Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the food they eat. – 2 Thessalonians 3:12

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