Today's Scripture Reading (March 23, 2024): 2 Thessalonians 3
I recently had
a conversation with a First Nations man from the Dene tribe (he is emphatic
that you know he is not Cree). He lives in the north country, which is where
his tribe originates, and his name is Stan. Stan and I have had conversations
before. He is usually looking for gas money to get home. Usually, I tell him
that we don't keep cash at the Church, and often, I do not carry any either.
But, deep down, I kind of like Stan. Our ritual is frequently the same: he
comes in and asks for the Pastor. I greet him and tell him that we have already
met; he smiles and tells me when we last talked, happy, I think, that I
remember him. He tells me about his battle with drugs and alcohol. It has been many
years since he took his last drink. He remembers clearly the last drink he had
on January 31, 1996, at about 10:45 in the evening. February 1 is his sobriety
anniversary. He tells me what is going on in his life, starting with how his
children are doing. His mother passed away last fall at the age of 86. She fell
and broke her left hip, and then, as the hip was healing, she fell and broke her
right one. She never recovered from the second broken hip.
Conversations
with Stan are never short. And usually, that is all Stan gets, but this time I
happened to be working on this verse for a teaching assignment, and I gave Stan
all the money I had, twenty dollars, to help him get gas to go back up north to
the reservation. I hope that is the purpose for which he spends the money.
But the
reality is that I don't and can't do that for everyone. I have a hard time with
these moments in my life because I hate turning people down, but I also know I
don't have the resources to give money to whoever asks. I used to have a secret
compartment in my wallet that contained "compassion money" for
whoever needed it. The money was given to me for that purpose by people in the Church,
but even then, I couldn't give it to everyone. On this day, Stan lucked out.
Stan stood up,
I hugged him, and he said, "Musee Cho." He tells me that "Musee
Cho" means "Thank You very much" in the Dene language. Musee
means "Thank you," and adding Cho to anything means "very much."
I smile and say it back to him, and he says, "See, I taught you something."
I don't know
if Stan is Idle. I don't understand why he always arrives in the city without
enough gas to get home. But he is not disruptive or demanding. If I can give
him something, great. If I can't, we sit and talk for a while.
In 45-46 C.E.,
there was a famine in Jerusalem. The famine caused problems, and for much of
Paul's ministry, he seems to be making a collection to help those living in the
Holy City. It is an offering that he plans to give to the Church in Jerusalem.
But there is
a problem with the story, a paradox. I have spoken about the difference between
descriptive texts and prescriptive texts. Descriptive texts describe what
happened. The people of Israel walked around the walls of Jericho and then blew
their horns, and the walls fell down. And while I sometimes use that
illustration as I like to walk around the Church before important events, it is
just a descriptive text. There is no command to walk around things anywhere in
the Bible, although it was commanded in Jericho. The passage that says Judas hung
himself describes what happened; there is no argument that whenever you fall
into sin, you should hang yourself in the Bible; it is not there. Prescriptive
texts contain commands that we should do. The Ten Commandments are
prescriptive, and so is "love your neighbor as yourself."
So, the
discussion arises around the idea of the Jerusalem Church and the famines
through which they suffered. Paul collecting an offering for the people of
Jerusalem can seem to be a prescriptive text. I have admitted that I had people
leave this Church just because I read the text saying that the early Church
sold everything that they had and pooled their money so that they could take
care of the poor. So, is it prescriptive or descriptive? Should we go and sell
everything and give it to people experiencing poverty, or does this simply describe
what happened at this point in time?
Some argue
that there is a problem with the Jerusalem Church's way of handling things, and
I wonder if it might be this problem that Paul was worried about as he wrote
this letter to the Thessalonian Church. The idea is that the Jerusalem Church's
experience is actually a cautionary tale. The Church became generous, sharing
what it had with people in need. But
people took advantage of their generosity. These people were idle, disruptive,
and drained the wealth of the Church so that when hard times came, they could
not respond.
Paul writes
to the Thessalonians. Work for your food; do not become a drain on the Church. At
the same time, the Church should continue to be generous, don't neglect the
Stans in your midst. Work Christ's love out with them.
It is a hard
line for me sometimes to find. But Paul's intention, to me, is clear. Jesus is
coming. But right now, you have to live life on earth. Do your best to allow
the love message of Jesus to run wild in your midst and to care for those in
need without letting those who only want to take advantage of you drain your
resources. This is your task. This is the Church. This is why we exist. And as
long as we can do these things, we won't have to worry about the Second coming
of Christ. Tomorrow will arrive on
schedule. But until then, life on Earth beckons.
Tomorrow's Scripture
Reading: Acts 19
No comments:
Post a Comment