Are You Weary

2 Thessalonians 3:6-16

We are beginning our month long conversation about our stewardship this week. Over the next few weeks we will talk about what it means to support our church with our Prayers, Presence, Gifts and service. Your support of this church and your continued ministry here in Wortham is something to be commended and something to truly be thankful for. The support I saw at the Fire Department BBQ was impressive. The desire to bring food for the End of the School year food drive shows your presence in the community and your desire to serve and witness to Christ in this community. We are ever mindful of the Swine Flu epedimic/pandemic... We are worried about our selves and our community, those we care for and love.
And today we open our Bibles today 2nd Thessalonians 3 and find a passage that has often been used to question pastor’s salaries. It’s also a passage that has been used to argue in favor of welfare reform or even the complete abolition of the welfare system.
But, maybe there is something else in this passage. Could it be that this passage can help us understand what we are to do as we wait for the Lord’s return? Could it be that it is about how we live in community with one another? Maybe.
Today we will hear a story, a long story it may seem, then we will discuss our scripture, and in the end I hope we will be able to apply both to our lives.
Let us read our passage: 2 Thes 3:6-16.

Prayer: Lord, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord my Strength and my Redeemer. Amen.
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Michael wasn’t quite like the other kids at Briarcrest High School. For one thing he was big, huge even. People often called him “Big Mike” and rightly so, he was 6’5” and 350 lbs. in the 9th grade. But Mike didn’t really belong at Briarcrest, actually he had gotten in to the private school by accident. You see, Mike had been passed around from foster home to foster home, from school to school, simply living off whatever help he could get from the next generous person. They would help him for a little while then decide that he was hopeless and shuffle him on to be someone else’s problem.
When Michael was born he was the seventh of what was to be around 13 children born to Denise, or Dee-Dee as she was known on the streets. By the time Mike was about 4 they were living on the streets full time. By 6 he was in a Foster home but ran away and found his way back to Dee-Dee. By 8 his mother was addicted to Crack-Cocaine and Mike was again in foster care. By 10 he was back with her and somehow managed to stay either with her or friends in the low income housing project for the next few years.
It was during these years that he became friends with Steven, the son of “Big Tony.” And, from time to time Mike would sleep at Tony and Steven’s place. Though he wasn’t the guardian of Mike, when Tony moved his son to another school, for some reason he took Mike with him and tried to enroll him at Briarcrest Christian Academy. The problem was Mike had no real education. He should have been going into 10th grade but he couldn’t read, he could barely write, knew no math and had little to no social skills.
Once again Briarcrest, like all the others, made an attempt to help but was just another part of the process of pushing him off to be someone else’s problem. He belonged in the public schools, not private. His IQ had been measured at 80. He ranked in humanities 9th percentile in intelligence and the 6th percentile in “ability to learn”. It had been said of him, “Mike’s not retarded, he’s just stupid.”
The Principal and the President of Briarcrest both wanted to help Michael but weren’t sure how, so they sent him off to a type of home school situation to work on his reading, writing, and arithmetic. It was soon clear that Mike wasn’t able to do the remedial work that he was sent and in the end even missed the public school enrollment. Here Michael was, adrift in the masses of society. Shuffled again from one place to another. No home. No school. No one to really help him. Out of guilt they let him in the school, but he was failing miserably. He just didn’t belong. Michael had become just another story of what happens to so many of our youth today.
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So, what is community? It is definitely something that Michael didn’t have, at least not as we would recognize it. Dictionary.com defines it as: a social group of any size whose members reside in a specific locality, share government, and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.
Methodist’s fit that. As United Methodists we have our own governing body, we meet in certain places, share a common culture and historical heritage. This definition can be applied to many other groups, clubs, and organizations.
If we were to read other passages in our Bible, such as Acts, Ezra and Nehemiah, we would find examples of God's people living in community with one another, helping one another, sharing food and clothing. The problem that often happens in such a Commune – or community, is that some may take advantage of other’s generosity. “I’ll let others give and keep what I have for myself” they may say. Or, “I expect to get my benefit regardless of what I do. I deserve it.” We see it in our society. We know there are some that could work but choose not to because others are generous.
Our danger as outsiders to the situation is that we will begin trying to judge one situation over another and forget that we are all called to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick… Even when we see that “free loader” and want to judge them, we don’t know their situation. Maybe we could be that one to help them and give them the opportunity to find their autonomy, their pride, their strength, their courage to grow in their own development and someday be able to help someone else.
We argue between giving a “hand-up” or a “hand-out”. We argue about “personal accountability” and “reallocation”. Somewhere within both of these thoughts is an answer and we as Christian are called to seek that answer and reach out to the least, the last, and the lost.
