Seize Life / Based on 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31 / Delivered on September 25, 2016 to CCH

20160925 Seize Life

Based on 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Luke 16:19-31, and Psalm 91

Delivered on September 25, 2016 to CCH in Hudson, WI
Hymns: Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart, Come and Find the Quiet Center, On Eagle's Wings.

1 Timothy 6:6-19

6:6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;

6:7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it;

6:8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

6:9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

6:11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

6:13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you

6:14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

6:15 which he will bring about at the right time--he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

6:16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

6:17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

6:18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,

6:19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

I’ve read the lesson from 1 Timothy.  I’m also going to be referencing two other scriptures that are possibly familiar to you.  The story of the rich man and Lazarus from the Gospel of Luke, and Psalm 91 which is where our song “On Eagle’s Wings” comes from.  You’ll get a few bonus scriptures thrown in too.

My hope is to weave these scriptures together to communicate three ideas.

Eternal life is now

We are called to seize “real” life

Trust in God

Eternal life is now. 

In 1 Timothy vs 6:12 Paul told Timothy “take hold of the eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”  We don’t know for sure, because it isn’t named, but some Bible scholars believe that “good confession” was his baptism.  Eternal life is not something we look forward to.  It is something that has already arrived because Christ brought it into our world with him.  He conquered death before he returned to be with God.  I believe it is what Jesus meant in Luke 17:20 “Once, on being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is in your midst.”  The King James translation of this scripture is “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”  In baptism we become a member of God’s family.  That means God is our Father right now, and will always be.  We are loved right now for all eternity.  We are right now in the presence of God.  We may not see him clearly quite yet, as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:12 “For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”  Don’t let the fact we can’t see clearly make you doubt your place in God’s family.  We do not have to wait until we transition from earth to enter into our eternal life with God.  We are already in it, or maybe better said, it is already in us.

We are called to seize “real” life.

The words translated “take hold” can also be translated as “seize”.  Just as Timothy was advised to seize eternal life, his is advised to seize the life that really is life.  Paul continues in verse 17-19 “As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”  That is to seize “real” life.  The lesson for Timothy is to be warry of the love of money and instead verse 11 tells him, “But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.”  We bring nothing into the world as far as possessions, and we can take nothing out.  Certainly we need to be good stewards of what we’ve been given, but focusing our love on things moves us toward idolatry.  It is only God that deserves that level of devotion. 

The story in Luke 16 of the rich man and Lazarus bring out this lesson.  Luke 16:14 tells us Jesus audience for this story, “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus.”  The lovers of money.  I’m going to paraphrase it.  There was a rich man who had all good things.  At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, who was starving and covered with sores.  They both died.  Lazarus was carried away to be with the angles.  The rich man suffered in Hades.  The story doesn’t say the rich man was a bad man.  He did nothing to harm Lazarus.  It doesn’t say he caused the suffering.  He just didn’t see the poor around him and also see his call to hospitality.  One of the dangers of wealth is this type of blindness.  He ignored the suffering that was at his own gate.  We know he physically “saw” Lazarus because he called him by name.  He failed to take hold of the life that really is life.  He failed to be generous and ready to share his material things, which were not important, to provide love and hospitality to another, which was important.  Everything we own will fade away.  Our possessions do not make us who we are.  Our behavior is what defines who we are.  Our money and possessions do not contain life.  Life is present in how we live with others.

Trust in God

Our society teaches us to put our trust in wealth, yet this scripture asks us to set our hope “on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”  In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man learned the hard way he could not trust his wealth.  Lazarus learned he could trust God.  Toward the end of the story in Luke, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers so they don’t repeat his mistake, and Abraham reminds the rich man that his brothers have been given the writings of Moses and the prophets to warn them what kind of foundation they were building for the future.  We have those writings too.  They are there to teach us where to put our trust.

There were two Psalms assigned to the lectionary this Sunday.  Both are Psalms of trust. 

Psalm 146 tells us “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortals, in whom there is no help.  When their breath departs, they return to the earth; on that very day their plans perish.  Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them; who keeps faith forever.” 

Psalm 91 is a favorite of mine.  I’m going to read the verses chosen for this Sunday and we’ll echo them again as we sing our final hymn.

91:1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,

91:2 will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust."

91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence;

91:4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

91:5 You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day,

91:6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

91:14 Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.

91:15 When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them.

91:16 With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation.

We may not be in our heavenly home yet, but we are living within God’s sheltering love right now.  Eternity with God has already begun for us, and forevermore nothing can separate us from God’s love.  As Paul said in Romans 8:38 “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love.” 

Seize “real” life and fight that good fight as Paul advised.  Remember that our possessions do not represent that life.  Life is in how we live, not what things we live with. 

We can’t trust our possessions but we can trust God.  This little message was filled to the brim with scripture this Sunday, and for good reason.  We don’t need to test God to learn to trust God.  Let the experiences of others that have been captured in scripture strengthen your trust.

May we each feel God’s amazing love and, by trusting God, live our life sharing that love with others.

Amen

Hospitality / Based on Luke 14:1, 7-14 / Delivered on August 28, 2016 at CCH, Hudson WI

Hospitality

Based on Luke 14:1, 7-14

Delivered on August 28, 2016 at CCH, Hudson WI

Hymns:

We Gather Together, Here I Am Lord, They’ll Know We Are Christians

Luke 14:1, 7-14

 14:1 On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the Sabbath, they were watching him closely.  

14:7 When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable.  

