Sunday 11/13/22 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Believers Who Are Living In Idleness”
Old Testament Scripture: Isaiah 12
New Testament Scripture: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
Gospel Lesson: Luke
21:5-19
I
remember going to a church men’s breakfast early on a Saturday morning about
twenty-years ago. At this church men’s breakfast, an old farmer in his late 80’s
got up to speak and gave us the devotion for the men’s gathering. This man
reminded me of my now late Grandpa Winkelman. This old farmer had jeans, a
button up shirt, and notepad and pens in his shirt pocket, just like Grandpa
Winkelman would.
This man did talk some about Jesus,
but I was shocked when his devotion was about Adam and Eve. The man said, in
his brief devotion that he wanted to talk to us about Adam and Eve. Well, I
figured that he would talk about Adam and Eve eating of the fruit from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, and them then getting kicked out of the Garden
of Eden (Gen. 2-3, NRSV). Yet, he didn’t talk about any of this.
The man did talk about God creating
Adam and Eve, and then he talked about their role in the Garden of Eden. I
remember thinking at this breakfast as this older farmer was talking, “well
this is interesting”. Then this man asked a question I will never forget. The
man asked us all, “When God created Adam and Eve, why did he put them in the
garden?” I remember everyone was silent, even me! Now for those that know me
well that alone is a miracle!
Someone then said, “Well God put Adam
and Eve in the garden to serve Him”. The man said, “That is true, but it is not
the primary reason that God put Adam and Eve in the garden. I think someone
else said, “God put them there to pray and worship him”. The man said, “That is
true too, but it is not primary reason that God put Adam and Eve in the garden”.
There might have been a couple of more guesses, but as you can imagine, at this
point we were all racking our brains trying to figure out what this man was
getting at.
So, maybe you can think about this to,
“Why did God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?” I mean God did not have
to have a garden. Well, what this man said next shocked me. I opened my bible,
as I had never even noticed the verse of scripture that this man then read to
us. The man read Genesis 2:15 that says:
15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it (Gen. 2:15, NRSV).
Well,
this really blew my mind, because I have always seen the many paintings of Adam
and Eve wearing a leaf for undergarments. It always seemed to me that they were
relaxing and kind of just sitting around in the Garden of Eden. Yet, this nice
old farmer at this church men’s breakfast said that Adam and Eve were put in
the garden to work the garden.
I tell you this story
because we have an interesting scripture on this Veteran’s Day Sunday on
working and or not being idle. I remember growing up learning the concept of
the “Puritan Work Ethic”. This idea of hard work, the sweat of your brow, and
things of that nature. I also learned that hard work can be combined with
strong faith in God. For as our reading from Isaiah 12:2 says for this morning,
once again:
2 Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and will not be afraid, for the Lord is my strength and my might; he has become my salvation” (Isa. 12:2, NRSV).
My Grandpa Winkelman, worked hard and loved the Lord, as do
many. This idea of work then is not something that we always think about when
studying the scriptures. Yet, this is exactly, what the Apostle Paul tells the
church in Thessalonica or the Thessalonians in his second letter to them this
morning. The Apostle Paul is talking about work. In looking at reading from 2
Thessalonians 3:6-13 for this morning, it says, once again, starting in 3:6:
6 Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, 8 and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. 9 This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate (2 Thess. 3:6-9, NRSV).
This is a very challenging scripture
from 2 Thessalonians for this morning. This does not mean that whoever works
the most is the biggest hero, rather the Apostle Paul is telling us more broadly
to contribute. To do our part. Retired people are usually no longer working a
fulltime paid job, but are often working in many many other ways. I have heard
many retired people, for example, tell me that they are busier in retirement
than were when they were working a job. If someone is disabled, they cannot
work. The Apostle Paul did not address any of these other categories of people.
Yet the Apostle Paul is saying that we should be productive and not be idle. We
should seek to contribute to our family, our communities, on this Veteran’s Day
Sunday, to our country, and to our world.
