus is the proof of faith.

If faith is the root, then obedience is the fruit. Or if faith is the sail that catches the wind of God’s Spirit, then obedience is the rudder which steers the ship in the right direction. Or if faith is the hose that channels the water of God’s Spirit, then obedience is using the hose to fight the fire.

The obedience of faith:

Sometimes God gives people the faith to move mountains, and as thrilling as that might be, what really matters to the Lord is our obedience.

In Matthew 7 Jesus talks about the obedience of faith, saying:   

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

With Christian faith, the question is not: how many miracles can I perform?

The question is always: what does God want me to do? We know what God wants us to do. He wants us to love him, love our neighbour and love ourselves.

Maybe God wants you to show kindness to that irritating person at work or school. Maybe God wants you to listen more or learn patience. Maybe God wants you to forgive your neighbour for dumping their rubbish in your backyard. Maybe he wants you to do something quite ordinary but at the same time socially risky, like owning up to the fact that you go to church on Sundays.

Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly. Ordinary acts of obedience matter more to the Lord than performing spectacular miracles. 

When we think of about the obedience of faith, Noah comes to mind.

God asked Noah to build a huge boat because an unprecedented flood was coming. It took Noah and his sons literally decades to build it.

You can imagine what the neighbours thought. Sniggering behind Noah’s back, “There’s that crazy Noah again. Wish he would give the hammering a rest. Might have to call noise control, again.”       

It would have been much easier and less humiliating for Noah if God miraculously made the ark appear overnight. But God did not do that.

Noah had to build the boat himself by hand. Noah’s obedience of faith was the manual labour of a lifetime.

No one had more faith than Jesus. No one performed more miracles than Jesus. No one was more righteous than Jesus. No one had a closer relationship with God the Father than Jesus. And yet God did not always give Jesus what he asked for.

In the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus prayed: Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.

God did not take away the cup of suffering from Jesus, but Jesus still obeyed God in faith. Jesus had the faith to embrace the powerlessness of death on a cross. Through Jesus’ obedience of faith, we are made right with God.

And for his part, God did not abandon Jesus to the grave. God raised Jesus to eternal life on the third day.

Conclusion:

This morning we have talked about the gift of faith, the power of faith and the obedience of faith.

Faith in Jesus is how we relate with God. Faith in Jesus is how we channel the miraculous, healing power of God. And faith in Jesus is how we obey God.

May the Holy Spirit strengthen our faith as we wait for the dawn of the new day. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What is Christian faith, at its heart? What does Paul mean by the gift of faith? How is the gift of faith different from basic faith? 
  3. Can you think of times in your own life when God has gifted you with faith? What happened?
  4. Discuss / reflect on the relationship between faith and miraculous powers. 
  5. Have you witnessed or experienced the gifts of healing and miraculous powers? If so, how? What happened?
  6. Discuss / reflect on the relationship between faith and obedience. Why is obedience necessary to faith?
  7. Has God ever said ‘no’ to you, even when you asked in faith? How did you feel at the time? Looking back, why do you think God said ‘no’ to you? 

[1] Refer Moffatt’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 181.

[2] Quoted in David Prior’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, page 204.

Tawa Baptist

Hope Deferred

Scriptures: Proverbs 13:12

Video Link: https://youtu.be/C-GvzmIqEsA

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Hope deferred
  • Longing fulfilled
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our sermon series in the book of Proverbs. Proverbs offers practical down to earth wisdom based on how the world operates. Whenever we read Proverbs, or any Biblical text for that matter, we need to be thinking, ‘How does this point to Jesus?’ ‘How does Jesus fulfil this wisdom?’

The focus of our message this week is Proverbs 13, verse 12, which reads…

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Hope deferred:

As with most of the proverbial sayings, there are two contrasting halves to this verse which give it a nice symmetry. Essentially though, this proverb is talking about one thing: the psychological effect of hope. ‘Longing’ is just another way of talking about hope in this context.

Deferred hope has a negative psychological impact on a person, but hope fulfilled has a positive psychological effect.

When hope is delayed by a long period of time or taken away altogether, it makes the heart sick.

You may remember from other sermons that the heart, in the Old Testament, usually refers to a person’s inner life. The heart is a metaphor for an individual’s mind, emotions and will.

When hope is deferred, a person’s thinking, feeling and motivation is negatively impacted, it is made sick. The greater the hope, the bigger the negative impact if that hope is not realized.

If you catch a bad flu, your body is made sick. You might experience aching joints and muscles. You might be shivering with cold one moment and sweating with fever the next. To say nothing of the headaches, sore throat, hacking cough, running nose and difficulty breathing.

The flu robs you of energy and impairs your physical functioning, so you cannot do all the things you are normally able to do.

It’s similar with hope. When hope is delayed for long periods of time, it impairs your psychological functioning, so you cannot handle daily life as well as you normally would. Even small difficulties, like being stuck in traffic, can seem overwhelming and put you in a spin.

Hope is the capacity to believe something good waits for you in the future. Hope sustains mental and emotional energy.  

Believing there is good in your future feeds your heart, your mind, your soul, your spirit so you have the psychological energy you need to get through and face the challenges that come with daily life.

The closer you come to realizing your hope, the greater the energy you feel. But, if someone moves the goal posts, if the finishing line is shifted and your hope is postponed, you become psychologically deflated.

All that emotional energy you were getting from hope drains away, like water in cupped hands. Take hope away and you take a person’s mental and emotional energy away.  

Let me give you an example to illustrate what we mean by the psychological impact of hope deferred…

Imagine you have been working away diligently for a whole year without taking a holiday. You have weekends off your regular job, but Saturdays and Sundays are pretty full doing household chores or running around after your family. Life is hectic and pressured.

After a hard year, carrying a heavy load at work and at home, you are tired and looking forward to some time away. In fact, you have had this holiday planned for months. A nice air b n b near the beach, just you and your family for ten whole days.      

Whenever the pressure comes on at work, whenever a client complains or the boss is unreasonable, you imagine swimming in the sea or building sandcastles with the kids. The very thought of the holiday gives you the energy to get through the daily grind with a smile on your face.

But then suddenly, just one week before you are due to go on leave, a cyclone passes over the country. There is flooding and slips and the access road to your air b n b by the beach is cut off. There is no way in or out for months.

Your dream of a relaxing holiday has been deferred. The hope you had been relying on to give you the emotional energy you needed to get through each day is gone. 

You are not even sure if you want to take your annual leave anymore. It’s too late to try and find another holiday place and if you stay home, you will end up painting the house or checking your work emails anyway. It feels like such a waste.      

Now, when a client complains about something, you reply with sarcasm. And when your boss asks you to stay late to get a project in on time, you drag your heels. What’s the point you think to yourself.

And when someone in your household doesn’t empty the dishwasher or leaves food on the bench to attract ants, you snap at each other. You just don’t have the energy to deal with minor irritations. Hope deferred makes the heart sick.

Typically, when we are young, our hopes tend to fly high. But as we grow through life, we face disappointment. Our heart is made sick when the people we trust let us down or when circumstance conspires against us. ‘The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’, as Shakespeare put it.  

With each disappointment we learn to lower our hope, to clip the wings of expectation and edit our dreams, so as to avoid the pain of more loss. The problem with this approach is that the less you hope for, the less mental and emotional energy you have. 

Secular wisdom would say, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Don’t commit all your hope to just one thing. Hedge your bets. Have a plan B in case plan A doesn’t work out. We can see the sense in that kind of reasoning, but how does this compare with the wisdom of Christ?

Part of Jesus’ message was: Don’t put all your hope in the temporary things of this world, put the larger portion of your hope in the eternal things of God’s kingdom.

The eternal things of God’s kingdom include righteousness, love, trust, generosity, kindness and so on. Jesus talked about storing up riches for yourself in heaven where rust and moth cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal.

It’s not that you shouldn’t plan a nice holiday or save for a house or find a life partner. We live in this world and we still need things to look forward to in this life, even if they are temporary things.

The point is: Eternal hope lends perspective. Eternal hope helps us to cope better with the disappointments we experience in this world.

If someone you counted on in this life lets you down (a friend or family member maybe), then that sucks. That hurts. It’s painful. But if you also have Jesus as your friend, as your ultimate hope, it’s not the end of the world. You are not alone.      

Longing fulfilled:

Okay, so we have been talking about hope deferred. What about when hope is realized? The second half of Proverbs 13, verse 12, says: a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

We heard about the tree of life last week, so we don’t need to rehearse all that again now. Suffice to say the tree of life, in Proverbs, is used as a metaphor for wisdom and wellbeing.

In the context of Proverbs 13, to say a longing fulfilled is a tree of life, is like saying, ‘it is good for you, psychologically, when your hope is realized’.

A longing fulfilled restores your mental and emotional energy. It gives you confidence and strength to cope with the vicissitudes of life. In fact, a longing fulfilled enlarges your capacity for hope.  

Earlier, I asked you to imagine looking forward to a well-earned holiday only to have your hope deferred by a cyclone. Well, it wouldn’t be fair to leave you in limbo like that so let’s pick up the story again.

By this stage, three days have passed since you heard the disappointing news that you cannot gain access to your air b n b by the beach. It is now two days before your leave is due to start. You are still deciding whether you will take the leave or work through like a martyr and take it out on everyone around you.

Then the phone rings. It’s a friend you knew from youth group days. Your friend lives in a different town to you now. Tauranga, as it happens. They are going to be away for the next two weeks and wondered if you would be interested in house sitting for them. “I know it’s last minute, but you would be doing us a huge favour”, your friend says.

You can’t quite believe what you are hearing. You quickly gather your thoughts. “Let me just check my diary… Yes, we could make that work. Happy to help.”   

After putting the phone down, you take a moment to reflect on the providence of God. You thank him for his goodness.

In an instant your hope is restored and your emotional energy returns. You take your family on holiday to the sunny Bay of Plenty, have a wonderful time and come home refreshed and ready to carry on. 

There’s a true story, of hope deferred and longing fulfilled, in the gospel of Luke. Luke chapter 8 reads…

40 Now when Jesus returned, a crowd welcomed him, for they were all expecting him. 41 Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came and fell at Jesus’ feet, pleading with him to come to his house 42 because his only daughter, a girl of about twelve, was dying.

Nothing threatens a parent’s hope like a seriously sick child. Jairus is longing for his little girl to live. All his eggs are in one basket. He has placed all his hope in Jesus.  

As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. 43 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years,but no one could heal her.

Talk about hope deferred. Here is a woman who has been on a roller coaster of disappointment for twelve long years. This woman has suffered terribly during this time. She may have experienced ongoing physical pain from her bleeding.

She would most likely have dangerously low iron levels, resulting in tiredness and diminished immunity. Which means doing daily tasks, like carrying water, cooking meals and so on would be much more demanding. Not only that but she would be more susceptible to illness and infection.

As if the physical trauma of her complaint was not bad enough, this woman would have been excluded from community life as well. If she wasn’t married, then she would have no chance of finding a husband and if she was married, she would not be able to get close to her husband or have children.

Under Old Testament law her bleeding made her ritually unclean so she would not be able to participate in worship. She was probably poor as well, having spent all her money on doctors who could not heal her.    

It was a pretty miserable existence for her. But despite twelve years of disappointment, the woman put what hope she had left in Jesus. 

44 She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped. 45 “Who touched me?” Jesus asked. When they all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the people are crowding and pressing against you.” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me; I know that power has gone out from me.”

The healing comes at a price. It is free to the woman, but it costs Jesus. Here we have a picture of God’s grace. Grace may be free but it’s not cheap.  

47 Then the woman, seeing that she could not go unnoticed, came trembling and fell at his feet. In the presence of all the people, she told why she had touched Jesus and how she had been instantly healed. 48 Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

We might wonder why Jesus calls this woman out so publicly. I mean, hasn’t she suffered enough humiliation and embarrassment. Wouldn’t it be more winsome for Jesus to use his discretion and say nothing.

Well, Jesus is not trying to embarrass her. To the contrary, Jesus wants to complete the woman’s healing. She has received physical healing by touching Jesus but what about the social and psychological healing she needs?

By inviting the woman to publicly confess the truth of her healing, Jesus is restoring her to the community.  Now, she can be included again. That’s social healing. And by affirming the woman for her faith, Jesus is giving her honour, dignity and respect. That’s psychological healing.

Perhaps Jesus is also helping the community think differently about women and about women’s health generally.  

The Lord has fulfilled the woman’s longing. Jesus has been a tree of life for her.

But spare a thought for Jairus, the father of the sick girl. Every passing minute must have felt like an age to him. The interruption and the slowness of the crowd is deferring his hope.     

49 While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. “Your daughter is dead,” he said. “Don’t bother the teacher anymore.” 50 Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.”

‘In the chilly hours and minutes of uncertainty, I want to be in the warm hold of your loving mind.’ (Donovan, Catch the Wind.)

Jairus is very much in the warm hold of Jesus’ loving mind in these minutes of uncertainty. The temptation here is for Jairus to abandon all hope, but Jesus calms Jairus’ fears and keeps his hope alive. Jesus encourages Jairus to believe something good is waiting in his future.

51 When Jesus arrived at the house of Jairus, he did not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John and James, and the child’s father and mother. 52 Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

53 They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!” 55 Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up. Then Jesus told them to give her something to eat. 56 Her parents were astonished, but he ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.

Jairus’ hope had been deferred but now the longing for his daughter’s life to be restored is fulfilled. Jesus is a tree of life to Jairus’ whole family.

These twin stories in Luke 8 serve as a pattern for us in our journey of faith with Jesus. We come to Jesus in hope that he will help us in some way. But Jesus does not always give us what we want at first. Sometimes we have to wait.

In the waiting, we are sifted and refined.

Last week, we heard how God prevented Adam and Eve access to the tree of life in the Garden of Eden. That is not how the story ends.

In John’s Revelation we read: To those who overcome, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. 

We need to maintain our hope in Jesus, for he is our tree of life. In Christ our deepest longings are fulfilled.

May the Lord heal your heart and fulfill your longing for him. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading these Scriptures and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What is hope? Why do we need hope?
  • Can you think of a time when your hope was deferred? What happened? What psychological effect did it have on you?
  • How might we measure mental or emotional energy? What are your mental and emotional energy levels like at present? What do you need to fill your emotional tank?
  • What are you looking forward to (or longing for) at the moment? Where is your hope placed? How vulnerable is your hope?
  • Reflecting on the story in Luke 8:40-56, who do you identify with most? Why?
  • What does it mean to put your hope in Jesus? How do we maintain our hope in Christ? 
Tawa Baptist

Kevin

Scripture: Luke 17:11-19

  • Introduction
  • Kevin
  • Trevor
  • Jesus
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Sometimes we go through life unaware. Unaware of ourselves. Unaware of the burdens our neighbours carry. Unaware of the way our actions affect others, for good or ill. Unaware of what is just around the corner. No one thinks it will happen to them.

Kevin

Hi. My full name is a bit of a mouthful so you can just call me Kevin for short. It will make it easier for you. I know what you’re thinking, Will and I look exactly the same. The likeness is uncanny I know. But I’m actually slightly more handsome than Will (especially for my age) and better at preaching. Don’t say anything to Will though. He can be a bit sensitive about that sort of stuff.

Anyway, Will asked me to speak to you this morning because it is world leprosy day. I was born around 2000 years ago and lived in what you know as the middle east – on a hill in central Palestine, in the West Bank territory, to be more precise.

My father sold figs and other fruit in the local market. He was a kind man, probably too kind for his own good in his line of work. I loved being with him and he was happy for me to tag along.

Working in the markets as we did, bartering and haggling, you learned to be aware. Aware of who was around you and who was missing. Aware of regulars and tourists. Aware of small kindnesses and large injustices. Aware of those willing to pay a fair price and those who would rob you if they could. Aware of changes in mood and atmosphere – like the way people stiffened and closed up around occupation soldiers and then relaxed when the threat was gone. Always we were aware of honour and shame.

It’s not like that today. The people I see here, in your world, often seem unaware – plugged in and tuned out. It’s a self-preservation thing I suppose. You are saturated with information. Distractions are constant. I don’t blame you for using a filter. But it’s not good for you to be too closed off. You still need to let some light in.

My dad was aware. He let the light in. At the end of each day, when we were packing up and walking home he would always find something to be thankful for. Even on the seemingly bad days when we didn’t sell much fruit he still found something positive to focus on. Years later I came to realise it was his thankful attitude that funded his kindness.   

None of us know what’s around the corner. I certainly didn’t. My dad’s heart stopped when I was 14, which meant I became responsible for feeding the family. Just my mum and my younger sister. I carried on selling figs and I tried to be thankful but it wasn’t the same without dad. I made enough to get by but, financially, we sailed pretty close to the wind, like almost everyone else.

