Message 10-14-07

 

Series:            What I’ve Always Wondered

Scripture:            Luke 17:11-19

 

Title:                                        Outgiving God

 

 

That’s the question for this week. Although this is “Stewardship” Sunday here at PCPC, I didn’t make up this question for this Sunday. I just saved it for this Sunday, since it was appropriate. Here are the questions again in a nutshell:

1-     What do we “do” after we have accepted Jesus to be our Lord and Savior?

2-     How do we “get” more faith?

3-     Stewardship in the church

 

Although these are three very different issues, I believe that they all essentially have the same answer.

 

The answer is that we need to act in response to what we have received. Well, that was easy wasn’t it? Thanks for coming.

 

Well, maybe we could explore this a little more before we just move back into regular life. Maybe we should take a little time and make sure of a few things. Maybe we should make sure that we:

- appreciate what we received

- realize from whom we received it

- recognize that doing “regular” life is not as important as sharing life

 

So, there you go. Act in response to what we receive, making sure that we appreciate what we’ve received, realizing from whom we received it and recognizing that living “regular” life is not as important as taking what we’ve received and sharing it so that it produces life.

 

So, we’re done right? Okay, so maybe we should explore this just a little more. Maybe we should turn back to Jesus and actually pay attention to what he is saying in this moment and consider it a little deeper.

 

So, the first thing we do is turn back to Jesus, using the example of the man in the story – Jesus, Luke tells us is traveling along the border between Samaria and Galilee. Now you may know all about the Samaritans, but if you don’t, let me fill you in. There was a point in the history of Israel where the Babylonian kingdom took away a massive part of the population of the country, resettling them in the land of Babylon. Some people were left in Israel and these people intermarried with people in the countries around them. Years went by and the Persian Empire beat the Babylonians and told all the descendents of the people taken from Israel that they could return home to their own country. So the Hebrew people when back to the land of Israel. When they came back they were reintroduced to Jewish culture and language which some of them had lost or forgotten. They did a massive re-engagement with their ancient culture and Scriptures. They learned, as they studied during this re-settlement time, that God said they should not intermarry with other people and cultures. So they sent foreign born wives and children away. They also then shunned and turned away from the people who had remained in the land but were now intermarried. This was mostly in the region of the country called Samaria and so Samaritans were isolated.

 

So Jesus is walking along the border of Samaria and Galilee and there are10 men who are leprous on the side of the road. This means they have a visible skin disease. That makes people shun them. That moves them into separation. Sometimes this mean isolation, but they combat that by living alongside each other. They call out to Jesus for help out of the desperation of their situation. We don’t know that all of the men were Samaritans. In fact it would appear that they were Jews because of Jesus tells them to go and to show themselves to the priests. One wouldn’t expect Samaritans to be that welcome by the priests.

 

But Jesus tells them to follow the ritualistic instructions from the Law of Moses. This is kind of an interesting moment because they asked for pity from Jesus – some sort of help. Jesus sends them to the people who will pronounce a verdict on whether they have received any help. And, it appears that they leave Jesus with some expectation that they will be pronounced clean. Then, on the way, they suddenly realize that the skin ailment has cleared up.

 

Now there’s nothing here that says that the other men didn’t praise God for the healing. There’s probably little doubt that they went on to see the priests because they would need to get an official verdict of cleansing before they could go back to their families, get back into the temple, be able to go about naturally in the community. They could go back to their regular lives. There’s nothing in the story that suggests that they didn’t simply get cleansed and then go back into living normal regular lives. And that’s the thing to catch isn’t it. They left and went on with life. But one man came back and threw himself into the dirt at Jesus’ feet.

 

The Samaritan appreciated what he received. He knew from whom he received it and he realized that there was something more important than just going on with regular life. He came back to express gratitude for his life. And here’s an interesting thing – he got a fuller blessing from Jesus that the other men didn’t receive. He was told that his faith made him well. It was his relationship with God – the ongoing connection with God that allowed wholeness to be once again the definition of his life.