Whether
we are working a paid job or not, we should try to contribute and do what we
can. If someone is bone idle, and does nothing to help anyone else, that we are
living in idleness. Now someone in a nursing home might be living in idleness,
but this is because of there health. So, once again, the Apostle Paul does not
address these other categories of people, so I would say we need to seek to be
productive. This does not mean burn ourselves out, but to be active in our
lives, and to be living and loving like Jesus.
I
remember, my father in Illinois once told me a story about a fellow
construction worker like him. After many years of hard work, this construction
worker retired, and he then largely sat all day in his recliner. The man died
after nine-months of retirement. Then I remember my dad saying, you need to
stay active, you need to keep doing things. The Apostle Paul warns the Thessalonians
and us this morning, to not live in idleness.
For
example, say that you inherited an unbelievable sum of money tomorrow. You never
had to work or doing anything ever again. Would you literally just sit around
and do nothing? The Apostle Paul warns us this morning against idleness. Not to
work ourselves sick, but to not be idle. There is a big world out there, and Jesus
needs you to serve, love, and help others.
In
completing our 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 scripture for this morning, the scripture
ends, once again, with 3:10-13 saying:
10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. 11 For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. 12 Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. 13 Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right (2 Thess. 3:10-13, NRSV).
What
I do not know, is if much of the church that the Apostle Paul was writing to was
young. If so, I can see where he is a bit harsh here. Young people that are
strong and are able bodied can-do stuff. I am not sure, but what I think what
the Apostle Paul is trying to say, is do what you can. Contribute, serve, help,
and make things better.
On
this Veterans’ Day Sunday, when I think of many service men and women that I
have known, I have not really known many loafers. Our service men and women are
often far from idle, and sometimes are working unbelievable hours. If you are in
a combat zone, you do not generally work an eight-hour shift and come home. Soldiers,
our veterans, are often people that are far from idle. Since this is Veteran’s
Day Sunday, I chose to preach on our 2 Thessalonians scripture, as I think that
most soldiers are people that are not idle. Our soldiers on D-Day in World War
II were far from idle, and they were in countless other places, as well. We
have a strong and free country, because millions of men and women, like some
here today, served in the military. So, thank you to our veterans!
In
briefly looking at our gospel of Luke 21:5-19 scripture for this morning, once
again, we have Jesus speaking prophetically and apocalyptically. Jesus is
telling us about an event in the future, and is talking about his return to
earth one day. Starting in Luke 21:5, it says, once again of the great Jewish Temple
in Jerusalem:
5 When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.” 7 They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?” 8 And he said, “Beware that you are not led astray, for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them (Lk. 21:5-8, NRSV).
Jesus is saying that
the great Temple, the great edifice that was built in Jerusalem, will be
destroyed. Not a single stone will be left standing upon another. In fact, about
30-40 years after Jesus was crucified and resurrected, there was an uprising in
Judea against the Roman occupation. The Jews rose up, and the Roman Army put
down the insurrection. In fact, the Roman Army even destroyed the temple that
Jesus predicted today would be destroyed. All that remains of this great temple,
almost two-thousand years later is the wall or fence of sorts that was around
the temple. This “wailing wall” as some call it, is a place to pray, place notes
and prayers, but the wall or the fence is all that remains of the great temple
in Jerusalem. This morning Jesus said that the great temple would be destroyed,
and it was.
Jesus then says do not be fooled or led
astray by teachers telling us to deny him, and who he is. Jesus then goes on to
say that before he returns to earth that all manner of bad things on earth will
occur. Yet through such times, and in general stay faithful to Christ, and live
and love like him. Do not give up on the love and the hope of Christ, and do
not give up on offering this love and hope to a world that needs it now more
than ever.
Jesus tells us that we might experience persecution and or oppression,
but to never give up on his love and his mercy. Stay the course, keep the
faith, and keep believing in better world now and in the world to come. In doing
this it keeps us from being idle, and it also shows us what God can use all to
do for Christ and his gospel.
I am thankful to
all followers of Jesus Christ that serve, love, heal, and forgive. On this day,
Veteran’s Day Sunday, may we also be thankful for our heroes in uniform, that
are far from idle. May we serve, love, and care for each other like Christ. Amen.
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