Things were okay for a couple of years and then I became aware of patches of discoloured skin on my body. There was a numbness in my finger-tips too, which was weird. I ignored it for a while. No one thinks it will happen to them.

Besides, I couldn’t afford to have anything wrong with me. I had to provide for my family. As the patches spread I did my best to cover them up. No one wants to buy fruit off someone who looks sick. But eventually I was found out. It was impossible for me to hide the loss of my eyebrows and eyelashes.  

One of my customers, the mother of a girl I quite liked actually, saw me fumble some fruit. It’s hard to hold onto things when you can’t feel them. She looked at my hand first, then at my missing eyebrows, before drawing a breath in horror and walking off quickly. The shame and humiliation of it was overwhelming.

Shortly afterwards I was aware of a change in the atmosphere. She must have told her neighbours because it wasn’t long before people in the market were whispering to each other and looking at me with disgust and fear, like I was an occupation soldier.    

Nothing is as dangerous as a crowd with an idea in mind. I packed up my fruit stand and headed home as quickly as I could. I didn’t get far though. The first blow was soft and hit me in the back of the head. Never saw it coming. Just a fig. The next blow was a lot harder though and hit me in the chest. A rock. Things were about to get ugly.  

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. In Leviticus the law laid down protocols for dealing with people with skin diseases. I should be examined by a priest, in private. The priest was supposed to make the decision about whether I was clean or unclean and even then there was a seven-day self-isolation period. If my skin disease had not improved in a week then I was to leave.

But the crowd had taken matters into their own hands. They didn’t want my kind around. So I ran as hard as I could and I didn’t look back.

With tears streaming down my face, I wondered if I would ever see my mother and sister again. I couldn’t go home because that would put their lives in danger. What would happen to them now I wasn’t there to provide? There was no government welfare system.

People often aren’t aware of the burdens their neighbours carry or how their own actions affect others.

That night I took shelter under a mustard tree, hungry, cold and exhausted. My feet were bleeding but I couldn’t feel any pain. Not physical pain anyway. There was another kind of pain though, like an emptiness in my heart, that I was all too aware of. Some of you might know it as loneliness. Despite the emptiness I couldn’t find room to be thankful.

I never thought this would happen to me. And by ‘this’ I mean leprosy. We always think it will happen to someone else. But why shouldn’t it happen to me? It happens to someone around the world almost every hour. I wasn’t so special.

There is a randomness to life, it seems, that is as cruel as it is blind. Why should one person be born rich and another poor? Why should one man die in battle and another live? Why should some women lose their husband and their son while others never grieve? God is moral. I know that to be true. But the world we live in is not. We do not get what we deserve. We get what we get.    

I waited for sleep to overcome me, hoping I would never wake up. But God, who is intimately aware of the thoughts of the human heart, sent his angel to watch over me.

Trevor

We often think of angels as perfect heavenly beings, all clothed in purest white, with beautiful faces, fresh breath and soft wings. Yea, nah. The angel God assigned to me was a real fright to look at. His clothes were stained and ripped, his breath smelled like rotten fish and where his wings should have been there was just an unsightly hump.

But he was perfect. Had God sent someone clean and healthy and well-groomed I would have only hated myself all the more for being none of those things. Instead God sent me someone beautifully imperfect, someone I could feel comfortable with.

Trevor, whose real name you could never pronounce, may have been hard to look at but he was the kindest person I have ever met. In that way, at least, he reminded me of my dad. Trevor took care of me. He bandaged my feet, gave me food to eat and water to drink, introduced me to others like us and taught me how to survive.       

Not just physical survival but mental survival. Each of us walks a tight rope in our mind you see. Trevor helped me to keep my balance – to avoid self-pity, resentment, bitterness and other forms of self-harm. By his own example Trevor showed me how to keep a sense of humour, maintain healthy boundaries and take care of myself without disrespecting those around me.  

And he understood the Scriptures in a way that was fresh and simple and profound all at the same time. Ironically, Trevor used to be a Jewish priest. That’s especially ironic because I am a Samaritan, from the West Bank. I suppose in today’s terms that’s like saying I’m a Palestinian.

Traditionally Jews and Samaritans have a long history of tit for tat reprisals and enmity. We hate each other or at least we are expected to. But Trevor didn’t get that email. He loved everyone. It hardly matters when you have leprosy anyway. Leprosy effectively puts Jews & Samaritans, rich & poor, black & white in the same category – unclean, outcast, to be avoided at all costs.     

Trevor explained to me that being unclean was not a moral thing. It was a ceremonial thing. We were not bad people or at least not worse than anyone else. Having leprosy was not a punishment from God. We may have been unlucky but our misfortune did not make us any less loved by God.

Likewise, although we were not able to participate in rituals of community worship, we could still praise God. Trevor taught me that God doesn’t just live in a temple. He fills the whole earth. God is not impressed by aesthetics or how something looks on the outside. True worship comes from a thankful heart, he said. This reminded me of my dad. 

Not everyone in our community was as positive or enlightened as Trevor though. Living with leprosy, being estranged from your family, not knowing where your next meal is coming from, all that sort of stuff is hard. It’s next level hard. And when life is tough it tends to create callouses on the heart. Thankfulness is too easily swallowed up by cynicism.  

But Trevor’s heart never lost its feeling. I think this was because Trevor was aware. Aware of himself and aware of his neighbours. He understood the way his actions affected others. I suppose you might call that empathy or compassion. No one knows what is just around the corner though, not even Trevor.

He died, suddenly one night. Just went to sleep and didn’t wake up. Like my father I guess he was too good for this world. Death happened all the time in our community but that didn’t make Trevor’s passing any easier.

After Trevor’s death I almost lost my balance and fell off that tight rope in my mind. Somehow I managed to hold on by my fingertips. I wasn’t strong or wise or inspirational like Trevor. But I was aware there was no safety net for people like me. Holding on was all I could do. Sometimes though holding on is all you need to do.

Jesus

No one ever thinks it will happen to them. People never think they will win Lotto, but they still buy a ticket anyway, just in case. I never thought I would see my family again, but I still thought about them often and asked God to look after them.

It started out like any other day, no breakfast, just a gnawing hunger and the now familiar numbness. One of the men in our community, he used to be a doctor (leprosy doesn’t discriminate) asked me if I was coming with them. The man they called Jesus was rumoured to be passing by a couple of miles away.

This seemed strange to me. What was Jesus doing all the way out here on the border between Galilee and Samaria? I had nothing else to do so I joined the group. We had all heard about this man called Jesus, who apparently spoke with real authority, stood up to the religious authorities, drove out demons and healed people of all sorts of ailments. 

The ten of us walked in silence. There was no one around and therefore no reason to warn others we were coming. As we walked I felt something stir inside me. I didn’t recognise it at first because it had been a long time since I had felt it. It was hope. Hope is a frightening thing. Misplaced hope, hope that lifts you up only to dump you in a heap of disappointment, is dangerous.

Living with leprosy one learns to manage their hope. I had got into the habit of insuring against the loss of hope by thinking the worst. But that’s no way to live. You have to let some light in. You have to give yourself something to look forward to. Nothing too big. Just enough to keep you going.

So there I was, walking along in silence, aware of this tension within me. Torn between risking it all on this man they called Jesus and holding on to the security blanket of my despair. What if the rumours of Jesus passing our way were not true? Or even worse, what if the rumours were true but he rejected us? Rejection, by now, was my majority experience and it is very difficult to argue with your own experience.  

Unlike the other nine I had two strikes against me. Not only did I live with leprosy, I was a Palestinian from the West Bank and Jesus was an Israeli.

We came round a bend in the road and there he was. It’s strange how we had never seen the man before but somehow we knew it was him. Jesus had this presence about him. He was so centred, so completely at home in his own skin, so confident, without being a poser.

In your English Bibles it says that we stood at a distance and shouted out in a loud voice, ‘Jesus! Master! Have pity on us.’ The part about standing at a distance and shouting is true but that word translated in English as ‘pity’ isn’t quite right.

‘Pity’ urinates on dignity. It has a corrosive effect on your soul after a while. The pity of others makes you feel less somehow. It reminds you that you have nothing to offer, nothing the other person wants anyway. And it leaves you feeling worse than before. No, ‘pity’ is the wrong word.

In the Maori version of the New Testament, it says that we cried out for Jesus to have ‘aroha’ on us. Aroha is a better word. Aroha means love, affection or compassion. Aroha is what we wanted. Not money, not stones turned into bread, not a sign in the sky and certainly not pity. We wanted to be loved because when you are loved the emptiness in your heart is filled. When you are loved there is no room for loneliness but plenty of room for thankfulness.

Jesus saw us. I can’t begin to tell you what it means to be seen by Jesus. When you live with leprosy, people avoid looking at you. They pretend not to see you. They suddenly become interested in something on the ground. They don’t want to see you. But Jesus saw us. He looked at us and he understood the pain we were in, on the inside. My heart felt strangely warmed.   

Thinking about it later I reckon Jesus saw us because he was like us. Rejected, despised, misunderstood. There may have been a physical distance between us and Jesus on that road but there was communion with Christ in our hearts.

Jesus simply told us to ‘go and let the priests examine you’. This was in accordance with the law. Jesus was no liberal. Jesus did things by the book. Nor was he conservative though. Jesus transcended our categories and was in a class all of his own. He did something no one else has ever done. He fulfilled the law.

We hadn’t recovered from our leprosy though. At that point we were still unclean but we understood this was a test of faith. Naaman, the Syrian, was told by Elisha to wash in the River Jordan. Jesus told us to go and see the priests. So we obeyed, because Jesus had seen us and we trusted him.

I don’t remember the precise moment it happened but we hadn’t walked far when I became aware that the skin against my clothes was smooth again. Feeling had returned to my hands and feet. I felt around my eyes. The eyebrows and eyelashes had regrown. The ten of us looked around at each other. We had all been healed.

It was over. Our exile was ended. We were clean at last. We could finally go home to our families. We could find work and participate in worship once more. Maybe find a wife and start a family. All those things I hadn’t dared to hope for were now suddenly possible again.

We quickened our pace, looking for a priest to pronounce us clean as the law required. Then it occurred to me; Jesus was a priest of far higher standing than any in Jerusalem or Samaria. None of those priests could actually heal a person of leprosy. Jesus had healed me and so surely he could pronounce me clean.

I left the others and ran back to find Jesus. True worship comes from a thankful heart. I needed to worship God at the feet of Jesus. And so that’s what I did. Jesus is high priest and temple all rolled into one. In him the presence of God dwells.

When the man they call Jesus saw me do this he said to his disciples, “There were ten men who were healed; where are the other nine? Why is this foreigner the only one who came back to give thanks to God?”

Jesus was pointing out the irony to his disciples, that a Palestinian from the West Bank was more spiritually aware than the average Israelite was.

He called me a ‘foreigner’ because, from the disciples’ perspective, that’s what I was, a Samaritan. A traditional enemy to them. Someone they despised and thought was outside of God’s grace. Perhaps Jesus wanted his followers to become aware of their own prejudice. Maybe he wanted them to see that God loves all people, even Palestinian lepers.  

I’m not sure the disciples fully comprehended what Jesus was implying but eventually they would. Some years later a couple of those men came to the West Bank to tell us about Jesus, how he had been crucified and then raised to life on the third day. I welcomed them and they remembered me. 

I would have stayed there all day at Jesus’ feet but he said to me, “Get up and go; your faith has made you well.”

Jesus honoured me with his words. Those words gave me my dignity back. He is so generous. The credit for the healing belonged entirely to him and yet he shared the credit with me. He acknowledged the mustard seed of faith that I brought to the situation, respecting it like a precious pearl. For indeed it is.

Do you trust Jesus? Our trust is incredibly valuable to God. He treasures it more than we know.

Conclusion:

Sometimes we go through life unaware. Unaware of the hundreds of small miracles God performs for us each day. True worship comes from a thankful heart. A thankful heart funds kindness. My prayer for you is that you would let the light in and be aware that you are loved.

And if that seems impossible to believe right now, if you don’t want to take that kind of risk with your hope, then hold on. Jesus sees you.     

Will tells me you are going to sing a song now and collect a special offering for the leprosy mission.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Who do you identify with most in the story Kevin told? Why is that do you think?
  • What does it mean to ‘let the light in’?  How might you let the light into your life?
  • In what ways did Jesus fulfill the law for the men he cured of leprosy?
  • Kevin made the comment that Jesus is high priest and temple all rolled into one. In what ways does Jesus function as a priest? In what ways does he function as a temple?
  • True worship comes from a thankful heart. Think of one thing from the past 24 hours that you are thankful for? Take some time to remain present to that thing in your mind. Write it down in your journal. Hold it in your awareness through the day. How might you express your gratitude to God? Repeat this ritual every day for a week (or as long as you can).
Tawa Baptist

Wonderful Counsellor

Scripture: Luke 13:10-21

Title: Wonderful Counsellor

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Yahweh the Wonderful Counsellor
  • Jesus the Wonderful Counsellor
  • God’s wonderful plan (Kingdom)
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Prince Charles has recently turned 70

–         Charles is of course next in line to take the throne

–         The Prince’s full title is: His Royal Highness Prince Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Prince and Great Steward of Scotland

–         That’s a lot of titles, but wait there’s more…

–         He also has a string of letters after his name: KG, KT, GCB, OM, AK, QSO, CC, PC and ADC, whatever all that means?

This morning we start a new sermon series

–         With Christmas only a month away we are going to spend some time exploring the royal titles ascribed to the Messiah in Isaiah 9, verse 6

Isaiah 9 is often read at Christmas time as Christians believe this prophecy is talking about Jesus – verse 6 is familiar to many of us…

–         For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

–         Today we think about how the title Wonderful Counsellor fits for Jesus

–         But first let us consider Yahweh (the Lord) as a Wonderful Counsellor

 

Yahweh the Wonderful Counsellor:

They say that in the game of drafts you only need to think 1 or 2 moves ahead, but in the game of chess you need to be thinking 4 or 5 moves ahead

–         One of the jobs of a king is to make good decisions – decisions which are wise and just and lead to good long term outcomes for people

–         A king needs to be like a good chess player, thinking 4 or 5 moves ahead, playing out all the various scenarios in his mind

–         The Hebrew for Wonderful Counsellor literally translates wonder planner

The term wonderful counsellor then refers to a king with the wisdom & foresight to develop extraordinary plans & policies for the ordering of the public life of his people [1]

–         As the word wonder suggests the vision and planning of this king are awe inspiring – the king’s wisdom leaves people gob smacked in amazement

 

Two quick examples from the Old Testament to give you the idea of how Yahweh (the Lord) is a wonderful counsellor

In Genesis 18, God visits Abraham & Sarah and says that Sarah will give birth to a son. Sarah laughs at this because she is well past child bearing age so God says…

–         Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? [Meaning, is anything too difficult for the Lord?] At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah will have a son.”

The Lord’s plan here is truly amazing in its scope and level of difficulty

–         Yahweh, the wonderful counsellor, is planning to redeem the entire creation through Abraham’s offspring and he is going to do this by making it possible for a 90 year old woman to give birth to a son

–         Isaac’s birth was a miracle of resurrection

–         Isaac’s birth demonstrates that nothing is too difficult for God – even when it seems like all hope is lost, God can make all things new

–         When we consider how Jesus makes good on God’s promise to Abraham we begin to marvel at the Lord’s planning

 

Another example of Yahweh the wonderful counsellor is seen in the story of Joseph, also in Genesis. Joseph was one of Abraham & Sarah’s great grandsons

–         Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers and ended up serving an Egyptian named Potiphar

–         After being falsely accused of sexual misconduct Joseph was thrown into prison for about three years until he was called upon to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams

–         Joseph became a wonderful counsellor to the king of Egypt

–         He knew what the Pharaoh’s dreams meant and what planning the king needed to do to save the people from starvation

–         Store up the excess crops during the seven years of plenty to see you through the seven years of famine

–         Joseph’s wonderful planning saved thousands of lives including that of his own family

 

But the real wonderful counsellor, working behind the scenes, was Yahweh – the Lord Almighty

–         It was God who put Joseph in the right place at the right time with the right wisdom to save the people

–         At the end of Genesis, after Jacob has died, Joseph’s brothers go to him afraid for their lives and wanting forgiveness – to which Joseph replies…

“Do not be afraid. Am I in the place of God? Even though you intended to do harm to me, God intended it for good, in order to preserve a numerous people, as he is doing today…”

Joseph acknowledges the wonder planning of Yahweh the wonderful counsellor

 

Jesus the Wonderful Counsellor:

Joseph points to Jesus. Like Joseph, Jesus too is a wonderful counsellor working out God’s wise & just plans for creation

–         Please turn with me to Luke chapter 13, page 98 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         Jesus’ teaching and parables are pregnant with the wisdom of God

–         In this passage, from Luke 13, we get a taste of Jesus the wonderful counsellor. From verse 10 we read…

10 One Sabbath Jesus was teaching in a synagogue. 11 A woman there had an evil spirit that had kept her sick for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called out to her, “Woman, you are free from your sickness!” 13 He placed his hands on her, and at once she straightened herself up and praised God.