14:8 "When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not sit down at the place of honor, in case someone more distinguished than you have been invited by your host;

14:9 and the host who invited both of you may come and say to you, 'Give this person your place,' and then in disgrace you would start to take the lowest place.  

14:10 But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, move up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.  

14:11 For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted."  

14:12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.  

14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.  

14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

This parable of the dinner party seems simple enough, yet it was a hard concept for Jesus listeners.  I’m going to explore three ideas from the story.

Be a gracious guest

Be a gracious host

Understand hospitality

Be a gracious guest

We don’t have seats of honor often, though I remember only Mom and Dad sat at the ends of the table.  We use to sometimes laugh and say if someone sat at the end seat that it was their responsibility to pick up the tab because that meant they were the parent.  That seat of honor came with paying the bill. 

Weddings are a different story.  There is a head table for the wedding party.  There often are special tables for the family of the bride and groom, and maybe one for special friends.  Some couples give a name card at each place so people know where to sit.  If the couple take care with table-mates, I can trust I’ll be put with people I enjoy.

Other times the wedding couple leave it up to the guest to sit where they would like.  I kind of like the name cards because I don’t know who is also invited.  I know I’m friends enough to the bride or groom to be invited.  I want to be close to their table because I love them and want to see them as they continue their special night.  I also want them to see me and know I’m supporting them, but where do I really fit.  The day is about them, not me.

 The parable includes the verse “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." Yet I have a feeling Jesus was hoping to get them away from the “exalted” part totally.  One way to look at this verse is to see it as both becoming level.  Adding a little to those at the bottom and cutting down a little from those elevated until they were shoulder to shoulder.  After all, both were “invited” according to the scripture.  In the eyes of God both are loved and wanted as guests.

When you are invited to be with a group of people, don’t assume you’re superior.  Try not to focus on yourself at all.  Honor the fact each of you there are important to your host.  This was a wedding banquet. Only the happy couple should be on your mind.  They are for the moment the exalted ones.

This is not easy.  Our comfort and our happiness seems to always be at the front of our minds.  It’s part of our self-preservation – take care of number one!  Self-promotion may have some benefit in the workplace, but it has no place in community.  Living in community calls for a servant’s heart, and servants normally ate in the basement or in the kitchen.

Be a gracious host

The first parable is seen through the eyes of the guest, but I feel for the host.  I’d feel terrible to have to tell someone to move because the seat was saved for another person.  Yet at a wedding, it may happen.  It is only the host who knows the full invitee list, and even if they don’t have place cards they have a vision of who will be at a few of the special tables.  I’ve already given my vote on having place cards, but understand that isn’t always the option that is chosen.

A good host is attentive to his guests.  He wouldn’t know a special friend was sitting in the less desirable spot if he wasn’t also visiting with the people in those spots.  The host visits with all who are invited.  The host is also someone who can see the big picture because he knows the details.

The host in the story is better not focusing on himself.  He is best as a host by staying focused on his friends.  In Jesus day it may be that he raises his own status by showing off who is at the party, but I believe it was Jesus recommendation to be other-focused instead.  Mingling, chatting, greeting the guests personally is part of a good host’s behavior.

Jesus parable also gave this advice to the host.  14:12 He said also to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, in case they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid.   14:13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.   14:14 And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

When my daughter was married I considered myself a second-host.  I visited each table at the reception, introduced myself as Mother-of-the-bride, asked how they knew the happy couple, and then I thanked them for their love and support of the two of them. 

It doesn’t need to be your party for you to take the role of greeting and offering love to those there.  The act of accepting those gathering around you puts you in that host role of this parable.  Offer love whether you will be repaid in kind or not.

Understand hospitality

This passage of scripture has two separate lessons.  Both are connected to the meal theme but he has a different audience he’s focused on.  This second lesson is helping define hospitality.  Hospitality was an important part of community life.  If you only invited people who would invite you back it was more like a barter system than hospitality.  True hospitality meant you gave without expecting payment back.

The Greek word translated “hospitality” literally means “love of strangers.”  By that definition, inviting only your friends wouldn’t really be hospitality.  You can be a giving person and a loving person by inviting those you know, but you become a person with hospitality when you offer that same kindness to someone you have never met before.

The hospitality of the local community was how the gospel was spread.  Jesus had sent out his disciples in Luke 9:3-5 telling them, “Take nothing for the journey—no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, no extra shirt.  Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave that town.  If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”  They depended on hospitality and that was rewarded by the listeners hearing the good news of God's grace!  

So that’s hospitality.  Be a humble guest and be a host to strangers without expecting anything in return.  The scripture is about good behavior now, but I believe it is also about our heavenly banquet.  When the Mother of James and John asked Jesus if one could sit at his right and one his left Jesus asked if they could suffer as he would and when they said yes he said, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”  God is the great host.  He knows the big picture.  The person with a servant’s heart is what is prized.

Love those who love you, but don’t forget to offer love to strangers as well.  When you are at a special event recognize all present are invited just as you are.  Also remember to feel free to be a second-host and offer your love and acceptance of those present.  It is our calling.  It is the gift that God gives us, and the gift that we can pass on to others.

So let mutual love continue.  Embrace the true meaning of hospitality.  The command to love one another is repeated throughout Biblical teaching.  To love each other because God first loved us.  This means caring for the stranger because they are loved by God.  It also means remembering when we gather as community we are gathering as a people each loved by God – each and every one of us.  One great fellowship of love throughout the whole wide earth.

Amen