Sunday, October 8, 2017

That's what He said.


Exodus 20:1-4, 7-10a, 12-20 NRSV


20 Then God spoke all these words:
I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; you shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
 You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. 10 But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work
12 Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
13 You shall not murder.
14 You shall not commit adultery.
15 You shall not steal.
16 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.
18 When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking, they were afraid and trembled and stood at a distance, 19 and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, or we will die.” 20 Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come only to test you and to put the fear of him upon you so that you do not sin.”

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Last Saturday morning a bunch of people showed up at my house, bringing with them entirely too much delicious food, to talk about Church.  I divided them into three groups and gave each group a question.  After a while I switched the questions, so each group got to discuss each question.  One of those questions was “What does stewardship mean to you?”  In addition to the expected responses about money, time and talents, here is what the note takers for the groups wrote down:
  • Part of our relationship with God
  • Stewardship of the earth
  • Taking care of our bodies
  • Taking care of what God has given us
  • Caring for others
  • Serving others

Today we’ll talk a bit about those answers.  And don’t worry,  we’ll be talking about the other questions over the next weeks and months.

And before you ask what on earth the Ten Commandments have to do with Stewardship, in the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 22, a lawyer asked Jesus, “36 “Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the greatest and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.  These Ten Commandments tell us very precisely how we are to love God, and our neighbor.   The other 630+ laws are simply expansions on these 10, so that the people would have no question about what is and is not lawful.  Even today there are rabbis who continuously go through the Law and add to it or make revisions to bring it up to date with current realities.  For example, is putting is false teeth work?  Can you do it on the Sabbath?  (Yes, it is. And no, you may not do that on Sabbath. You have to put them in before sundown on Friday if you want to eat anything but soup on Saturday.)  How about running a search on Google?  Is it acceptable if you are looking for answers to religious questions?  I do not know, and I am very glad I don’t have to, since my understanding of keeping the Sabbath holy is very different from the understanding my friend Orthodox Jewish friend in Jerusalem has of that same commandment.  

So, if we understand stewardship to include caring for our ourselves and our neighbors, and as part of our relationship with God, clearly these Ten Commandments speak to us about Stewardship, because they are all about how to love our God and our neighbors.  If I love my neighbor, I will not accuse him of things I know he didn’t do, or that I’m not sure about.  If I love my neighbor, I will want only good things for her.  I will not steal from her, or be angry with her because she has things I wish I had.  I will be happy for her successes.  If I love my neighbor, I will do the best I can to make sure the elder folks in my community are cared for, as if they are my own parents.  If I truly love my neighbor, I will do my best to keep them safe.

Part of good stewardship is teaching others how to live.  We do that here, in our church.  We teach people how to love and how to share their love with others, even with people they don’t like.  Even with people they are angry at.  And when we fail at that, we have failed to love them properly.  We have failed to care for them properly.  We have failed to follow the commandments God has given us.

It would be impossible to stand here today, talking about the commandments, looking up there at the Sixth Commandment, and not talk about what happened last Sunday.  We cannot look at the words, “You shall not murder,” and not think about Stephen Paddock going into his hotel room with 23 firearms and a lot of ammunition, and deliberately firing hundreds of rounds into a crowd of people enjoying a concert.  We cannot look at the words, “You shall not murder,” without thinking of the 58 persons who were killed, and the hundreds who were wounded.  I cannot think of his actions without wondering how we went wrong.  Somehow, somewhere, the message that murder is wrong didn’t get through, or at least, it stopped connecting for Mr. Paddock last Sunday.   A week later, investigators still don’t know why he did this thing.   He has no history of mental illness, of domestic violence, of any of the signs of a disturbed mind or internalized rage.  No one seems to know, or to understand what was going through his mind, or what triggered his actions.   

Somehow he got the message that it is ok to kill people.   Even though God’s Commandment clearly says “You shall not murder.”  Even though the laws of the land say the same thing.  Even though he had to know, from watching TV if nothing else, that his actions were certain to result in his own death, either by his own hand or at the hands of a police officer - who would then have to live with the knowledge that he or she had taken a life.   Somehow, despite all of that, he got the message that it was ok to take, not one, but dozens of lives,

I think, whatever his motives may have been, ultimately, it was our failure.  We, the Church, failed to reach him. Failed to teach him.  Failed to love him, and failed at teaching him to love.  


And he isn’t the only one we have failed.   There seems to be a growing belief that if someone disagrees with you, it’s ok to hit them.   It’s ok to call them names, or damage their property.  

Monday evening I attended the City Council meeting.  There were a number of very unhappy citizens there, worried about the crime rate in our city, worried about gangs coming into our city, worried about the violence that has taken lives here.  I heard those people say, “What are you doing?  Why aren’t you fixing it?  We need more police to prevent these crimes.”  I heard one pastor say, “Hey, the churches, we’re out there working with the people.  Come join us, help make a difference.”  And they continued to complain, and to point fingers.  I stood up and asked, “When the churches are out there working to heal our neighborhoods, where are you?  What are you doing to make a difference?”      

Now I know that some of those folks go to churches in town. I am sure that some of them participate in various helping programs at their churches, and support charitable causes.  That’s good.  That’s a start.  But the thing that has to be done is to root out the anger, the hatred, the bitterness within each heart - within each of our own hearts.   The thing that has to be done is to change our society, so that it is no longer ok to hit someone who disagrees, or call him names, or damage her property.   It is our job as Christians to change the world, the whole world.  For Jesus was sent to save the whole world - all of it.  To reconcile all of the world with God and with each other.  And Jesus left us behind with instructions to do that.  

It’s our job to love our neighbors.  All of our neighbors.  Even the angry ones.  Even the gangbangers.  Even the people who stand up in City Council meetings and say, “I’m locked and loaded.  Let them try to come to my house.”  and “I guess I need to take matters into my own hands, then.”  It’s our job to teach them that’s not the right way to do this.  Part of good stewardship is taking care of our community, and the people in it.  Not just feeding them, and housing them, but helping them to reconcile with whomever they are angry with.  Giving hope where there is none.  Helping people understand that they are not alone, that someone cares about them, that someone will listen to them.    

Our theme this month is “Journey to Generosity.”  That journey is not just toward generosity of finances and other gifts to the church, but also toward generosity of spirit.  It is a journey toward forgiveness.  It is a journey toward willingness to reach out to people we may not agree with, or even like very much, to assist them in healing.  To assist them in learning how to love their neighbor.   To bring them hope.   To help them heal.


Stewardship is about being in relationship with God, and with each other.   When we go from this place today, let us be good stewards.  Let us share God’s love by truly caring for everyone we meet.  Let us spread joy and hope through our love of our neighbors, so that where ever we have been, peace follows.  

2 comments:

  1. Stewardship to me: letting God know I'm grateful for what he has blessed me with and this is my way I show him thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes.

      Hopefully next time we get together to talk about these things you will be able to join us. :)

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