14 The official of the synagogue was angry that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, so he spoke up and said to the people, “There are six days in which we should work; so come during those days and be healed, but not on the Sabbath!”

15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Any one of you would untie your ox or your donkey from the stall and take it out to give it water on the Sabbath. 16 Now here is this descendant of Abraham whom Satan has kept in bonds for eighteen years; should she not be released on the Sabbath?” 17 His answer made his enemies ashamed of themselves, while the people rejoiced over all the wonderful things that he did.

18 Jesus asked, “What is the Kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it with? 19 It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and plants it in his field. The plant grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make their nests in its branches.”

20 Again Jesus asked, “What shall I compare the Kingdom of God with? 21 It is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

Probably the most difficult shot in the game of 10 Pin Bowling is knocking over a split.

–         A ‘split’ is where the pins left standing, after your first bowl, are divided or split down the middle

–         In many ways this is a harder shot to pull off than getting a clean strike

–         How do you knock over both pins on either side with just one bowl?

–         I suppose you have to hit one of the pins at just the right angle & speed to create a ricochet which knocks the other pin down

One characteristic of being a wonderful counsellor is the ability to kill two birds with one stone – or rather, to achieve more than one positive result with a single action or decision

–         In our reading from Luke 13 Jesus does just that

–         By healing the woman on the Sabbath Jesus knocks over a split

–         He sets a chain of events in motion which not only set the woman free from her illness but also set the people free in their thinking and daily living

 

The word ‘Sabbath’ appears five times in our reading this morning so that tells us it is significant for understanding this passage

–         To some degree we have lost the meaning of Sabbath in our society today

–         Basically, the Sabbath is a day of rest when people stop working and think about God

–         When the Sabbath is observed as God intended all living things get a small taste of what heaven on earth would be like

 

To better understand the meaning of the Sabbath we have to go back to Genesis chap. 2

–         By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

 

In Genesis 1 creation is depicted poetically as God bringing order & function to the chaos

–         After God has done the work of creating order & function he rests

–         It’s not that God was tired and needed to take a break – God doesn’t get tired like we do

–         Divine rest doesn’t mean taking a nap – divine rest means all those forces of chaos that are opposed to God have been subdued and order has been restored – God is in control, he is on the throne ruling the universe

–         So the purpose of the Sabbath is to point to the Kingdom of God

–         The Sabbath reminds us that the Kingdom of heaven is coming to earth

–         When we observe the Sabbath, when we stop working and give our attention to God, we acknowledge that God is the supreme ruler of the universe and we are his loyal subjects

 

In the first century the Sabbath was very important to the Jews

–         They were an oppressed people (their land was occupied and controlled by the Romans) – so they had to be quite intentional about not being assimilated into Roman culture, they had to make a stand for the sake of maintaining their national identity

–         Holding to their traditions, like keeping the Sabbath holy, was one way they maintained their cultural identity and loyalty to Yahweh

–         Keeping the Sabbath was an act of solidarity – it was a way of saying, ‘ultimately God is in control, not Caesar.’

–         In this sense observing the Sabbath is sort of like going on strike

 

Given the importance of Sabbath observance there were lots of man-made rules around the special day – specifying what you could and couldn’t do

–         Those rules may have been well intentioned but really they missed the point and actually obscured God’s purpose for the Sabbath, which is to point to God’s kingdom & give people a small taste of heaven on earth

–         Our society (in NZ) today has gone to the other extreme – we have almost no rules around the Sabbath and so we have lost something valuable

 

Jesus is in the synagogue on the Sabbath teaching people – giving them his wise and wonderful counsel – when he sees a woman bent over due to an evil spirit which had made her ill. What is he to do?

–         He has the power to heal her but Jewish tradition says he isn’t authorised to heal on the Sabbath

–         Her illness isn’t life threatening – she’s had it for 18 years so her healing  could wait another day

–         However, he might not see her tomorrow – this could be his only opportunity to help her

–         What’s more, healing someone on the Sabbath provided an opportunity to demonstrate to everyone present the bigger picture of God’s wonderful plan to restore and redeem his creation

–         Healing this woman on the Sabbath shows people what the reign of God (or the Kingdom of Heaven) looks like

Jesus sees the opportunity here to achieve two good results with one action – so he heals her

–         How did Jesus do this? It is a wonder, a mystery to us, but at the same time it gives credibility to his message

 

The leader of the synagogue, the guy who was responsible for making sure things ran smoothly, is angry that Jesus has healed on the Sabbath because that goes against the tradition that he is responsible to protect

–         By breaking the rules in this way Jesus has undermined the wall that separates Jews from Gentiles – he has threatened their Jewish identity

–         Or to say it in another way, Jesus has taken a swipe at Jewish nationalism

–         What Jesus did was courageous, politically incorrect and counter cultural

–         In the official’s mind this must have seemed like a betrayal of sorts – like Jesus was being disloyal to God and disloyal to Israel

Now I can understand the official’s frustration all too well – I can easily imagine how irritating & disruptive & annoying someone like Jesus would be

–         The synagogue leader doesn’t have any special wisdom or power to heal like Jesus does

–         I expect he’s just a regular average bloke who has a job to do and he’s trying to be faithful in carrying out his responsibilities

–         He thinks he’s doing the right thing but he just can’t see the wood for the trees and ends up in a public argument with Jesus that he has no show of winning.

The official has no idea who Jesus is – I feel sorry for him

–         He’s the fall guy whose blindness & ignorance provides the opportunity for Jesus’ wonderful counsellor-ness to be revealed

–         Not unlike the woman’s 18 year illness provided the opportunity for Jesus’ power & compassion to be displayed

–         Can you see the wonderful way God used the woman’s illness and the official’s spiritual blindness for good?

–         Had the woman not been sick and had the official said nothing then no one would have heard the brilliance of Jesus’ argument…

–         Any one of you would untie his ox or his donkey from the stall [after just a few hours] and give it a drink. Now here is a descendant of Abraham [someone far more valuable than an ox or a donkey] whom Satan has kept bound up for 18 years [far longer than a few hours]. How much more should she be released on the Sabbath? [the Sabbath being a day which points to God’s creative work in bringing order & function to chaos]

Jesus argues from the lesser to the greater and his insight, his perspective, is brilliant – he hoists his opponents on their own petard

–         Not only does Jesus show everyone present what God’s bigger plan & purpose is (bringing release & restoration) he also undoes a bit of Jewish nationalism by pointing out that the real enemy here isn’t the Romans – the real enemy is Satan

–         The wonderful thing is that Jesus’ wisdom sets people free in their minds

–         Just as the woman has been released from her back problem and can now stand up straight, so too the people have been released from the burden of rules surrounding the Sabbath and can now begin to think straight

–         Everyone has been given a glimpse of what God’s kingdom looks like

–         Jesus knocks over a split and verse 17 tells us, the people rejoice over all the wonderful things he did.

 

God’s wonderful plan (Kingdom)

If you look in your pew Bibles on page 98 again – you will notice that the account of Jesus healing the woman on the Sabbath is separated from the parable of the Mustard Seed by a heading, in bold

–         This gives the false impression that the Sabbath healing miracle is somehow separate from the two parables that follow

–         What we need to remember is that the headings you see in your Bibles are not part of the original text – they’ve been added in by the translators

–         So there’s no separation between the healing miracle and the parables

Verse 18 (in the Greek) actually reads Therefore Jesus asked, ‘What is the Kingdom of God like…’

–         The Good News Version has left the ‘Therefore’ out

–         The ‘therefore’ means that Luke intended us to read the parables of the mustard seed and yeast in conjunction with the Sabbath healing story

–         Put it all together and its talking about the Kingdom of God

–         Luke arranges Jesus’ material like this to help the reader see the wonder of God’s plan

 

When we were kids we were taught to wash our hands after going to the toilet and before every meal – that was supposed to stop us from getting sick

–         Bacteria, we were told, are bad and we need to get rid of them

–         We still see that attitude today with the advent of hand sanitiser

–         There’s an advertisement on TV with a little boy buying an ice cream from Mr Whippy and getting his hand sanitiser out before eating

–         It makes me cringe

 

Science tells us not all bacteria are bad, in fact we need certain bacteria for good health

–         The right bacteria in our gut help to regulate bowel movement

–         They help in the formation of vitamins like folic acid, riboflavin and vitamin K

–         What’s more, friendly bacteria enhance our immune system by increasing the production of antibodies which fight bad bacteria

–         Bacteria also help to regulate hormone levels and cholesterol

–         So it seems that washing our hands obsessively may actually be bad for us in that it reduces our exposure to good bacteria

 

In some ways the Kingdom of God is like good bacteria – it is small, unseen at first and does its work silently, on the inside

–         What’s more the Kingdom of God is often found in unexpected places

 

During the Second World War soldiers in Northern Africa were getting sick with dysentery and washing their hands didn’t seem to help

–         So the soldiers kept a close eye on the local Arabs who seemed to recover a lot quicker

–         Whenever the locals got sick they followed behind a camel and ate the fresh camel dung while it was still warm – then they were right again by the next day, instead of spending weeks in bed

 

It was later proven there was a soil-based organism in the camel dung known as Bacillus Subtilis

–         Bacillus Subtilis is a bacterial organism with super-strength that eats any other bacteria or virus that gets in its way, particularly pathogens

–         This story comes with a warning though: I’m not sure it works with every kind of poo, so be careful what you put in your mouth

 

Mustard seeds and yeast are small (like bacteria) and yet they have such a powerful and lasting effect

–         The mustard seed grows into a large, resilient and pervasive plant that is populated with birds

–         And just a small amount of yeast permeates a large quantity of dough

–         40 litres of flour, in verse 21, makes a huge amount of bread

–         How the seed grows and how the yeast makes the bread rise was a wonder, a mystery, to the people of Jesus’ day

 

The main point seems to be, God’s wonderful plan for establishing his Kingdom on earth is to start small and work silently, gradually, from the inside out

–         As opposed to coming loudly and in force to bring about a quick revolution

 

The healing of the woman on the Sabbath is a case in point

–         Jesus didn’t go to someone really important, like the emperor of Rome or the high priest, to heal him

–         Instead he healed someone at the bottom of the social scale – a sick anonymous woman who could do nothing at all to repay Jesus

–         However, in that small but powerful act of healing on the Sabbath, Jesus sowed the seeds of God’s kingdom

–         He put yeast in the dough of the local community to cause people to rise and praise God

 

A couple of other things to note about the wisdom of these parables

–         Jesus thought about his audience – he used images from everyday life that would relate to both men and women

–         Mustard seeds and mustard plants were everywhere – they were common

–         But making bread was something that women did – so in using the yeast metaphor Jesus was specifically reaching out to his female listeners

–         And that was significant when we consider that most Jewish males at that time thought that women would be excluded from God’s kingdom

 

The other thing we note is that both mustard plants and yeast had a bad reputation, sort of like bacteria

–         Mustard plants in the Middle East are similar to gorse in NZ – a weed, unwanted and hard to get rid of

–         Having said that, gorse does provide a nursery for growing native trees, so it’s not as bad as it seems

–         Likewise yeast, in Jewish thought, is a symbol for sin

–         At Passover time people had to get rid of all the yeast in their home and make flat (unleavened) bread, without yeast

–         So by comparing the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed and to yeast it appears that Jesus is implying the Kingdom of God may be unrecognisable and despised by some, at least at first

–         Certainly the leader of the synagogue didn’t appreciate Jesus healing the woman on the Sabbath

–         Sometimes the Kingdom of God tastes like camel poo

 

The birds of the air, which nest in the mustard plant, is probably a poetic reference to the Gentile nations [2]

–         Jesus is saying there will be room for people like the Romans and Greeks and Barbarians and Kiwis in God’s Kingdom

–         Perhaps another swipe at the Jewish nationalism of his day which supposed that only Israelite men would get into God’s Kingdom

 

Conclusion:

We could spend a lot more time exploring the wonders of Jesus’ wisdom but that’s enough for today

–         Hopefully you can see that Jesus, like Yahweh, is a wonderful counsellor

–         In and through Jesus, God reveals his wise and wonderful plan of salvation

–         And because of Jesus we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

As the busy-ness of Christmas approaches I encourage you to pause and consider how God is working all things for good in your life.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What do you think of when you hear the phrase Wonderful Counsellor?

–         What does the Bible mean by the phrase Wonderful Counsellor?

3.)     Can you think of some examples of God’s wonderful planning in the Bible?

–         Now share some examples of God’s wonderful planning in your own life.

4.)    Discuss the different ways Jesus’ wonderful counsel is displayed in Luke 13:10-21

5.)    What is the purpose of the Sabbath?

–         What is a good use of the Sabbath?

6.)    What is the significance of Jesus healing on the Sabbath?

7.)    How does God use the woman’s illness and the synagogue leader’s (spiritual) blindness for good?

8.)    What is the main point of the parables of the mustard seed and yeast?

–         How do these parables relate to the Sabbath healing miracle that precedes them?

–         What other things might these parables be saying? (E.g. about women & gentiles)

9.)    Can you see God working all things for good in your life?

–         How is he doing this?

 

 

 

 

[1] Walter Brueggemann, Names for the Messiah, page 7.

[2] Refer Ezekiel 17:22-24, for example.

Tawa Baptist

Healing in Ruth

Scripture: Ruth

Title: Healing

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Ruth 1
  • Ruth 2
  • Ruth 3
  • Ruth 4
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Aristotle is quoted as saying, “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

–         The idea here is of synergy or working together

–         Said another way, the interaction or cooperation of two or more parts produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects.

 

For example, if you take a raw egg by itself then it doesn’t taste that nice

–         Yes, you can eat it and it will give you some nutritional benefit but it’s not that appetising

–         Likewise if you take some flour by itself it’s barely edible

–         But when you combine the egg & flour with some other ingredients, like sugar and butter and cocoa powder, then put it in the oven to cook, the whole cake that comes out is far nicer to eat than each separate ingredient on its own

 

Today we conclude our series on care of the soul, using the acronym HEALING

–         Over the past couple of months or so we have looked at how Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving support the well-being of the soul

–         For the sake of understanding we have looked at each word separately but actually these seven parts work together in an inter-related way

–         There is synergy between them so that when we put them together the whole is greater than the sum of its parts

–         Hope is a primary source of energy and inspires both appreciation and lament

o   When hope is fulfilled appreciation is the right response

o   Likewise, when hope is disappointed, lament is the natural response

–         Hope also provides the energy for nurture & giving, which in turn provide the oil for inter-dependent relationships

 

One Biblical story which shows all seven of these things working together is the story of Ruth & Naomi

 

Ruth 1

The book of Ruth is set during the time of the Judges in Israel – so that’s after the people have entered the Promised Land, but before kings were appointed – around the time of Samson and Gideon, give or take

 

Because of a famine Naomi leaves Bethlehem with her husband and two sons and migrates to Moab

–         The Moabites were sort of like cousins to the Israelites but they didn’t really get on all that well

–         The Moabites were descended from Abraham’s nephew Lot, who had an incestuous relationship with his daughters

–         Things must have been pretty grim for Naomi’s husband to think that Moab offered greener pastures

–         Anyway, while they are away in Moab Naomi’s husband died and her two sons married Moabite girls, Orpah & Ruth

–         About 10 years pass and then Naomi’s two sons die as well – it’s a complete disaster from Naomi’s point of view

–         There was no widow’s benefit or DPB, no state housing and not many options for single women in that context

 

Naomi hears there has been a good crop back in Israel so she says goodbye to Orpah & Ruth, and starts to head back to her home town of Bethlehem

–         But Orpah & Ruth want to go with Naomi – apparently they are not as bad as their chequered ancestry would make them seem

–         Naomi then makes a big speech about how her situation is hopeless, because she is too old to get married again, and if they stay with her their situation will be hopeless too

–         Orpah returns to Moab but Ruth insists on staying with Naomi saying…

 

“Don’t ask me to leave you! Let me go with you. Wherever you go, I will go; wherever you live, I will live. Your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. Where you die, I will die, and that is where I will be buried.