So far this has all been about the public, about others, but when it comes to our private lives, we need to think about this too. We need to remember what Paul said here and in his previous letter in 1 Thes 4:9-12 where he tells the Thessalonians to quietly work with their hands so as to show love and depend upon one another.
Rather than all the Thessalonians working with their hands, some had decided that they would do nothing and wait for the Lord to return. They, as many today, believed that Christ was coming back in their lifetime. If Christ was coming back right away, then why worry about the fields? Why worry about the cattle? Why make tents and clothes and all the other things that were needed in the community? Just wait on the Lord. In their idleness, it also seemed that they got into the habit of gossiping a bit too. Think about it. If a large number of us decided that we weren’t going to work anymore and just sat around the church all day, everyday, with nothing to do, what would happen? We’d start gossiping. “Did you see Billy? Can you believe he’s still plowing that field when Jesus is coming tomorrow?” “Oh, but didn’t you hear, while he’s out working in the field, his wife is out working with Anna’s husband.”
Paul was warning the Thessalonians, just as he is warning us today, we need to be careful that we don’t become idle. That we don’t grow weary in doing the good that we are called to do. For Pastors, it is working for the spiritual growth and needs of the congregation. For teachers, it is the growth of those in their class that they may learn, be it Sunday School, public school, or private school. For factory workers, it is the use of the hands to make the items that are used by others every day. For the retailers, it is making the products we need available. We are all called to do various tasks, but in each of these tasks we are to do good.
Or as John Wesley put it:
Do all the good you can, By all the means you can, In all the ways you can, In all the places you can, At all the times you can, To all the people you can, As long as ever you can.
With Spring & Summer upon us and all the hustle and bustle, it is sometimes easy to grow weary of doing good.
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I could understand Leigh Anne growing weary.
Leigh Anne’s children also attended Briarcrest, but if ever there was a family that belonged at this private school it was Leigh Anne’s. Her husband, Sean, owned numerous Restaurants around Tennessee. They had more than enough money, nice cars, preppy clothes, and college degrees – All the right credentials to have their children in this school.
One night Leigh Anne saw Michael walking along the road. It was freezing out yet Michael was walking along in a t-shirt and cut-offs, the same thing he wore every day. Sean pointed him out to Leigh Anne as “Big Mike”, the guy he had run into at the school gym one day and anonymously arranged to take care of his meal ticket at the cafeteria. Out of compassion, Leigh Anne stopped to check on Michael. It was the last day of Thanksgiving break and Michael had no place to go. He was hoping to get in the gym, “because they got heat in there” he said. As Sean and Leigh Anne drove away Leigh Anne was in tears. The next day she picked Michael up from school and took him shopping, at his stores, across Memphis, in the other neighborhood. Michael seemed to be worried about her as they went farther and farther away from Briarcrest and deeper and deeper into gang territory. Yet, Leigh Anne told him she wasn’t scared, as long as he was with her to look out for her.
Not long after this shopping trip Michael began to live with Sean, Leigh Anne, their teen age daughter, and young son. Michael became such a part of the family that he was adopted and truly became their son.
Along the way he was tutored in his school work. Leigh Anne would spend hours teaching him social skills and Sean would work with him in sports. By now the football coach had noticed him and realized his potential. It’s not often that you find someone this big and fast. Michael was a natural athlete. He had only briefly played football once before but that would all change his Junior year. By the end of his senior year he was picked to play in the All-American bowl, was offered one scholarship after another, had brought his GPA from a 0.9 up to a 2.65 and his IQ had gone from an 80 to 110, something that is not supposed to be possible.
Michael Oher is now a graduate from Ole Miss and was selected to play Left Tackle by the Baltimore Ravens in the 1st Round of the NFL Draft. He went from having nowhere to live as a Sophomore in High School to a university graduate and the recipient of a multi-million dollar contract in just 7 years. Had society had it’s way, he would still be lost, on the streets, bouncing from place to place looking for the next generous person to care for him. But because one Christian lady cared enough to do more, to do all the good she could , and not allow herself to grow weary, Michael’s life was changed forever. When Leigh Anne found Michael he didn’t have a community. But Leigh Anne welcomed him into her community and in that community Michael has been loved.
This is what our Christian community is about. Not sitting back waiting on Jesus to come again, but actively working to reach out to those in need until Jesus comes back. We work diligently, we don’t grow weary. We work in connection with those around us to reach out to the least, the last, and the lost.
We as Christian’s are called to be a community that is open and welcoming of others. We are present in worship, we are present in the life of the community, we are present in the lives of those in need.
We as Christian’s are called to be a community and pray with and for others. We are called to pray for our church, for our friends, for our enemies, for our leaders.
We as Christian’s are called to be a community that gives. We are called to give of our time and talents. We are called to give our ideas and our resources. And yes we are called to give our money.
We are Christian's are called to serve. We are called to serve in leadership in our church and community. We are called to serve others with love and compassion. We are called to reach our to the least, the last, and the lost.
We as Christian's are called to witness to our faith. We are called to tell others the story of the faith. We are called to live our Christianity our in the community and the world around us.