 

So, let’s think about this for a moment. But let’s think about it in connection with another story about Jesus. There’s a famous story in which Jesus is invited to have dinner in the home of a Pharisee. The man’s name is Simon and while they’re eating, and there’s a little crowd there, a woman, a sinful woman, enters the house, moves to Jesus’ feet and begins to cry over them. She pours out her tears and then begins to wipe them with her hair. Simon thinks to himself that Jesus must not be much of a prophet because he is letting this woman – this sinful, spiritually dirty woman touch him. It will make him unclean. And Jesus speaks up at that moment.

 

“Simon,” Jesus says, “I have a question for you.”

 

“Yes, teacher?”

 

“Two men owe the same man money. One owes him $100 and the other owes him $50, 000. He forgives both debts. Which one do you think will love the man more?”

 

Simon says, “I suppose the one who was forgiven more.”

 

“Exactly right,” says Jesus. “Now do you see this woman? When I came you did not offer me water to wash my feet or a towel to dry them. Yet, this woman has not ceased to wash my feet with her tears and to dry them with her hair. The one who is forgiven much, loves much. The one who is forgiven little, loves little.”

 

So let’s look back at our Samaritan on his knees in the dirt in front of Jesus. The rest of the men went on into regular life. But this one… he got a relationship with God, he got confirmed in his faith. Not only was this man an outcast because of his illness. He was an outcast because of his very nature. The religious world of the time told this man that he wasn’t allowed into God’s presence. He wasn’t allowed to touch God’s people. He didn’t belong. And they told him that before he got ill. When he was ill he was received into the community of the sick. But when he was made well – he was received into the kingdom of God. God had touched his life. He knew the one through whom God had made him whole. He was no longer an outcast to God. God didn’t hate him. God loved him. Jesus him led him out of separation from God. So he ran back to thank Jesus. And this man was received into community. He was touched by Jesus. He was welcomed into the kingdom of God. He found himself alive when he thought he was dead.

 

Now I have a choice – I can tell you to be thankful and always to remember to thank God. Or I can make you feel guilty by asking you whether you act like you love much rather than little. But I think there’s a third thing here.

 

Remember our three questions?

1        What do we “do” after we have accepted Jesus to be our Lord and Savior?

2        How do we “get” more faith?

3        Stewardship in the church

 

Remember the answer?

            Act in response to what you’ve received. What do we do after finding Jesus? How do we grow in faith? What should we say about how we use the things God has given us – stewardship? There was a part of the original question I didn’t read to you. It was a quote that said, “You can’t out give God.” You know what I say? Give it a shot. Try to out give God. Think of how much fun you’re going to have trying to do that. God will enjoy it. Give it a shot. Try to out give God. I want to sum that up in three words. My friends I want you to join me and fight for community.

Other people will tell you how busy they are. Other people will tell you they can’t fit another thing in. Other people will tell you that you can’t either. But we’re not following other people. Other people will join groups, they’ll join teams, they’ll fill their schedules with everything everyone is telling them is a part of life. Stop and sit down with friends or family and discuss what community looks like and what produces death around you – Fight for community. Look around you and see what produces death and fight it.

            High school students from Plant – sit with kids who don’t share your skin color at lunch. Fight for community. You may be turned down at first, but fight for community. Friends – at work, look at your work and make sure your work benefits people, helps people’s lives, makes life better for others. Fight for community. Families, teenagers, eat together – fight for community. Don’t work every evening. Don’t spend your time in front of every kind of screen. Fight for community. Bring others into your meals. You’re going to eat anyhow. Meet people you don’t know. Fight for community and don’t give up.

            You can fight for community right here. You may give money to make sure that people have education in the little village of Papoli in Uganda or medical help in the little village of Mombin Crochu in Haiti or food for the day down at Faith Café. Fight for community. You may realize that you have two hours a week to pour into the lives of middle school boys or high school girls. If just pay someone to do that we won’t build community, we’ll build a program. Don’t just join programs. Fight for community and don’t give up.

            The way Jesus said it is – Love one another. The way Jesus said it is – they’ll know you’re my disciples by the way you love one another. The way Jesus said it you will show your love for me by obeying me and I give you a new command – Love one another.

            Fight for community and don’t give up.