 

Ruth was committed to Naomi until death do us part, so Naomi let Ruth come with her. Ruth’s presence and promise to Naomi is the catalyst for hope

–         Ruth & Naomi together are greater than the sum of Ruth & Naomi apart

 

But Naomi can’t see that just yet – when she returns to Israel Naomi tells people to call her ‘Marah’ because Naomi means pleasant, whereas Marah means bitter

–         Why call me Naomi when the Lord Almighty has condemned me and sent me trouble

–         To feel condemned by God is to believe that nothing good waits for you in the future – condemnation is the opposite of hope

–         Hopelessness (despair) is a form of blindness – a loss of perspective

–         Yes, Naomi has been on the receiving end of trouble but it doesn’t automatically follow that God has condemned her

–         At this point Naomi fails to see the good that God has provided in the form of her daughter-in-law Ruth

 

We could say that, Naomi’s behaviour in changing her name and blaming God for her troubles is a form of lament

–         It is because her hope has been disappointed that Naomi feels so bitter

–         Naomi doesn’t deny what she is feeling – she faces it honestly

–         Naomi has lost almost everything and she isn’t ready to forgive God

–         While Naomi is seeking to give honest expression to her grief she is perhaps being unfair in blaming God – better that though than taking it out on the people around you – God’s grace is sufficient for Naomi

–         Interestingly no one in Bethlehem chastises Naomi for her lament

–         They simply listen to her, in silence, and respect how she feels

–         Because really there are no words to do justice to what she is feeling

 

Ruth 2

Hope is not the only source of energy – food is a form of energy too

–         The barley harvest was just beginning when they arrived in Bethlehem so Ruth goes out to glean in the fields behind the harvesters

–         Gleaning means picking up what the harvesters leave behind

 

At its best ancient Israel was an inter-dependent unity

–         People didn’t function independently – the community valued each of its members and relied on each other to provide care & nurture for all

–         Their welfare system was quite different to ours

–         One of the ways the rich provided for the poor was by allowing the poor to glean after the harvesters in their field

–         This was genius really because it allowed the poor the dignity of working for their daily bread and it saved the rich from becoming too greedy

–         The outcome was to nurture better relationships between the rich & poor

–         In our society there is a growing gap between rich & poor, but in the Bethlehem of Naomi’s day the lives of the rich & poor were more closely woven together so they weren’t afraid of each other

 

It so happened that Ruth went to work in the field of Boaz

–         “It so happened” is code for God set this meeting up

 

After enquiring about Ruth with his harvesters, Boaz approaches her with a view to connecting her with the right people in the local community

–         The time of the Judges in Israel was a bit like the wild west – not everyone was as virtuous as Boaz

–         Some people would take advantage of a foreigner like Ruth – they might assume that with her Moabite heritage she would be promiscuous

–         So Boaz invites Ruth to stay with the women in his field and drink from his water jars

–         Boaz is a man of power & influence in the community but he doesn’t see this power and influence as his to do whatever he likes with

–         In Boaz’ mind the whole community is greater than the sum of its individual parts

–         Boaz recognises that his position, his wealth, belongs to God and he is just a steward of it

–         Boaz wisely & generously gives what God has entrusted him with for the benefit of the poor and marginalised, like Ruth & Naomi

 

However, Boaz does this in a way that genuinely appreciates Ruth’s character

–         He doesn’t patronise her or make her feel small in any way

–         “I have heard about everything that you have done for your mother-in-law since your husband died. I know how you left your father and mother and your own country and how you came to live among a people you had never known before. May the Lord reward you for what you have done.”

–         Ruth is an unlikely heroine – most people wouldn’t expect her to show this level of loyalty and care to Naomi

–         Boaz is making it clear that both he and the Lord appreciate Ruth’s faith and love – they see past the prejudice and beneath the superficial things to recognise the inner quality of her heart  

 

Appreciation begets appreciation. Ruth says to Boaz…

–         “You are very kind to me sir. You have made me feel better by speaking gently to me…”

 

When Ruth comes home with lots of grain and Naomi learns that Ruth has been gleaning in Boaz’ field, Naomi expresses her appreciation too saying…

–         “May the Lord bless Boaz. The Lord always keeps his promises to the living and the dead. That man is a close relative of ours, one of those responsible for taking care of us.”

–         This is a remarkable change of tune from Naomi

–         For the first time in this story she sounds a note of hope – she imagines a future in which she & Ruth are not condemned but rather redeemed

You see, in ancient Israel, hope was provided for through the law in a number of ways

–         For example, if someone fell on hard times financially, and had to sell their land, or themselves into slavery, then a close family member (known as a ‘kinsman redeemer’) was obligated under the law to redeem them by buying their land and their freedom

–         Likewise, if a husband died then that man’s brother or closest male relative was obligated to marry the widow, both to provide a home for the woman and to give the woman (and her late husband) an heir, a son

–         It wasn’t a good deal, financially, for the bloke who had to marry his dead brother’s widow, but it provided something more valuable than money

–         It provided security, nurture and hope for the whole community

–         The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Naomi has hope because the Law of Moses requires Boaz to redeem them

–         And this hope lifts her spirits, it gives her a new found energy and makes it possible for her to imagine a future in which Ruth is married with children and they all live happily ever after

–         The interesting thing about Naomi’s hope is that it isn’t all about Naomi

–         Naomi’s hope and happiness is tied to Ruth’s future in an inter-dependent way

 

Ruth 3

With this new found hope Naomi suggests a daring plan designed to get Boaz to marry Ruth

–         The plan is risky and one wonders why Naomi doesn’t propose a more straight forward plan, but the risk heightens the sense of suspense and makes for a better story I suppose

So Ruth went to the threshing place and did just what her mother-in-law had told her. When Boaz had finished eating and drinking, he was in a good mood. He went to the pile of barley and lay down to sleep. Ruth slipped over quietly, lifted the covers and lay down at his feet. During the night he woke up suddenly, turned over, and was surprised to find a woman lying at his feet.  

“Who are you?” he asked.

“It’s Ruth, sir,” she answered. “Because you are a close relative, you are responsible for taking care of me. So please marry me.”

[Don’t you love the way she proposes to him – it’s brilliant]

“The Lord bless you,” Boaz said. “You are showing even greater family loyalty in what you are doing now than in what you did for your mother-in-law. You might have gone looking for a young man, either rich or poor, but you haven’t. Now don’t worry, Ruth. I will do everything you ask; as everyone in town knows, you are a fine woman.   

 

That expression, ‘family loyalty’ translates from the Hebrew word hesed

–         I’ve talked about hesed before

–         Katherine Sakenfeld gives the best definition I think…

 

Hesed is variously translated as kindness, mercy, faithfulness or loyalty

–         There are three criteria to hesed in the Hebrew Bible:

–         First, the action is essential to the survival or basic well-being of the recipient

–         Second, the needed action is one that only the person doing the act of hesed is in a position to provide

–         And thirdly, an act of hesed takes place within the context of an existing, positive relationship [1]

 

Boaz is commending Ruth for her hesed (or her loyal love) toward Naomi and her late husband

–         In terms of our HEALING acronym hesed relates closely with nurture & giving

 

Ruth showed hesed (or kindness & nurture) to Naomi by sticking with her and taking care of her through thick & thin

–         Without Ruth’s support it is uncertain whether Naomi would have survived – after all it was Ruth who provided food for them both

–         Not only that but Ruth was a comforting companion for Naomi – she saved her mother-in-law from being overwhelmed by loneliness & grief

 

Likewise, Ruth showed generous hesed to her late husband Mahlon by seeking a husband from among Mahlon’s relatives

–         In this way Mahlon’s name would be preserved in Israel

–         If Ruth had gone after a younger man, who wasn’t related to Mahlon, then the child would not be counted as Mahlon’s son or Naomi’s grandson – no one else could give Mahlon a son in this way, only Ruth

Boaz has the insight to truly appreciate Ruth’s nurture & giving and is ready to respond in kind with his own generous nurture of Ruth & Naomi, but first he must negotiate with another kinsman-redeemer who is more closely related than himself

 

Ruth 4

Boaz does everything out in the open and above board – he follows the right process to avoid arguments later

–         At the town gate, in the presence of the elders, Boaz asks the closer kinsman redeemer if he will redeem Naomi’s field (that is, buy it off Naomi so the land stays in the family and Naomi is provided for)

–         At first the man is willing to do this but when he learns that marrying Ruth is part of the deal he pulls out because then the field would belong to any children he has with Ruth – this man isn’t feeling that generous

–         We shouldn’t be too tough on him though – he was simply being honest

–         Ruth would be better off with Boaz because Boaz really appreciated her in a way that the other guy didn’t

–         So Boaz, who is the next closest relative, steps in to redeem the situation by purchasing the field and marrying Ruth

–         Financially it is not in Boaz’ interests to do this but Boaz is thinking of the bigger picture – he is thinking of the community as a whole, not just himself

–         Boaz & Ruth together are greater than the sum of Boaz & Ruth apart

 

Ruth & Boaz are married with the blessing of the community and, by God’s grace, a son is born to Ruth

–         The women of Bethlehem have the last word, saying to Naomi…

“Praise the Lord! He has given you a grandson today to take care of you. May the boy become famous in Israel! Your daughter-in-law loves you, and has done more for you than seven sons. And now she has given you a grandson, who will bring new life to you and give you security in your old age.”

Naomi took the child, held him close, and took care of him.

The women of the neighbourhood named the boy Obed. They told everyone, “A son has been born to Naomi!”

Here we have appreciation, inter-dependence, nurture & giving, altogether, in just a couple of verses

  • – The women express their appreciation in praise to God for the birth of Obed and the loyal love of Ruth
  • – Ruth gives her first born son to Naomi
  • – And Naomi nurtures the child
  • – Inter-dependence is seen in the way the women of the neighbourhood name the boy and rejoice with Naomi
  • – What happens to one part of the body affects the rest – if one part suffers, all the other parts suffer with it and if one part is praised, all the other parts share its happiness
  • – The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

 

Conclusion:

The book of Ruth finishes with a genealogy

  • – Obed became the father of Jesse, who was the father of David
  • – As in, king David – which makes Ruth & Boaz the ancestors of Jesus

The story of Naomi & Ruth is a story of how God heals the broken hearted and the poor in spirit, not through quick miracles but through more ordinary things like time, patience, loyal love and the people we least expect

  • – Hope, Energy, Appreciation, Lament, Inter-dependence, Nurture and Giving, they are all present in the healing process as Naomi goes from emptiness to fullness, from feeling condemned to being redeemed, from death to life, from disorientation to a new orientation

 

Ruth’s promise of hesed to Naomi reminds me of Jesus’ promise to be with us always, wherever we go [2]

Boaz’ action in redeeming Ruth & Naomi also reminds me of Jesus

Jesus, the Son of Man (the Son of Humankind), is our kinsman redeemer

  • – God has the power to take all the fragments, all the broken pieces of your life, and make you whole again
  • – It is the Spirit of Jesus who makes the whole greater than the sum of its parts

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    Can you think of some examples, from everyday life, where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts?

–         Discuss the way the different parts of our H.E.A.L.I.N.G. acronym work together

3.)    What is the significance of Ruth’s promise to Naomi?

–         What difference does this make for both of them?

4.)    Why does Naomi insist on being called Marah, in chapter 1?

–         How is this a form of lament?

5.)    How was the welfare system, operating in the story of Ruth, different from our welfare system today?

–         How did gleaning foster inter-dependence?

–         How does Boaz use his wealth & influence to help the poor & marginalised?

6.)    What does Boaz appreciate about Ruth?

–         How does Boaz express his appreciation for Ruth?

7.)    What are some of the ways the Law of Moses provided hope for people?

8.)    How does Ruth show hesed (loyal love) to Naomi and her late husband Mahlon?

–         How does the concept of hesed relate to our H.E.A.L.I.N.G. acronym?

9.)    In what sense is Jesus our kinsman redeemer?

 

[1] Katherine Doob Sakenfeld, Ruth, page 24.

[2] Matthew 28:20

Tawa Baptist

For-giving

Scripture: Matthew 18:21-35

Title: Forgiving

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Forgiveness is letting go
  • God’s forgiveness is unlimited but not unconditional
  • Forgiving from the heart
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good blood flow helps to heal wounds

–         Without healthy blood flow a wound will take ages to heal or may even get worse

–         Generally speaking things that improve blood flow include…

o   Putting a heat pack on the wound area

o   Elevating the wound to reduce swelling (because swelling restricts blood flow)

o   And appropriate levels of exercise to aid circulation

o   Looking after your heart also helps with blood flow – restricted arteries or poor blood pressure can impede blood flow and prolong the healing process

A ‘readiness to forgive’ is to the soul what good blood flow is to the body

–         Forgiveness, like blood flow, heals wounds

–         Without forgiveness the healing process can’t happen and our soul turns septic

 

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Last week we looked at giving – this morning we continue the focus on giving with special reference to for-giving

 

Forgiveness is letting go:

As I mentioned earlier in the service, forgiveness is about letting go

–         Letting go of our hurt and letting go of our desire to get even

–         With forgiveness we don’t insist on our rights – we give up our rights in order to set the other person free from their obligation to us

–         Forgiveness is a choice to refuse replaying the injury in our mind

–         It is a choice not to remind the other person of what they have done – not to hold anything over them

 

Forgiveness is an act of faith

–         When we forgive others we are trusting God to make things right, as opposed to taking matters into our own hands.

–         Likewise, when we seek forgiveness we are trusting in God’s mercy, not in our own rightness.

 

Forgiveness is similar to grieving

–         With both grieving and forgiveness we have lost something and we are coming to terms with that loss in a way that allows us to move forward

–         If the loss is significant then our forgiveness may require some lament

–         For example, we may have to give honest expression to our anger before we can forgive, before we can let the other person go free

 

To illustrate how God’s forgiveness works Jesus tells a parable to his disciples in Matthew 18

–         In the context of Matthew 18, Jesus has just been talking about how his followers are to relate with each other, and in particular how they are to restore broken relationships. From Matthew 18, verse 21, we read…

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master had compassion on him, cancelled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 May God’s Spirit illuminate this reading for us

 

God’s forgiveness is unlimited but not unconditional:

This parable shows us that while God’s forgiveness is unlimited, it is not unconditional

Someone once said, ‘It doesn’t matter how much milk you spill so long as you don’t lose the cow.’