That is what Leigh Anne Tuhey did and Michael Oher will never be the same. Now to you, the challenge is this... Go and do likewise.

The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift
John 3:16

So often when I think of this verse I think of where I learned it: Sunday School, Vacation Bible School,
I think of it being a key to Salvation
I think of it as a synopsis of the Gospel of John
This is all true. We should teach it to our kids at SS and VBS
It is true and key in our salvation as it the entire discourse with Nicodemus
It is a summary of the Gospel of John.

All this is true but there is one other image that kept coming to mind as I read this passage again. The images and message of the movie “Saving Private Ryan” It was a horrific and realistic portrayal of the D-Day invasion as well as way in general. For any of us that have served in the armed forces, whether we have seen battle or not, it is haunting. I will not go into any of the details of the movie but, in order to give you a perspective, let me summarize it:
Two Ryan brothers were killed in action during the D-Day invasion, a third brother was killed within a day or two of the others in New Guinea. Mrs. Ryan, a widow, was to receive three letters and flags from the US government on the same day. The Joint Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall realizes this and then hears of a fourth brother, Private James Francis Ryan and vows to return him to his mother.
Captain Miller of the 29th Inf. Div, 2nd Ranger Battalion was tasked with finding Pvt. Ryan and bringing him home safely. Capt. Miller selects 8 men and they set out through enemy territory to find Pvt. Ryan of the 101st Air Born Division. Along the journey they argue about why 8 men are risking their lives for this one. They wonder why one soldier can be so valuable.
After fighting their way across parts of France they finally find him and his unit, a unit in short supply of men and weapons with a task of holding a bridge. When Ryan will not leave, Capt. Miller and his men help defend the bridge until reinforcements arrive.
In the end Capt. Miller lay dying on the bridge he defended and tells Ryan - “Earn this” Capt. Miller and six of his men gave their life to save Pvt. Ryan.

For some reason, as I think over this verse, as I think over all this verse means the thought comes to my mind, “Earn this”

Yet I know there is nothing I could ever do to earn the love of God. “For God so loved the world...”

If I can't earn it, then maybe I can at least understand it.

The Gospel of John is so complex, so layered, that one could study it for years and never stop discovering nuances within the book. Because of that we could read over this verse and every one of us come up with more of what the verse means. But to help us along I want us to look and the verse word by word.

For God...
This wasn't and isn't something from some other person. It wasn't from some figure of history. This is from God, the creator of all that was, is, and ever will be. The God, the one true God.

So Loved...
Oh, there's that word, Love... You know, I love pizza. I love lasagna. I love Steak and potatoes, and asiago shrimp, and chocolate meringue pie.
I love Colorado, the mountains in the summer, the snow in the winter
I love hunting and fishing
I love the United Methodist Church
I love my wife and my kids
I love God...

One word with so many meanings. Love is a word that has been used and abused, so much so that it has lost its meaning.

The Greeks have many words for love: Eros (erotic love), Phileo (friendly love), Storge (patriotic love), and Agape (Godly love),

Our one word has to be a noun, we see it described in 1 Cor 13 (Love is patient, love is kind...)
our one word has to be an adjective, how we do things lovingly...
Our one word has to be a feeling (a feeling you feel when you feel a feeling you never felt before...)
Our one word has to be a verb, “I love you”.