–         I guess the point is that mistakes are bound to happen – milk is going to get spilt – but, as long as we still have the cow we can always get some more. With the cow, our milk supply is unlimited

One way of understanding Jesus’ parable here is that God gives us the cow of grace – or unlimited forgiveness

–         But in order for us to keep the cow we must share the milk of forgiveness with others – if we don’t share the forgiveness then we forfeit the cow

–         While God’s forgiveness is unlimited, it is not unconditional

The standard Jewish teaching of the day recommended that you forgive someone 3 times

–         So when Peter suggested the upper limit for forgiveness might be 7 times, he was going well beyond the norm but still missing the point really

–         Because forgiveness, by definition, requires us to not keep score at all

–         Maintaining a ledger of wrong doing is the opposite of forgiveness

So, when Jesus said to Peter, ‘Not seven times, but seventy seven times’

–         He did not literally mean 77 times (or 490 times as some translations say)

–         He meant that we should not be counting

–         Our forgiveness of others should be unlimited

–         Martin Luther King summed it up well when he said…

–         Forgiveness is an attitude, not an occasional act

 

Jesus illustrates how God’s forgiveness works by telling a story about the kingdom of heaven

–         In Jesus’ parable the king wants to settle accounts with his servants

–         One of his servants is brought in who owes him 10,000 talents

–         Now a talent in Jesus’ time was not a special ability that one might possess like singing or drawing

–         A talent was a measure of weight – the largest measure of weight they had (in this case probably of silver)

–         What’s more 10,000 was the largest increment or number they used

–         So when Jesus says the servant owed 10,000 talents he does not mean for us to try and calculate the exact sum of silver or gold this may represent

–         Jesus is quoting a figure which was at the limit of what anyone in that culture could imagine

–         It was a figure many times greater than the GDP of Galilee – which means it would be impossible for the servant to repay the king

At first the king orders his servant to be sold as a slave (along with his wife & kids and all his property)

–         This in itself would not cover the debt – it was simply a way of the king preventing further losses and recouping what he could

–         Now, under the circumstances this was quite a merciful thing for the king to do – he could have ordered the servant’s head to be cut off or had him thrown in jail, but he doesn’t

Interestingly, the servant does not want to work for anyone else

–         The servant realises how good he has it with the king and wants to stay under the king’s care and protection – so he begs for mercy by saying…

–         Be patient with me and I will pay you everything

Now this is a lie told by a man in desperation

–         There is no way the servant could repay the entire debt – not even if he was given several lifetimes – it is impossible

–         The servant wants the king’s grace but he is unwilling to fully accept the truth of what he has done

–         Forgiveness doesn’t work unless we honestly take in what has happened

–         It’s the truth about ourselves that sets us free to forgive others

–         Truth is to forgiveness what sanding is to painting or what digging is to laying foundations – without truth, forgiveness doesn’t stick

The king knows that his servant can’t repay him but he has compassion on him and forgives the debt altogether – forgiveness is letting go of getting even

–         Forgiveness is also an act of faith

–         The king is trusting his servant to learn from his mistakes and not repeat the sorts of behaviour that got him into debt in the first place

–         He is also trusting his servant to pay it forward and forgive others

As soon as the servant is out of the king’s presence he finds a fellow servant who owes him a hundred denarii (equivalent to about 3 months wages for a labourer at that time) – nothing by comparison to 10,000 talents of silver

–         He grabs his fellow servant by the throat and says…

–         Pay back what you owe me

–         But when this fellow servant begs for mercy the first servant refuses and instead throws his co-worker into debtors’ prison

The unforgiving servant’s behaviour is the opposite of the king’s behaviour

–         The king was not violent but the unforgiving servant is

–         The king had compassion but the unforgiving servant is obtuse

–         The king did not insist on his rights whereas the unforgiving servant demands justice

–         The king released his servant but this same man who was released throws his fellow servant in prison

The other staff see all this and they are very upset

–         So they go to the king and intercede for the poor bloke who has been thrown in prison

–         The fact that they go to the king suggests they are used to the king listening and acting justly – they trust the king to do the right thing

When the king hears what the unforgiving servant has done he is outraged

–         He tells the servant some home truths and sends the man to jail to be tortured until he should pay back the whole amount

–         That’s a frightening thought when you consider that the unforgiving servant had no way of repaying the debt and no friends to bail him out

–         It might leave us with some rather discomforting thoughts about God

–         The same God who welcomes the prodigal

–         The same God who goes looking for the lost sheep

–         The same God who shows mercy and forgives generously

–         Is the same God who executes justice and punishes the hypocrite

To be clear God is not volatile or capricious – he is not prone to lashing out in random acts of rage. A couple of things to bear in mind about this situation…

Firstly, hyperbole or exaggeration are the hall-marks of this parable and the unforgiving servant himself is presented as an extreme example

–         He is certainly not representative of every servant of the king

Secondly, the king in this parable is simply giving the servant what he asked for

–         He had demanded justice for himself from his fellow servant

–         And so this is exactly what the king gives him

–         Measure for measure the king treated the unforgiving servant as he had treated others

I believe that God is just and merciful – he wouldn’t punish anyone beyond what they deserve

–         This being so the worst we can expect from God is justice and the best we can expect is mercy – either way, the choice is ours

–         Through faith in Jesus, God offers his mercy and his forgiveness to everyone – all we have to do is accept his mercy and pay it forward

–         But, if we insist on justice for ourselves, then that’s what God will give us

When we consider our own experience the imprisonment and torture in this parable equate to the mental & emotional anguish that un-forgiveness creates for the individual

–         Holding a grudge is like letting someone live rent free in your head

–         Or, as Malachy McCourt puts it, “Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die”

When we fail to forgive others, when we insist on justice for ourselves,

–         When we keep a record of wrongs,

–         When we hold onto the bricks of hurt & resentment, we lose the cow of forgiveness

–         We make ourselves a prisoner to all sorts of tormenting thoughts & fears

–         In short, we cut ourselves off from God’s mercy

Thomas Fuller once said, “He who cannot forgive breaks the bridge over which he himself must pass.”

–         Our forgiveness, our freedom, is conditional on us forgiving others

–         When we forgive others we maintain the bridge that God has built for us through Christ

 

Forgiving from the heart:

After talking about the punishment of the unforgiving servant Jesus concludes his parable (in verse 35) by saying…

–         “That is how my Father in heaven will treat every one of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart”

What does it mean to forgive your brother or your sister from your heart?

–         Well it means to forgive genuinely, authentically, from deep within yourself

–         It is not a superficial, passive aggressive, phoney kind of forgiveness

–         It’s not saying, ‘May God forgive you’, and then fantasying about beating that person up

–         It is the kind of forgiveness that sets us free on the inside

A couple of weeks ago I was crossing the road when some random guy I didn’t recognise yelled out from across the street calling me an obscene name

–         I did nothing to provoke him, I was just walking across the road

–         At the time I felt shocked and didn’t really know what to do so I carried on walking and, silently in my head, asked God to forgive him

Afterwards though it started to bother me – why did he call me that name?

–         Despite having asked God to forgive him there was a part of me that wanted to do violent things to him

–         It was exhausting trying to stop my mind from going down that track

Perhaps if I said the words, ‘I forgive you’, out loud a few times, maybe that would work

–         But it didn’t. If anything that just made it worse – it only made me think about it more

–         He wasn’t sorry – he wasn’t even there to hear my forgiveness

–         So that night I tried to distract myself by watching some junk TV, but that didn’t work either, there was always something to remind me of the injury to my pride

Eventually I remembered what had worked for me in the past when I was struggling to let something go

–         The problem was, I kept thinking about my innocence and that made me hungry for justice

–         What I needed to think about was my guilt so that I would be hungry for mercy

I was upset about this guy taking my name in vain, blaspheming my name, and I couldn’t let it go because (sub-consciously) it reminded me of the times when I’ve taken God’s name in vain

–         This guy was showing me a mirror – I was that man

–         You see, while I’ve never done anything against the guy who yelled abuse at me, I have at times abused God’s name

–         The truth is I have behaved in ways that have made God appear obscene to others and yet God has forgiven me for that

–         Me taking God’s name in vain is far worse than that guy taking my name in vain – and once I realised that I stopped thinking about my injury and I forgave the guy from my heart – I was able to let it go, without Netflix

–         The things that bother us most about other people are often the things that bother us most about ourselves

 

Ideally forgiveness leads to restoration of right relationship

–         In fact reconciliation is not possible without forgiveness

–         However, forgiveness is possible without reconciliation

–         Forgiveness is always necessary but full reconciliation and restoration of relationship is not always wise

–         I don’t know the guy who yelled at me and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want to know me either, so I don’t have to try and be his friend

Of course the example I’ve given is a relatively small thing – it’s not the same as being physically or sexually abused by someone you know

–         Forgiveness of that magnitude usually requires a process of grieving & lament, not to mention a fair dollop of God’s grace

Jesus’ call to forgive others is not a call to be used as a doormat or a punching bag.

–         If someone commits a serious criminal offence against you then it is okay to take that to the police – forgiveness doesn’t mean turning a blind eye

–         Wherever possible we should seek to restore damaged relationships but if the person you need to forgive is not willing to change,

–         If they continue to behave in abusive ways

–         If they simply cannot be trusted then you do not need to remain in relationship with them

–         You do need to forgive them (to let go of the hurt) in order to find healing, but you don’t need to try and be their friend

–         Better to call them by their proper name – your enemy

–         As a last resort Matthew 18 also allows for the ex-communication of the unrepentant

Forgiveness is not an excuse for us to dodge our responsibilities

–         If we do wrong then we should apologise to the one we have offended

–         If we can repay our debts, then we must

–         If we can put things right, then we should do that

–         If we commit a crime then we have to face the courts and take our punishment

–         God’s mercy does not erase his justice, it supports his justice

–         God’s mercy supports us to do the right thing

Conclusion:

God’s forgiveness is unlimited but it is not unconditional

–         God will forgive us generously when we call on him

–         But we forfeit his forgiveness if we refuse to forgive others

–         As Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy”

 

Let us pray a prayer of confession…

 Loving Father, our sin is too much for us to bear but Your forgiveness is greater than our sin.

Forgive us for our anxious thoughts and failure to trust you. Calm the waters of our soul.

Forgive us for our words which have wounded like shrapnel or sown weeds in other people’s hearts. Make our speech gracious and true.

Forgive us for the pride that blinds us to our own faults. Remove the plank from our mind’s eye.

Forgive us for the times we have dragged your name through the mud. Help us to reflect your image clearly.

Forgive us for the violence we imagine, provoke and express. Make us a channel of your peace.

Forgive us for our unceasing consumption which is destroying this planet. Satisfy our desires in Christ and restore the earth.

Forgive us for denying your grace by insisting on our own innocence. Make us aware of our need for your mercy.

Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Set us free to serve you with clean hands and a pure heart. Amen.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is forgiveness?

–         What might forgiveness look like in practice – both mentally and relationally?

–         How is forgiveness an act of faith?

–         In what ways is forgiveness like grieving?

3.)    How does Jesus’ response to Peter and the parable in Matthew 18 convey the idea that God’s forgiveness is unlimited?

–         How does the parable convey the idea that God’s forgiveness in not unconditional?

4.)    What does the parable show us about God’s character?

5.)    Why is truth (esp. the truth about ourselves) necessary for forgiveness to stick?

6.)    What is the consequence, in your experience, of failing to forgive?

–         How does this fit with the consequence for the unforgiving servant in Jesus’ parable?

7.)     What does it mean to forgive from your heart?

–         How might we forgive from our heart?

–         Why does insisting on our innocence get in the way of forgiving?

8.)    How is forgiveness different from reconciliation?

–         How does forgiveness relate to reconciliation?

–         When is it appropriate to seek reconciliation with someone?

–         When is it not appropriate to seek reconciliation with someone?

9.)    Is there someone you need to forgive?

–         Is there someone you need to seek forgiveness from?

Tawa Baptist

Giving

Scripture: Luke 16:1-13

Title: Giving

Key Points:

  • Giving opens doors and facilitates movement
  • Giving creates security by strengthening relationships

Introduction:

Last summer we went to Kapiti Island for a day

–         Kapiti has a lagoon on its northern edge

–         Although it is right beside the sea the lagoon is completely closed in – no water flows in from the sea and no water flows out

–         Apparently this happened naturally with time and weather

–         Local Maori say the lagoon was a burial place for those who had fought and died on Kapiti in wars of centuries past

–         No one drinks the water, nor fishes from it, nor even swims in it

–         The water is dark and brackish (a mix of fresh water and salt water), not really inviting

–         Movement supports life – the Kapiti lagoon is a place of death, not just because of its history but because it has no movement – nothing flows in and nothing flows out

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Last week we looked at nurture – this morning our focus is giving

Giving is good for our soul in a number of ways

–         Giving supports life by opening doors and facilitating movement

–         If the lagoon on Kapiti had an opening the brackish water inside could be released and changed regularly and it would become a place of life again

Or to change metaphors, giving is like CRC – it loosens things that have seized

–         Or giving is like engine oil – it allows the motor to run freely without overheating

–         Or giving is like kiwi fruit – it moves your bowel and clears out the waste

–         Or giving is like picking beans – the more you pick the bigger your crop

Giving can include sharing money and resources, being generous in our attitude toward others, giving time to listen and serve, giving people the benefit of the doubt and forgiving others.

Luke 16:1-13

To help us explore this idea of giving our message today focuses on Luke 16, verses 1-13. Taken as a whole Luke 16 is about the use of wealth

–         As I’ve already mentioned there is more to giving than sharing money, nevertheless Luke 16 sets out some helpful principles relating to giving

–         From verse 1 we read…

Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’

“The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’

“So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Nine hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred and fifty.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’

“‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

“The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “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.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

Our reading today begins with Jesus telling his disciples the parable of the shrewd manager (or the unjust steward)

–         Two things this parable shows us about giving…

–         Giving opens doors and facilitates movement

–         And giving creates security by strengthening relationships

 

The parable of the Shrewd Manager assumes a scenario in which a rich landowner leases his land to farmers who pay rent by giving him a portion of their harvest [1]

The rich man learns that his servant has been wasting his goods so he calls the manager in, fires him on the spot and orders him to hand over the books

–         This may seem a bit harsh to us but it was actually quite gracious in the context

–         In Jesus’ day a manager could have been imprisoned or sold as a slave with his family in order to recoup the rich man’s losses

–         But the rich man lets the manager go free

Interestingly the manager does not argue with his master – he doesn’t try to justify himself

–         The manager knows his master is right and there is no point in arguing, so his thoughts turn to his future – how will he provide for himself?

To his credit the manager harbours no illusions about himself – he knows he couldn’t make it as a labourer or a beggar so he devises a plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a weasel (as Black Adder might say to Baldric)

–         The manager’s plan is to call his master’s debtors in one by one and forgive a large portion of each of their debts

–         ‘…Then when my job is gone here, I shall have friends who will welcome me in their homes.’

–         Giving opens doors and facilitates movement

–         Giving also creates security by strengthening relationships

 

The manager called the master’s debtors to him (one at a time) and he reduced their debts significantly

–         900 gallons of olive oil becomes 450

–         1000 bushels of wheat becomes 800

–         These represent significant sums of money

–         450 gallons of olive oil was worth about a year and half’s wages

Giving creates security by strengthening relationships

–         Generally speaking, the greater the gift the stronger the relationship, or at least the stronger the obligation

Let me demonstrate what I mean [Hold up a single piece of paper]

–         Imagine that this piece of paper represents the relationship between two people

–         As you can see the relationship isn’t very strong or deep just yet – it could easily be ripped in half – and that’s because not much has been given or shared, perhaps just 1 gallon of olive oil

[Hold up a phone book]

–         Here we have a more robust relationship – one in which 450 gallons of olive oil has been given or shared

–         As you can see this relationship is much stronger

The point is: by forgiving such large amounts of debt the manager opened doors and created security for himself by strengthening relationships

On the one hand the debtors don’t realise the manager has already been given the sack and is no longer authorised to write off their debt

–         So publicly the debtors would be able to say ‘I had no idea the manager had been fired – I thought he was authorised to make the reductions’

–         But on the other hand they might also be thinking, ‘this is all a little bit too good to be true, I have a feeling the manager is going to want his cut’

–         So privately the debtors might be expecting to split some of their savings with the manager afterwards

The manager very shrewdly gets the debtors to write the reduction in their own hand – in this way the debtors cannot contest the amounts owed or get out of their shady deal with the manager

–         It also shows the master that the debtors are aware of the reductions making it a lot more difficult for the master to change the figures back without losing face

As Kenneth Bailey observes, by making these reductions public knowledge the manager has made his master look like a generous hero in the eyes of the whole community

–         If the master were to increase the debts again he would then look bad in the eyes of the community

–         The master chooses to show extravagant grace to the manager once again and does not contest the reductions

–         This act of grace for the manager is also an act of grace for the whole community – everyone wins at the master’s expense

The parable concludes with the master praising his servant (the manager) – not for being dishonest but rather for being clever & brave

–         The manager has essentially risked everything on a belief that his master will act graciously, not treating him as he deserves

–         If the master had not been gracious the plan would have failed and the manager would have been thrown in prison or sold as a slave

–         The master’s generosity points to God’s generosity in forgiving us

 

In verse 9 Jesus interprets his own parable saying…

  • – I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

–         In other words, giving opens doors and strengthens relationships, not just in this life but in eternity

–         Jesus means for people to be smart and use the money or wealth they have in constructive ways – to help others, especially the poor

–         In the same way that the manager had to prepare for his future because he was about to lose his job, so too we need to think about our eternal future

–         This life won’t last forever and when it ends we can’t take our money with us – but what does carry over into eternity is our relationships, because relationships have to do with spirit

Money may have some value in this life but it will have no value in the next life

–         Good relationships have value both in this life and the next

–         If you know the value of your dollar will soon be worthless then the smart thing to do is invest your money in something that will hold its value before the dollar drops – Good relationships hold their value forever

–         So it makes sense to use our money to help others and to strengthen good relationships now, while we still can

 

Luke 16 contains a second parable – of the rich man and Lazarus

–         If the parable of the shrewd manager teaches us about giving and a good use for money, then the parable of the rich man and Lazarus teaches us about withholding and a foolish use of money

–         The rich man used his wealth to indulge himself while neglecting to help Lazarus the poor man

–         When they both died the tables were turned and Lazarus went to be with Abraham, while the door to paradise was shut to the rich man

–         Giving opens doors and strengthens relationships in this life and the next

–         Withholding things (whether that’s withholding money or the truth or love) locks doors and dissolves relationships

–         The security of having right relationships is far better than the security offered by money

 

In some ways (although not in every way) the master in Jesus’ parable is a bit like God and we are a bit like the servant or the manager

–         Hopefully we aren’t dishonest like the manager but, either way, we are not the owner of the wealth – God is the owner and we are the stewards

–         Jesus says as much in verses 10-13…

–         If you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own

–         In other words: what we have in our possession in this life; our car, our house, our furniture, the money in our bank account, our job, our time – it’s not really ours – it belongs to God

–         But we do have considerable freedom about how we use it – whether to serve God’s purpose by helping others or not

–         If we use what God has entrusted us with faithfully, to serve His purpose, then we will be trusted with more in eternity

So if the money we have belongs to God and we need to use it to serve his purpose then what does good stewardship look like?

–         Should we be living on the smell of an oily rag and blindly giving away as much as we can to charitable causes?

–         Well, no – I don’t think so

–         God is into justice and mercy – so our spending needs to be fair & kind

–         Yes, we should give some money to charitable causes that are in line with God’s purpose but not at the expense of justice

–         Justice is better than charity

For example, it is better to buy fair trade goods and pay a little more than it is to buy something cheap that has been made by slave labour, even if you plan to give the savings to World Vision or the SPCA

–         We shouldn’t give to charities as a substitute for paying a fair price

–         In global terms we (in NZ) are relatively wealthy – we need to use our wealth in solidarity with the poor, not in ways that oppress them

 

Take the example of pokey machines – while the profits might be distributed to community charities, these same profits often come at the expense of the poor

–         If pokey machines are contributing to the problem then it would be better not to have them in the first place

–         No amount of charity can compensate for injustice

–         If you have a dead carcass rotting in a stream, making the water undrinkable, you don’t leave the carcass there and try to purify the water with chemicals – no, you remove the carcass

 

Another Godly use of money is taking care of your family

–         God puts us in families for a reason – to take care of each other

–         If you hold the purse strings then be fair to your family with how you spend your income – make sure they are warm, dry, well fed and educated before spending on yourself or sending money overseas

–         And, if at all possible, try to have a job that allows you time with your kids – because your time is more valuable to them than your money

I could go on but hopefully you get the point: good stewardship doesn’t mean amassing large amounts of wealth

–         Nor does it mean giving all our money away thoughtlessly or carelessly

–         Good stewardship means using what God has given us to help others in ways that are just, merciful and life-giving

–         John Stott was wise and strategic in his giving – the money he made from the books he wrote went to paying for quality theological training for men & women in poor countries. He believed that would do more long term good, for more people, than anything else

 

In his book Lost Connections Johann Hari tells the following true story of the effects of giving [2]

In the middle of the 1970’s a group of Canadian officials chose a small town, called Dauphin, for an economic experiment

–         Most of the people living in Dauphin were farmers growing a crop called canola

–         The 17000 people of the town worked as hard as they could but were still struggling

–         When the canola crop was good everyone did well but when the canola crop was bad, everyone suffered – consequently there was insecurity because people were anxious about having enough to live on

 

The government officials wondered what would happen if they gave everyone in Dauphin a guaranteed universal basic income with no strings attached

–         I guess it was a bit like our national superannuation except for everyone, not just those over 65

–         This income wouldn’t be means tested like our working for families tax credit – every household simply got paid $19,000 US per year (in today’s terms) – which is over $28,000 NZ dollars

–         By itself this wouldn’t be enough to live on but it would make life easier

–         Sounds a little bit like communism but it wasn’t because people were still free to choose the work they did, still free to worship God and still free to earn more if they wanted to, without penalty

–         This experiment lasted for a while until a new government was elected in Canada and stopped it

 

It wasn’t until years later that a woman, called Evelyn, dug up the data and interviewed those who had taken part to learn the outcome of the experiment

–         Evelyn went through the medical records and found there were fewer people showing up at the doctors with depression & anxiety at that time

–         Why? Because the guaranteed basic income removed the rotting carcass of financial stress in people’s everyday lives – it provided security

 

We might expect people to misuse the money or at least accumulate as much as they could, but quite the opposite happened in Dauphin

–         Giving people basic security actually opened doors for them and made positive change possible

–         People chose to work a bit less and spend more time with their kids

–         And this time was quality time because the parents were less stressed and able to be present with their kids, which meant family life was better

–         Students stayed at school longer and learned more – not only that but some adults went back to school to improve their lot in life

–         Others who felt trapped in a job they hated, just to pay the bills, now had the means to leave that job and do something they enjoyed more

 

People didn’t waste the extra money on booze and cigarettes

–         No – they proved to be good stewards and used the money in wise and creative ways to strengthen their relationships and secure a better future for themselves and their families

 

The same sort of experiment has been done in other places too with the same sort of results

–         I’m not an economist so I don’t know how this would work on a larger scale (like, how would you pay for it and what would it do to inflation?) but I expect there would be significant improvements to people’s health & wellbeing as well as a reduction in crime, therefore saving money over the long term

–         More importantly though people would enjoy the true wealth of better quality lives and relationships

 

This idea of stewardship – giving people resources and trusting them to make good decisions with it, is similar to God’s approach with us

–         Of course with God we will have to give account one day

 

Conclusion:

Our reading from Luke this morning finishes with that well known verse…

  • – “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.”

 Giving (in whatever form it takes) saves us from the tyranny of self

  • – The tighter we hold onto money the tighter it holds onto us
  • – Financial riches are a cruel master, as is poverty
  • – God is a far kinder, more gracious master
  • – When we release what God has given us, to serve his purpose, we affirm that God is in charge and we find release for ourselves – we open up the lagoon of our brackish heart for God to bring refreshment & life

 

Giving well is good for our soul

–         Giving sets us free – it opens doors in this life and the next

–         Giving facilitates movement and movement supports life

–         Giving also creates security and a better future through stronger relationships

 

Questions for discussion or reflection

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What are some of the ways in which we can give?

3.)    Why does the master commend the shrewd manager?

–         How are we to be like the shrewd manager?

–         How are we to not be like the shrewd manager?

4.)    What does the parable of the shrewd manager teach us about giving?

–         What does it teach us about the value of money and relationships respectively, in the light of eternity?

5.)    What might good stewardship look like?

–         What do we mean when we say, ‘justice is better than charity’?

–         Give some examples of a good use of money – a use that serves God’s purpose

6.)    What would you do if you had a guaranteed basic income (no strings attached) like the people of Dauphin?

7.)    What is your experience of wealth &/or poverty?

–         What is your experience of God as master of your life?

–         How does giving set us free from the tyranny of self?

 

[1] I have drawn mainly on Kenneth Bailey’s interpretation of this parable from his book ‘Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes’, pages 332-342. Other commentators take a different view.

[2] Johann Hari. ‘Lost Connections’, pages 245-249.

Tawa Baptist

Nurture

Scripture: Luke 10:25-42

Title: Nurture

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Eternal life – vv. 25-28
  • The Samaritan – vv. 29-37
  • The benefits of nurture
  • Conclusion – Mary & Martha – vv. 38-42

Introduction:

A number of the images the Bible gives us of God are images of nurture, care and protection – God is referred to as a Father, a Gardner, a Shepherd and even as a Mother Hen

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Over the last couple of weeks we have looked at inter-dependence

–         This morning our focus is nurture

Nurture is about caring for & protecting others, in contrast to abuse & neglect

–         Nurture facilitates inter-dependence and the growth of healthy relationships – without nurture we wouldn’t have inter-dependence

–         Last week I compared inter-dependence to a net – open and flexible

–         Well, if inter-dependence is a net, then nurture is tying the nots that hold the net together – nurture is mending the net

In Biblical terms nurture is about loving God and loving your neighbour

–         In Luke 10 Jesus tells a parable which illustrates what it means to love God and your neighbour – from verse 25 we read…

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he travelled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he had compassion on him.

He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think acted like a neighbour to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

Eternal Life:

Our reading this morning begins with a question about eternal life

–         How do we inherit or receive eternal life?

–         Before we talk about that though we first need to have some idea of what eternal life is

To the First Century Jewish lawyer who asked this question eternal life was a future age or epoch in which God’s Kingdom would come in its fullness (as symbolised by the green upward arrow) – in contrast to this life now (as symbolised by the red downward curve)

–         Eternal life goes on forever whereas this life is finite – it ends in death

–         This diagram doesn’t tell the full story though

 

For Christians, eternal life is more than simply everlasting time into the future

–         For Christians – eternal life is the very life that God has

–         It is God’s own kind of life, divine life. [1]

 

In John 17 Jesus says in prayer, “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

–         This tells us that eternal life is essentially a relationship with God

–         To receive eternal life then is to know God, not just in our head, but intimately, in our experience, and to have him know us personally too

–         A better image of eternal life might be the closeness between a mother and child, or the intimacy between two lovers or the bond between the dearest of friends

–         But even the closest and most functional of human relationships are only approximations – no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him  [2]

–         The point is: eternal life isn’t just about living forever, it is about enjoying a certain quality of life in relationship with God – abundant life, life with peace & joy and wholeness – Life which finds deep satisfaction & meaning through a close, loving connection with the Lord

–         We receive eternal life (we know intimacy with God) through Jesus

 

The lawyer asked Jesus about eternal life to test Jesus, maybe even trip him up

–         Jesus senses this and gets the lawyer to answer his own question

–         We inherit eternal life by loving God with our all and loving our neighbour as our self

–         Love God, love your neighbour – seems straight forward enough, except no one but Jesus has been able to do this perfectly

–         Asking us to sustain whole hearted love of God and our neighbour over a lifetime is like asking us to fly to the moon by flapping our arms

–         Without the transport Jesus offers we won’t even get off the ground

 

The Samaritan:

The lawyer is astute enough to realise that he can’t love everyone all the time but he still thinks he can love some people enough of the time – so he seeks clarification as to who his neighbour is

–         In other words, who do I need to love and who do I not need to worry about?

–         He probably expected Jesus to say, your neighbour is a fellow Jew who keeps the law and possibly even the resident alien who worships the Lord

–         Anyone who doesn’t fall into either of those categories you can ignore

 

Jesus doesn’t answer as expected though – he tells a parable which undermines the lawyer’s categories…

 

A man is walking down the hill from Jerusalem to Jericho – a notoriously dangerous 20 miles of road, with rocky outcroppings and sudden turns which provide ideal ambush spots for bandits [3]

–         Not surprisingly this man is stopped by robbers, stripped, beaten and left unconscious on the side of the road

–         Jesus doesn’t tell us the identity of the man – we don’t know if he is a Jew or a Gentile, a worshipper of Yahweh or a pagan – and the passers-by don’t know either

–         In that culture you could tell where someone was from by the clothes they wore and by their accent, but this man had been stripped naked and he couldn’t talk because he was half dead, so no way to identify him

 

A priest is walking down that road, sees the man and passes by

–         Jewish priests at that time normally served for about two weeks a year in the temple

–         Most likely this priest has just finished his duty and is on his way home, because he is headed down the hill, away from the temple in Jerusalem

–         Although the wounded stranger’s identity is ambiguous the priest has decided this man does not qualify as his neighbour

 

Next a Levite comes along, sees the man and passes by

–         Levites were assistants to the priests – they helped in the temple but had less status than the priests

–         The Levite also decides the wounded stranger does not qualify as his neighbour

 

Lastly a Samaritan comes along

–         Now, we need to remember that Samaritans and Jews hated each other

–         They were enemies – there was no nurture happening between them

–         To the Jews there was no such thing as a ‘good’ Samaritan

 

Last summer I read a novel by Anthony Doerr, called All the Light We Cannot See. It took a bit of getting into but in the end was a satisfying read

–         Set in Europe during World War 2 it tells the story of a blind girl living in Paris during the German occupation and also the story of a German orphan boy conscripted into Hitler Youth and eventually the SS

–         As the title of the book suggests there was good & bad behaviour on both sides – not all the Germans were terrible & not all the French were saints

–         There is light in everyone, only sometimes we can’t see it due to our prejudice

 

Jesus’ largely Jewish audience couldn’t see any light in the Samaritans, even though there was light there, and so what comes next in this parable is a complete shock to them – like hearing of a blind French girl receiving care and protection from an SS soldier in 1944

 

When the Samaritan sees the wounded man he has compassion on him

–         Compassion is the feeling or motivation that accompanies nurture

–         Compassion moves us to care for and protect others

 

At some risk and inconvenience to himself the Samaritan gives the wounded stranger first aid – pouring wine & olive oil on wounds was common medical practice at that time

–         Apparently the Samaritan is not concerned with abstract debates about who his neighbour is – he sees a need and responds with care

–         Stopping to help the man is risky in that the bandits may still be lurking close by and could attack him also – but the Samaritan’s love is greater than his fear

 

Then the Samaritan puts the wounded man on his donkey while he walks beside

–         In that culture the one who rides the donkey is in the place of the master, while the one who walks alongside is in the place of the servant

–         So we have here a picture of the Samaritan taking the role of a servant – sort of like Jesus took the role of a servant to save us

 

The Samaritan takes the injured man to an inn and looks after him for the night – they didn’t have hospitals in those days

–         The next morning before leaving he pays the inn keeper two denarii to look after the man

–         Two denarii would have allowed the recuperating man to stay for a number of weeks – plenty of time to get better

–         But in case it’s not enough the Samaritan guarantees to reimburse any extra costs next time he passes that way

–         If the inn keeper was unscrupulous he could easily take advantage of the Samaritan’s kindness

 

We may wonder why the Samaritan doesn’t stay longer to care for the man

–         Well, he was getting the wider community involved

–         The Samaritan doesn’t try to do everything himself, he operates in an inter-dependent way

 

I expect also the Samaritan wanted to avoid any conflict

–         There is a scene in the 1990 movie Dances with Wolves, where Kevin Costner finds a woman alone in the wilderness, bleeding

–         He uses his flag to bind her wounds and then carries her on his horse to find help

–         He comes across a tribe of Indians, the same tribe to which she belongs

–         There he is, dressed in his army uniform (looking like the enemy) carrying a badly injured member of their tribe

–         Some of the younger Indians misunderstand and attack him because it appears he caused the injuries

–         He didn’t of course – it was a case of all the light we cannot see

–         In that scene Kevin Costner is a Samaritan to the Indians

 

By taking the wounded man to an inn and staying the night the Samaritan took a risk – a bit like Kevin Costner in Dances with Wolves

–         As a Samaritan in close proximity to Jerusalem he is in enemy territory and that makes him a target

–         Leaving, before his presence brought trouble, was a wise & prudent move – the Samaritan was loving his neighbour, without neglecting himself

 

Looking at the parable as a whole, the unidentified man in Jesus’ parable experiences abuse from the thieves, neglect from the clergy and generous nurture from the Samaritan

–         And he does this without any expectation of repayment – the wounded man has lost everything, he has nothing to offer in return

–         Despite their pedigree the priest and the Levite performed poorly, whereas the Samaritan had no pedigree but performed well

 

The benefits of nurture:

Now at this point you might be thinking – okay I can see how the Samaritan gives us a good example of nurture. He clearly shows practical love, care and support for the injured man

–         But while the Samaritan’s nurture was good for the man who had been beaten up, it’s difficult to see how it was good for the Samaritan himself

–         After all, the main point of this sermon series is care of our own soul

–         How does nurturing someone else, especially at great risk and expense to oneself, help the nurturer?

 

Well, nurturing others helps us in a number of ways…

–         Firstly, it makes us feel good inside – when we take care of others we feel more connected and less alone in the world.

 

Sometimes when we are hurting or in pain we can become quite self-absorbed and our perspective gets smaller & smaller until we find ourselves locked in self-destructive thought patterns – the temptation in grief is to self-pity

–         Nurturing others, looking to the well-being of others, actually enlarges our perspective and frees our mind, lifting our thought patterns out of the rut we sometimes get ourselves into

–         Self-pity leads us to neglect our soul. Nurture, of others, saves us from self-pity

 

Nurture also sets us free from slavery to an overbearing ego

–         By ‘ego’ I mean our sense of self importance

–         Someone with an over inflated ego thinks they are more important than they are – so they might, for example, worry too much about what other people think of them when in fact no one is giving them a second thought

–         Or perhaps they jump the queue or think the speed limit doesn’t apply to them because their time matters more than other people’s time or safety

–         Perhaps the priest and the Levite thought their needs were more important than the needs of the unconscious man on the side of the road?

–         Or perhaps they were overly worried about what others might think of them?