This love we find in this verse is so much more than all this. It is a deeper love, a stronger love. It would have to be because what else could pull Jesus from the wonder of heaven to the pain of the cross?
A love that, were it only for me, or for you, Jesus would still have come to this place, suffered, and died. It was a love beyond you and me. It was a love for all.

It was a love for the world...
This isn't a word for earth or just this little dirt clod out in space. The word here is cosmos. It is the word for all of God's creation.

That he gave...
What is a gift? A true gift is something that is given without any expectation of reciprocation. There is nothing we can do to earn God's love, it is freely given all we have to do is receive it.

Some of you may have heard of the Gutenberg Bible. It is named this because of Johan Gutenberg, the inventor of the Movable Type printing press and the first person to publish a copy of the bible on such a press.
He worked during the mid 1500's what we call the dark ages. It was a time when people feared God. They have a view of God more like Zeus of Greek Mythology than the God we discover in the Bible. With lightning bolts ready to throw toward anyone at the first hint of sin.

One day Gutenberg was printing a copy of the Bible when a mis-fed page fell from the press and his young daughter, Alice, picked it up. She looked at the words and read “For God so loved the world that he gave.”
From that day forward Alice was a happy girl. After days of smiles her mother finally asked her why she was so happy and Alice produced the page from her pocket. Her mother read it and asked, “what did God give?” to which young Alice replied, “I don't know but if God loves and god gave, then why should we be afraid?”

For God so love the world that he gave

His One and only Son...
that is, his unique, not begotten in the sense that we see in the Old Testament begotten in the sense that he is true God from true God. This one that we call Jesus is the one true God in human form.

That whosover...
That means you and me. That means that anyone can believe and be saved. Salvation is for all. That neighbor that seems unlovable. That disrespectful kid down the street. That little angel of a child or grandchild. Whoever means just that whoever.

Believes...
This isn't just a head belief. We can believe in our head that God can make a difference in the life of a person in need but that makes no difference. It makes no difference until the belief moves from our head to our heart and spurs us to action. It is deeper than just knowing. You see, this belief is both a head knowledge, an intellectual feat, and a heart knowledge, an emotional and spiritual endeavor.
When John Wesley experienced it he said that “His Heart was strangely warmed.”

In Him...
This is explicitly non-inclusive language. All through the NRSV and other modern translations the scholars have worked to be inclusive with their language of God but here we see this pronoun apologetically stated as Him.
It had to be because as you read the verse you realize that it encompasses both God, the Almighty, Jehovah, YaHWeH, and Jesus Christ he person. For John there was no question, they were one and the same. When you believe in Jesus, you believe in God. “I and the Father are one.” “You believe in the father, believe also in me. If you have seen me you have seen the Father...”

Shall not perish but have eternal life...
This isn't talking about immortality. It is talking about abundance, fullness. John 10:10 reminds us that Jesus came that we might have life abundantly. It is beyond just pie in the sky bye and bye... it is about living today recognizing that eternity starts now. It is about living fully in the life we have here as we seek to bring about God's kingdom here on earth.

It is in recognition of this that we look back upon our life and ask our selves, have I done enough. We recognize the gifts that we have received and out of gratitude try to live in such a way to say thank you. It is in gratitude for all the God has done for us that we look back on our life and try wonder, did we do enough to earn what God has done, knowing that we can never do enough.

At the end of the movie, Saving Private Ryan, a 65 year old James Ryan stands a the memorial in Normandy over Capt. Miller's grave and says,
My family is with me today. They wanted to come with me. To be honest with you, I wasn't sure how I'd feel coming back here. Every day I think about what you said to me that day on the bridge. I tried to live my life the best I could. I hope that was enough. I hope, at least in your eyes, I've earned what all of you have done for me.
As his wife walks up he says to her, “tell me I've led a good life, tell me I'm a good man.”

At some point in our life we have to look back and realize all that Jesus did for us. Out of gratitude we have to live a good life. But there has to be more.
We must believe in our head and in our heart.
We must follow Christ and we must accept the abundant life he offers.

“For God so loved the world...”
That is what it means to encounter Jesus. To daily remember what he has done for us and to live a life that reflects the change that it causes.