 

Now, having given examples of an over inflated ego it needs to be said, the ego isn’t necessarily a bad thing in itself – we need an ego (in this life at least) to protect ourselves [4]

–         If we had no ego (no sense of self-worth or importance) we wouldn’t value ourselves and would let others walk all over us

–         The ego acts as a kind of hedge – it protects us

–         Without an ego we are vulnerable to abuse & neglect – we would get hurt

–         But if the hedge of our ego grows too large it cuts us off from right relationship with other people

–         Nurturing other people trims the hedge – it helps to keep our ego under control so we don’t become disconnected from the people around us

 

The second greatest commandment is to, ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’

–         Notice that’s it’s not, ‘love your neighbour as you neglect yourself’

–         Nor is it, ‘love your neighbour half as much as you love yourself’

–         It’s, ‘love your neighbour as you love yourself’

–         In other words, you are just as important as your neighbour – no more, no less, so treat others the way you would like to be treated

–         Nurture of others regulates our ego and keeps us connected in an inter-dependent way

 

Another benefit to nurturing others is it brings us closer to God

–         As I said at the beginning of this message, God is a nurturer

–         Father, Gardener, Shepherd, Mother Hen – they are all images of nurture

–         While we can’t earn eternal life by doing good works, we can (at times) find ourselves close to God when performing practical acts of love

–         The Samaritan in Jesus’ parable actually entered into the life of God when he helped the wounded man on the side of the road

–         Caring for others is what God does – in fact some people see in the Samaritan a picture of Christ himself

–         So when we provide nurture for others we are sharing in God’s work and therefore in his eternal life

–         The good we do, in love, never dies, it is eternal – the knowledge of that should feed our soul with everlasting meaning and purpose

 

Conclusion:

The other thing to say about nurture – and this is very important – is that we can’t care for others without first taking care of our relationship with God

–         Love of God goes hand in hand with love of neighbour

–         Caring for others apart from God is like trying to water the garden with only your spit – not very effective or sustainable

–         To water the garden (or to care for others) generously and properly we must be connected to the water mains

–         It is out of the reservoir of God’s love that we find the resources to nurture others

 

Immediately after the parable of the Samaritan, we read the account of Jesus at Mary & Martha’s house

–         You know the one – Martha becomes frustrated with Mary and with the Lord because Mary sits at Jesus’ feet listening to his teaching, while Martha is run off her feet providing care and hospitality for a house full of disciples

–         But Jesus defends Mary saying, “Mary has chosen what is better and it will not be taken from her

–         Martha may have been providing nurture for everyone else but it was in her own strength, apart from Jesus

 

On the face things it would appear that Martha’s ego was too big – my work of doing the cooking & cleaning is more important than listening to Jesus

–         But when we dig a little deeper I wonder if in fact Martha’s ego wasn’t too big, but rather too small

–         Perhaps Martha didn’t think she was important enough to sit at Jesus’ feet and receive his teaching, like Mary and the men

–         Perhaps Martha ‘loved her neighbour as she neglected herself’ and this left her feeling resentful

–         The point is: before we can nurture others we need to spend time in Jesus’ presence, nurturing our relationship with the Lord

 

I imagine the Samaritan was ministering to the wounded man out of his own experience of God’s love for him

–         It was because the Samaritan appreciated God’s generous care for himself that he was able to be so generous in his care of someone he didn’t know

–         And it was because he was doing it for God that he didn’t need a reward

 

Personally I find Jesus’ parable of the Samaritan very challenging – it sets the bar high indeed

–         Even with an appreciation of God’s grace for us we may be forced at times to pick and choose who we help and who we walk past

–         I don’t think Jesus wants us to harbour feelings of misplaced guilt – it is not always in our power to do everything the Samaritan did

–         Sometimes we are the one naked and bleeding on the side of the road – sometimes we might be the ones in need of help

–         Other times we don’t have the wine or the bandages or the mule or the money to help

–         At those times we simply do what we can with what we have and we don’t feel bad about what we can’t do – grand gestures are not always called for

I like what Mother Teresa says…

–         Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is nurture?

–         How does nurture support/facilitate inter-dependence?

–         What images of God as a nurturer do we find in the Bible?

3.)    What is eternal life?

–         How might eternal life be different from this life now (finite life)?

4.)    What would have been surprising to Jesus’ original audience about the parable he told in Luke 10:30-35?

–         Who do you identify with most in this parable?

–         Do you have a Samaritan story (of unexpected kindness)? Share it.

5.)    What stops us from seeing the light in others?

–         What helps us to see the light in others?

6.)    What is compassion?

–         What moves you to compassionate action for others?

7.)    What was risky and costly about the Samaritan’s care for the wounded man?

–         What was wise and prudent about the Samaritan’s care?

8.)    How does nurturing others benefit our own soul and well-being?

–         How is the balance between loving your neighbour and taking care of yourself going for you personally at the moment?

9.)    What does the story of Mary & Martha (in Luke 10:38-42) teach us about nurture?

 

 

[1] M.M. Thompson, Gospel of John, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels, page 381.

[2] 1st Corinthians 2:9

[3] William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Luke’, page 141.

[4] The inspiration for this train of thought came from reading Johann Hari’s book “Lost Connections”, page 238.

Tawa Baptist

Inter-dependence – Part 2

Scripture: Exodus 18:13-26; Mark 6:6b-13; Luke 19:1-10

Title: Inter-dependence – Part 2

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Moses transitioned from independence to inter-dependence
  • Jesus works inter-dependently
  • Jesus opens the door of inter-dependence for Zacchaeus
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Robyn teaches five year olds and is always on the lookout for good picture books to read to her class

–         Recently she bought a book which gives the plural nouns for various groups of animals – for example, a school of fish and a gaggle of geese

–         Many of the plurals I hadn’t heard of before – like a loveliness of ladybirds, that was new to me

–         Thought we might see if people here knew their plural nouns

–         We’ll start with something easy…

What is a group of cows called? (A herd, a drove or a team)

–         What about a group of wolves? (A pack)

–         What about a group of zebras? (A dazzle or a zeal)

–         What about a group of butterflies? (A kaleidoscope, flutter, or swarm)

–         What about a group of bacteria? (A colony)

–         What about a group of giraffes? (A tower)

–         What about a group of elephants? (A parade)

Perhaps you knew the answers to most of these but many I didn’t know, which might reflect the way NZ culture has shaped my thinking – that is, to focus on the individual rather than the group

–         None of the creatures we just looked at exist in isolation – they all function as part of a group within a wider eco system.

 

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Last week we looked at inter-dependence with particular reference to Paul’s image of the body of Christ as an inter-dependent unity

Inter-dependence is about depending on one another – it is mutual reliance

–         To be inter-dependent is to function as part of a group and not in isolation

Today we explore some other Biblical examples of inter-dependence in practice, beginning with Moses – please turn with me to Exodus 18, page 79 towards the front of your pew Bibles

 

Moses transitioned from independence to inter-dependence:

Moses was famous for leading the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt and for giving the Law, including the 10 commandments

–         In Exodus 18 the Israelites are living in the wilderness when Moses receives a visit from his father-in-law Jethro. From verse 13, we read…

13 The next day Moses was settling disputes among the people, and he was kept busy from morning till night. 14 When Jethro saw everything that Moses had to do, he asked, “What is all this that you are doing for the people? Why are you doing this all alone, with people standing here from morning till night to consult you?”

15 Moses answered, “I must do this because the people come to me to learn God’s will. 16 When two people have a dispute, they come to me, and I decide which one of them is right, and I tell them God’s commands and laws.”

17 Then Jethro said, “You are not doing this right. 18 You will wear yourself out and these people as well. This is too much for you to do alone. 19 Now let me give you some good advice, and God will be with you. It is right for you to represent the people before God and bring their disputes to him. 20 You should teach them God’s commands and explain to them how they should live and what they should do. 21 But in addition, you should choose some capable men and appoint them as leaders of the people: leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. They must be God-fearing men who can be trusted and who cannot be bribed. 22 Let them serve as judges for the people on a permanent basis. They can bring all the difficult cases to you, but they themselves can decide all the smaller disputes. That will make it easier for you, as they share your burden. 23 If you do this, as God commands, you will not wear yourself out, and all these people can go home with their disputes settled.”

24 Moses took Jethro’s advice 25 and chose capable men from among all the Israelites. He appointed them as leaders of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. 26 They served as judges for the people on a permanent basis, bringing the difficult cases to Moses but deciding the smaller disputes themselves.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

On the wall here we have some examples of bottle necks

–         A bottle neck is a narrow point which slows the flow of something – whether that’s liquid out of a bottle or people through a wall or traffic on the road

–         Sometimes bottle necks are good – they give us more control over things

–         Other times though bottle necks are just frustrating – like when you are driving south into Otaki or north into Pukerua Bay

 

Inter-dependence is different from independence

–         To be inter-dependent is to function in harmony with a group

–         To be independent is to rely on yourself and therefore to operate separately from the group

Independence is narrow, restrictive, unyielding and inflexible – like a bottleneck

–         By contrast inter-dependence is more open and flexible – like a net

 

Although Moses was the leader of the Israelites – he wasn’t really functioning as part of the group, at least not at first

–         Moses’ leadership style was independent and this created a bottle neck to justice

It is not surprising that Moses should operate in an independent way

–         He was raised in an Egyptian palace apart from his people

–         When he did try to help his people they rejected him and he spent the next 40 years working on his own as a shepherd in the desert

–         Moses was used to doing things in an independent way

–         Now it’s not that Moses did everything independently

–         He certainly didn’t operate independently of Yahweh – Moses worked in partnership with the Lord and with his brother Aaron

–         But somehow that didn’t translate to his leadership of the nation of Israel

When it came to settling disputes (large & small) Moses did it all himself

–         To borrow from Paul’s metaphor of the body, Moses tried to be the head, hands and feet

–         Moses’ independent approach made everyone dependent on him and dependencies are generally not healthy

–         As a consequence Moses was over worked and the people became exhausted and frustrated as they waited for days to have their case heard – justice delayed is not justice

 

Often when we are in the thick of it – head down and tail up – we lose sight of the bigger picture

–         As an outsider looking in, Jethro could see that Moses needed to delegate more and so he suggested an inter-dependent network of judges

–         This network of judges would catch any of the bigger issues for Moses to handle (with God) and all the smaller more routine things could be managed by the judges – competent people of good moral character

This was a far better system because it released both Moses and the people from an unhealthy dependency

–         It meant that justice was no longer the sole responsibility of Moses – justice was now everyone’s responsibility

–         Previously it was only Moses who had to think about God’s will

–         Now thousands of people in the community were thinking about it

–         In this way inter-dependence creates a kind of safety net

–         If you fall independently, without a safety net, the landing is painful

–         But if you fall inter-dependently, with a community of mutual reliance underneath you, the landing is not fatal

 

Of course this shift from independence to inter-dependence required Moses to listen with humility to Jethro and to trust and empower other people

–         And that’s the difficult part isn’t it – inter-dependence should make us feel safer but ironically it sometimes makes us feel more vulnerable, because we aren’t in control of other people. What if they let us down?

–         Well, inter-dependence is like a net – sometimes a fishing net rips or develops a tear. When that happens we don’t throw the net away, we mend the net – we face the truth, we forgive each other and we move on

 

Okay, Moses offers us one example of someone who transitioned from independence to inter-dependence. What about Jesus – how did he operate?

 

Jesus works inter-dependently:

Please turn with me to Mark chapter 6, verse 7 – page 53 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         Unlike Moses, Jesus didn’t try to do everything himself

–         Jesus gathered a team of disciples (or apprentices) around him and trained them to carry on his work

–         These disciples, men & women, came from a variety of backgrounds – they were a diverse group with one thing in common: they trusted Jesus

–         From Mark chapter 6, verse 7 we read…

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. 7 He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits 8 and ordered them, “Don’t take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar’s bag, no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, but don’t carry an extra shirt.” 10 He also told them, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. 11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

12 So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

On the wall here is a graph which illustrates the law of diminishing returns

–         The vertical axis measures output or return, while the horizontal axis measures input or effort

–         Up to a certain point (point number 1) you get a good return for your effort, but after that point the rate of return starts to decrease and so you get less return for your effort

For example, imagine you are contracted to pick apples, but you don’t get paid by the hour you get paid by the number of apples you pick

–         You might find that in the first half of the day you are able to pick 1000 kilos of apples

–         But as the day goes on, you get more weary and the apples get thinner on the trees and you find you can only pick 500 kilos in the second half of the day

–         Although you are putting in the same amount of time & effort your return in the second half of the day diminishes significantly

–         That’s one example of the law of diminishing returns

Eventually there comes a point when it doesn’t make sense to carry on by yourself – you need to stop and rest or change one of the other variables like getting someone to help

–         You could carry on working after 10pm but it would become counter-productive because you would be tired and grumpy the next day

–         You could go 18 months without a holiday but it would become counter-productive because you would lose perspective and joy

 

In Mark 6 Jesus doesn’t try to do everything himself – he empowers his disciples to help him in an inter-dependent way

–         First Jesus gives them authority to do the job and then he sends them out to heal people and preach repentance

–         Six teams of disciples working in multiple orchards can pick more apples than one Messiah – Jesus overcomes the law of diminishing returns

Two things Jesus recommends here to encourage inter-dependence…

–         Firstly, the disciples are to minister together in pairs

–         There were a number of reasons Jesus sent his disciples out two by two

–         For instance, 2 witnesses gives more credibility to the message than 1

–         More importantly though, having a companion guards against loneliness

–         At the end of the day we need someone to talk to and understand us

Like the philosopher says in Ecclesiastes chapter 4…

–         Two are better off than one, because together they can work more effectively. If one of them falls down, the other can help him up. But if someone is alone and falls, it’s just too bad, because there is no one to help him. If it is cold, two can sleep together and stay warm, but how can you keep warm by yourself. Two people can resist an attack that would defeat one person alone. A rope made of three cords is hard to break.

  

The other thing Jesus tells his disciples is: don’t take food or money to provide for yourself, rely on the locals to provide for you

–         Remember that inter-dependence is mutual reliance – it’s a two way street where both parties give and take

–         The disciples would give healing and deliverance and a message for salvation, while those they ministered to would give food and shelter and friendship in return

–         Now this wasn’t a hard and fast rule for all time – later on Jesus told his disciples they should be prepared and provide for themselves – but on this occasion the disciples went in vulnerability and trust

 

Jesus opens the door to inter-dependence for Zacchaeus;

We see Jesus relying on the hospitality of locals in Luke 19 – please turn with me to page 105 toward the back of your pew Bibles

–         In this passage Jesus opens the door to inter-dependence for Zacchaeus

–         From Luke 19, verses 1-10, we read…

Jesus went on into Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a chief tax collector there named Zacchaeus, who was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was a little man and could not see Jesus because of the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead of the crowd and climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus, who was going to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, “Hurry down, Zacchaeus, because I must stay in your house today.”

6 Zacchaeus hurried down and welcomed him with great joy. 7 All the people who saw it started grumbling, “This man has gone as a guest to the home of a sinner!”

8 Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Listen, sir! I will give half my belongings to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay back four times as much.”

9 Jesus said to him, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man, also, is a descendant of Abraham. 10 The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

There was a 12 year boy who was being bullied at school

–         His parents went to his teacher to talk with him about it

–         The teacher listened and then went home to sleep on it

–         The next day he asked the boy (who was being bullied) if he would like to try out for the school cricket team – the teacher happened to be the coach. The boy was keen and joined the team

–         He wasn’t the best player on the side but he turned up to practice regularly and showed commitment to his team mates

–         Things changed for him after that – he made some friends and didn’t have to sit alone at lunchtime

–         He became less afraid and less of a target – the kids that had been giving him a hard time lost interest in him and the bullying stopped

 

Zacchaeus was alone in a crowd

–         I’m not sure if he was the bully or the one being bullied – I expect it was a bit of both

–         Zacchaeus couldn’t see Jesus because of the crowd – if people liked him or respected him they would have let him through, but Zacchaeus isn’t allowed through – he has to climb a tree to see Jesus, extremely undignified and humiliating for a man in that culture

–         People excluded Zacchaeus because they saw him as colluding with the enemy (those Roman bullies) who oppressed them with taxes

–         He was perceived as a parasite – someone who depended on the community without giving anything back

–         Zacchaeus wasn’t connected in an inter-dependent way

 

But Jesus changes that by inviting himself to stay at Zacchaeus’ house

–         Now what we need to understand is that in Middle Eastern culture hospitality is an extremely important social obligation

–         To host someone important is an honour and a privilege, like getting to meet Harry & Megan or Jacinda & Clark

–         Not only that but the host carries the reputation of the whole community on their shoulders

–         If the host doesn’t do a good job then this reflects badly on everyone else

–         The people of Jericho don’t like that Jesus has gone to Zacchaeus’ house for two reasons:

o   They don’t think Zacchaeus is worthy of the honour

o   And they are anxious that Zacchaeus will make them look bad

–         But Jesus is more concerned for well-being than reputation, both Zacchaeus’ well-being and the well-being of the whole community

 

Interestingly Jesus doesn’t need to tell Zacchaeus to repent – the grace Jesus shows in honouring Zacchaeus opens Zacchaeus’ heart in generosity

–         Zacchaeus is really responding to Jesus’ generosity

–         “I will give half my belongings to the poor and if I have cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much”  

–         And Jesus replies, “Salvation has come to this house today, for this man also is a descendant of Abraham”

–         In other words, Zacchaeus belongs – he is not a parasite – he is needed, with something good to offer the community of God’s people

 

As I said last week, healing, wholeness, growth – these things don’t happen in isolation, they happen in community

–         If you injure your finger the doctors don’t seek to heal the finger by separating it from the hand – no, they keep the finger attached because the finger is an inter-dependent part of the body

 

We don’t know how the community responded to Zacchaeus after Jesus’ visit but if they were smart they would have included Zacchaeus

–         Someone had to collect the taxes – better to have that person on your side than against you

 

Conclusion:

Moses and Zacchaeus were similar but different

–         They were similar in that they both operated alone – they weren’t connected to their communities in an inter-dependent way

–         But they were different in that Moses was alone because of his independence – he tried to do everything himself without help

–         Whereas Zacchaeus was alone because of his dependency on the community – he took from people without giving anything back

–         Independence and dependence are roadblocks to inter-dependence

In both cases it took a third person with an outside perspective to shine light on the problem so that the solution became obvious

–         In Moses’ case that third person was Jethro and in Zacchaeus’ case it was Jesus

 

We also notice that in both cases the solution was found in sharing power

–         Moses delegated judicial power so that others had authority to help resolve certain disputes

–         And Zacchaeus dispersed power in the form of money to the poor and to those he had cheated

–         Inter-dependence is achieved through generosity – by letting go of power & control and sharing what we have with others

 

What I like about Jethro & Jesus is the grace with which they handled the situation – they did it in such a gentle, respectful and kind way

–         Jethro didn’t force Moses’ hand

–         And Jesus didn’t force Zacchaeus’ hand either

–         At the end of day inter-dependence needs to be a free choice

–         What will we choose?

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is inter-dependence?

–         In what sense is inter-dependence like a net? (as opposed to a bottleneck)

3.)    What problems did Moses’ independent approach create? (both for himself and others)

4.)    How did Moses transition from independence to inter-dependence?

–         What might we need to do to become more inter-dependent?

5.)    How did Jesus overcome the law of diminishing returns in his ministry?

–         What made Jesus’ approach to mission (in Mark 6:7-13) inter-dependent?

6.)    How did Jesus open the door to inter-dependence for Zacchaeus?

–         What did Zacchaeus do to walk through that door?

7.)    How were Moses & Zacchaeus similar?

–         How were they different?

8.)    How did Jethro and Jesus approach Moses and Zacchaeus respectively?

9.)    Who do you identify with most – Moses, Zacchaeus, Jethro or Jesus? Why?

 

 

 

 

 

Tawa Baptist

Inter-dependence

Scripture: 1st Corinthians 12:12-27

Title: Inter-dependence

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Inter-dependence defined
  • 1st Corinthians 12:12-27

o   Unity with diversity

o   Equality with affection

  • Conclusion

 

Introduction:

On the wall here we have a picture. Take a look.

–         Put up your hand if the first thing you noticed was a woman standing on a stage wearing a white dress and talking to a large crowd

–         Interesting, you can put your hands down.

–         Now put your hands up if you noticed the crowd first and then only later noticed the woman on stage.

This is a classic social science experiment

–         The theory goes that, generally speaking, people from a western culture tend to describe the individual on stage first, while people from an eastern culture are more inclined to see the crowd first

–         This is because western culture is usually more oriented to the individual and eastern culture is more oriented to the group [1]

Here’s another example of collective thinking vs. individual thinking

–         On the wall here we have a picture of a crowd of people at a sports match

–         Tell me, is the man I’ve circled there happy or unhappy?

–         Who thinks he’s happy?

–         Who thinks he’s not happy?

–         Some people might think he is sad or grumpy because all the people around him are clearly not happy but he’s actually celebrating because his team is winning, while all the other people around him are cross because their team is losing

One more. Is the guy with his face in his hands happy or sad?

–         Hands up if you think he’s happy

–         Who thinks he’s sad?

–         I’m not sure if he’s happy or sad because I can’t see his face

–         Most likely he’s happy because the people around him are happy

–         But it’s possible he’s sad because the others are laughing at him

–         The point is: our read of a situation will differ depending on whether we are inclined to think collectively or individually

When social scientists do this kind of experiment on children they find that kids with a more individualistic way of looking at life have no problem thinking that an individual might be feeling differently to the group around them

–         While those kids with a more collective mind-set don’t read the individual’s face – they read the collective face of the group

–         They take it for granted that everyone in the group will be feeling the same way – because ‘we’ has more influence than ‘me’

Today we continue our series on well-being and care of the soul, using the acronym: HEALING.

–         Each letter represents a word which, when properly applied, is life giving to the human soul…

–         Hope Energy Appreciation Lament Inter-dependence Nurture & Giving

–         Today our message focuses on inter-dependence

 

Inter-dependence defined:

Inter-dependence is about depending on one another

–         Or said another way, inter-dependence is mutual reliance

 

Inter-dependence is different from independence

–         To be independent is to rely on yourself and therefore to operate separately from the group

–         To be inter-dependent is to function as part of a group

–         With independence comes isolation, loneliness and a loss of identity

–         But with inter-dependence we get a sense of purpose and belonging – we know who we are and where we fit

 

Inter-dependence is also different from dependence

–         Inter-dependence involves relationships of mutual exchange, where everyone gives and receives – it’s a two way street

–         Everyone needs the others and everyone has something to offer the others

–         Dependence, on the other hand, lacks mutuality – it’s a one way street

–         With dependent relationships there is an imbalance of power and therefore a greater risk of abuse

–         Conversely, with inter-dependent relationships, there is a better balance of power and greater mutual respect

 

I started today’s message by talking about how eastern cultures tend to think collectively, while western cultures are more inclined to think individually

–         There’s pros & cons with both systems

–         The problem with extreme collectivism is that you tend to get uniformity – people are forced into a mould and are not free to be themselves, supposedly for the greater good

–         At the other extreme, with individualism you tend to get freedom without responsibility or restraint and people’s relationships suffer for it

–         Inter-dependence combines the best parts of collectivism & individualism enabling people to be themselves while still valuing others – so you are more likely to get healthy, functional connections with other people

 

1st Corinthians 12:12-27

To help us explore this concept of inter-dependence our Bible reading today focuses on 1st Corinthians chapter 12

–         1st Corinthians was a letter written by the apostle Paul to Christians in first century Corinth.

–         Ancient Corinth was a little bit like modern Las Vegas or Los Angeles – it had a reputation for being morally bankrupt

–         The church in Corinth had a few problems too and Paul was writing to help them sort things out

–         Two of the problems it seems were disunity & inequality

–         The church was not functioning in a healthy inter-dependent way

–         In 1st Corinthians 12 Paul reminds the believers of God’s design for the church and their need for one another, using the metaphor of the body

–         From verses 12-27 we read…

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized with one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body.  If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honour to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it.  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate this Scripture for us

 

When we look at how God has designed the natural world we see he has done it in an inter-dependent way

–         For example, the trees rely on the soil for stability & nourishment

–         At the same time trees feed the soil with compost and prevent erosion

–         Trees and soil are very different but they need each other

–         Bees harvest nectar from flowers and in the process they fertilise the flowers and contribute to the fruitfulness of the tree

–         Bees and trees are very different but they need each other

–         These are examples of relationships of mutual reliance

–         What we notice in nature is that one part of an eco-system relies on every other part – so the bees aren’t just relying on the trees, they are also relying on the soil to support the trees, just as the soil is relying on the bees to fertilise the trees and keep the cycle of life going

–         The human body is like an eco-system with many different parts each relying on every other part – a diverse inter-dependent unity

 

One of the problems with the church in Corinth was disunity

–         Paul seeks to address this problem by giving the Corinthian believers a positive example of how the church is supposed to function

–         The church is like the human body – a diverse inter-dependent unity

 

Unity with diversity

Paul starts with unity – he reminds the Corinthians what they share in common – primarily Christ and the Holy Spirit

–         All Christian believers share the Spirit of Jesus sort of like all human beings share the air we breathe

–         Or like all the different parts of a person’s body share the same blood type and DNA

 

The other thing the Corinthian’s share in common is their need

–         Each person has need of the others and no one person can function or serve God’s purpose apart from the others

–         Paul is essentially saying their differences are a good thing

–         The body couldn’t function without diversity – everyone is needed

–         Inter-dependence requires unity with diversity

Two things that undermine inter-dependence are inferiority and independence

Paul deals with inferiority in verses 15-16

–         In Middle Eastern culture certain parts of the body are given higher status than other parts [2]

–         For example the foot is considered unclean and inferior to the right hand

–         But Paul argues the foot can’t exclude itself from the body because it feels inferior to the hand

–         The foot serves a valuable and necessary function just as the hand does

 

Sometimes we don’t like the way we are made or gifted – we might prefer to be something we are not

–         Or perhaps we don’t feel like we are as good as others – we may struggle with a lack of self esteem

–         Our value and our belonging does not depend on how we feel about ourselves – our value & belonging depends on God – it is simply given

–         Inter-dependence requires us to accept ourselves as we are (even though we are different) and to accept the difference in others

–         Someone once said, in heaven we get to be ourselves – and I would add, without feeling inferior

 

The other thing that works against unity with diversity is independence, also known as self sufficiency

–         In verse 21 Paul says: ‘The eye can’t say to the hand I don’t need you and the head can’t say to the feet I don’t need you’

–         In this scenario Paul imagines the eye and the head thinking they can do it on their own, without the hands and feet

It should be plainly obvious that the eyes and the head need the hands and the feet and vice versa – but in case it’s not, let me demonstrate

–         If I try to throw this bag of marshmallows with just my eyes and my mind, without using my hands or feet, look what happens

–         Nothing – the bag goes nowhere

–         But if my brain sends a message to my hands to throw the bag, then my eyes line up the target and my feet keep me balanced [throw the bag]

–         Head, hands, eyes and feet all working together to achieve the goal

–         The point is no one can do it on their own

Self-sufficiency (or the DIY attitude) is embedded deep in NZ culture

–         Ironically we kiwis honour people for being independent, rather than for cooperating and being inter-dependent

–         You sometimes hear stories of self-made millionaires

–         Those stories are fables – they are fiction

–         No one gets anywhere in life without the help of others

–         Those millionaires have got where they are because someone gave them an opportunity and they ran with it

–         They gathered people around them, with different skills and gifts, and worked with them to achieve their goals

–         Our goal in the church isn’t to make millions of dollars but to show the love of God, in the person of Jesus, to the world

–         We can only do that as we work together in an inter-dependent way under the guidance and energy of Jesus’ Spirit

Inter-dependence requires unity with diversity

–         And inter-dependence leads to equality with affection

 

Equality with affection

In verses 22-25 Paul talks about equality in the body

–         Now let me be clear, Paul is not suggesting that people are equal in ability or function – he’s just said they are not

–         But he is saying people are equal in value or worth and therefore we should have equal concern for each other

The other point Paul makes is that equality is not achieved by treating every part of the body the same, but by treating every part differently, according to the unique needs of that part

The ‘weaker parts’ is likely a reference to internal organs

–         Your heart & lungs are less robust than say your hands & feet, but they are indispensable none the less, so they receive special protection behind a rib cage and under skin

Likewise the ‘parts that are unpresentable’ is probably a reference to the private parts

–         Your reproductive organs are not laid bare like your face, they are covered for the sake of modesty

–         God has given greater honour to those parts that lacked it so there should be no division in the body but that its parts should have equal concern for each other  

–         Equality and honour are achieved by respecting difference and treating each part according to that part’s need

 

In Mark 10, the disciples James & John, ask Jesus if they can sit at the special places of honour in his glory (one on his left and the other on his right)

–         Apparently they are not content with the part in the body they have been given – perhaps they are a foot and they want to be an eye

–         But Jesus doesn’t make them any promises – it is God who arranges the parts of the body as he sees fit

The other disciples are naturally indignant with James & John, so, to avoid division and ill feeling among the body of disciples, Jesus explains…

–         Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

–         Jesus wants his disciples to have equal concern & respect or one another      

 

Of course the equality between believers isn’t cold, aloof or unaffected

–         The equality of inter-dependence is warm with affection

–         For if one part [of the body] suffers, every part suffers with it and if one part is honoured, every part rejoices with it 

What happens to one part of the body affects the rest

–         If you have a tooth ache or gout or appendicitis your whole body feels it – not just your tooth or your big toe or your appendix

–         Likewise, if you take an amazing catch on the cricket field you feel good all over and people praise your whole person, not just your hands

 

Conclusion:

Healing, wholeness, growth – these things don’t happen in isolation, they happen in community

–         If you injure your finger the doctors don’t seek to heal the finger by separating it from the hand – no, they keep the finger attached because the finger is an inter-dependent part of the body

 

In his book, Lost Connections, author Johann Hari tells a true story which I think illustrates well what inter-dependence looks like in action [3]

Early in the 21st Century a psychiatrist named Dr Derek Summerfield went to Cambodia to do research on the psychological effects of living with unexploded landmines – does the constant threat of stepping on a mine lead people to greater levels of anxiety and depression?

–         Dr Summerfield had to explain to the locals that depression is ‘a profound sense of sadness that you can’t shake off’

–         The Cambodians thought about this and said, ‘Yes, we do have some people like that.’

There was one farmer, for instance, whose left leg had been blown off by a land mine.

–         He went to the doctors and they fitted him with an artificial limb but he still felt constantly anxious and filled with despair

–         When they realised how despondent this man was the doctors and his neighbours sat with him and talked through his life and troubles

–         Even with his new artificial limb his old job, working in rice paddies, was just too difficult

–         He was constantly stressed and always in physical pain which made him want to give up

 

Now, in our individualistic society, that man would have been treated independently – the doctors would have prescribed him anti-depressant medication and recommended counselling

–         In an extremely collective society that man would most likely be expected to harden up and get over it – for the greater good

–         There would be little or no accommodation to his individual need

 

But the Cambodians responded in an inter-dependent way

–         What this man needed was a new job – one that allowed him to support himself and continue contributing to the community, without being stressed out and in pain all the time

–         So they bought the man a cow and he became a dairy farmer

–         This was less stressful on his body and held fewer disturbing memories

–         In the months that followed his depression went away and stayed away

The man didn’t try and solve the problem by himself – he realised his need for others

–         Nor did he exclude himself from the community because of some false notion that missing a leg made him inferior

–         The solution was found by the community working together with the man to empower him to change his life

–         Inter-dependence you see, as opposed to inferiority or independence

When I reflect on this story I marvel at the care and compassion the community showed this man

–         They valued him as an equal and allowed themselves to be affected on a personal level so they were moved to act

–         Did everyone in the community get a cow? No – of course not

–         Not everyone needed a cow – we all need something different

 

What is it you need to function in an inter-dependent way?

–         Do you need to accept who you are in Christ?

–         Do you need to accept the difference in others?

–         Do you need to resist the temptation to go it alone?

–         Do you need to do less yourself and trust others to do their part?

–         Do you need to accept help from others?

–         Do you need to be vulnerable and allow yourself to be affected by others?

–         These are not easy things – inter-dependence is not always easy, but in Christ it leads to life.

 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

1.)    What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon?

2.)    What is inter-dependence?

–         How is inter-dependence different from individualism?

–         How is inter-dependence different from collectivism?

–         What are the benefits of inter-dependence?

3.)    How might we identify a dependent relationship?

–         How might we break a dependency and engage with people in a more inter-dependent way?

4.)    What problems in the church might Paul have been addressing in 1st Corinthians 12?

5.)    Paul offers the body as an example of an inter-dependent unity – can you think of other examples in creation or in the Scriptures or in your own experience?

6.)    1st Corinthians 12 highlights two things which undermine inter-dependence – i.e. feelings of inferiority and a desire for independence.

–         What else might undermine inter-dependence?

–         What gets in the way of inter-dependence for you?

–         What needs to change for you to live in a more inter-dependent way?

7.)    How is ‘equality with affection’ achieved?

–         What might this require of us individually and collectively?

8.)    Do you have a story of inter-dependence similar to the Cambodian one?  Share it.

 

 

[1] Johann Hari, “Lost Connections”, page 180.

[2] Refer Kenneth Bailey’s book, ‘Paul Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, page 341.

[3] Johann Hari, “Lost Connections”, pages 159-160