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“Always
Sing Your Song” Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – September
18, 2016 Centenary United Methodist Church
I Timothy 2:1-6; Luke 16:1-13
Our lesson for today is a stand-alone episode found only in the Gospel of Luke. This parable is unique because Jesus is using a story line that has no parallel in any other lesson that he taught. All the characters in this drama were taking their cues from the material world. A property manager was routinely skimming money from his
employer's accounts. He was
caught. Realizing that he would soon be fired from his job, he developed
a plan that would put a good number of people in his debt. He created
a fire sale where clients
could have their debts paid in full by paying only a portion of what
they owed. While these negotiations were underway, the property manager was caught again. Was he further condemned by his employer? No indeed! His boss praised him for creating an ingenious plan, a strategy that would allow the manager to call in favors after he lost his job. Jesus' point in telling this story became clear to his listeners
when he said, "The people of this
world are much more shrewd in handling their affairs than the people who
belong to the light."
In the state of Ohio, a community grew up around a major
manufacturing company. A
majority of the people worked at the factory.
One night the unthinkable happened.
There was a three-alarm fire that destroyed the large warehouse
and badly damaged other buildings of the factory.
The soul of the
community was thrust into a vacuum of uncertainty.
The loss of the spending power by the factory workers would
ripple through the economy of the community affecting other services
from the fast food restaurants to gasoline stations. The owner and CEO of the factory gathered his employees at the
site of the fire and spoke to them very passionately. He concluded his
remarks by telling them that he would continue to pay their wages and
benefits until their facility was rebuilt.
The entire community breathed a sigh of relief. He wanted each of them to continue working at different tasks
other than the ones they were accustomed to doing. Each department was
to analyze how they could improve the efficiency of what they do and
then design how the improvements could become part of the plans for the
new facility. There was a thunderous applause for the generosity of
their fearless leader. Some months later, Larry Caldwell, the owner of the company, was
with his favorite foursome on the golf course.
The bank president said to him, "Larry, you are not only one of
the most generous people I have ever known but you have quite literally
become the economic savior for
our community." Larry
responded: Henry, I am happy that so many people feel that way about me. What I need right now is their
loyalty. However, my motives are more pragmatic than generous. Through
the years, the company has paid a lot of money for our insurance. I
added a rider on the policy some years ago that would cover all lost
wages if a disaster occurred. Dozens
of my highly skilled employees could secure a similar position tomorrow
if the plant shut down. We
have a fabulous group of very committed employees and I need to keep it
that way. Paying them during
this process will benefit all of us. Jesus was making the claim that people are more skilled in the
ways of the world than they are when they make claims about the nature
and quality of their spiritual lives. Most of us would agree that we are far more attentive to our
income and expenses than we are to tithing to the church, remembering to
bring canned and dry goods for families in need or preparing ourselves
for each new day by focusing our energies on seeing that
the angel living inside of us
shows up every moment of the day.
Years ago, the mission of the church was far more central to our
lives than it is currently.
Today, the spirit that used to offer guidance has been replaced by
economic and political considerations. When is the last time we saw the PLP and the OBA join hands in
celebration of a joint project that they accomplished together?
Consider the toxic exchanges between the Trump/Clinton campaigns
for the Presidency of the United States. The spirit of our people has
become polarized into warring camps.
While this is politics as usual, something quite profound has
happened to our societies. Jesus
had another point that he was making by his storytelling in this
parable. Last
Wednesday a woman in my former church celebrated her 103rd birthday.
Mary Norton now lives near her daughter in the
Brookdale Skilled Nursing Facility
in Ithaca, New York. She is alert and was an absolute delight to visit
when I was her pastor. She learned how to take life as it comes without making too many
judgments about her experiences.
Without those judgments, her stress levels were almost
non-existent for most of her life.
She was a master of creatively adjusting to what was coming up
for her. Lois and I sent an email to her on Monday to wish her a happy birthday. She has a pleasant sense of humor so I sent to her an interesting illustration. I wrote, "Just think, Mary, if someone would have purchased for you one $40 share of Coke stock when you were six years old at its initial public offering, today that one share would be worth 9.8 million dollars." I knew what her response would be.
"Having that much money would have created stress.
If I had my life to live over again, I would not change a single
thing. All my experiences
have fit together perfectly."
Jesus taught the same understanding that Mary chose to live
during her entire life. He
said, "Whoever is faithful in small matters will be faithful in larger
ones. If you are wise in the
handling of your worldly affairs, you will also be trustworthy when you
eventually come into possession of
real treasure." (Luke 16:10f)
Think about this -- what one quality would work in both worlds to
meet our physical and spiritual needs?
A successful life has
never been a matter of how many good deeds we performed, how many causes
we have struggled mightily to win or how many enlightened books we have
written, sermons we have preached or universities that we have founded
that bore our name. For sure, when we make such contributions to our world they come
from our inner desire to do so.
Such accomplishments are received with open arms by a very
grateful society. However, a
number of us are not able to make such large and generous donations to
our world.
What is critical to the quality of our inner world is to continue to sing our song when we are
positive that no one is paying attention.
Just as Jesus taught, do your best work in a manner that does
not attract attention to it.
(Matthew 6:1f) Very few people understand that this is what Jesus was doing
during his ministry. What he
relied on was his ability to
sing his song to anyone
willing to listen to his words of
truth that poured through him
during his life. Think of it. Jesus
wrote no manuscripts even though he knew how to write.
He never protested even once about the Roman military presence in
the life of his people. He
was not interested in any office that would have given him political
power. (John 6:15) He died
for a capital crime against Rome of which he was innocent.
After his death only a minuscule number of people had heard
rumors about what he said and did.
Jesus had no idea if anyone had listened to
his song or that they would
later choose to
sing it to others after he was gone.
Think of how many times the entire population of the world cycled
from birth to death before Jesus' message began to circulate beyond the
boundaries of where it started. What
is interesting historically is that the people who have been the most
influential in shaping and transforming the world's cultures were seldom
well-known or even recognized during their lifetime.
This is what happens to visionaries that are way ahead of their time.
Try to imagine going back to a former generation and telling
Vincent Van Gogh that his Portrait of Dr. Gachet would eventually sell for 82.5 million
dollars in the springtime of the year 1990.
The discouraged artist would have laughed at such a prediction.
Why? Van Gogh is
believed to have sold only one painting during his lifetime,
The Red Vines, which went for
400 Francs in Brussels in 1890.
Visionary people often encounter
headwinds from those who have
a stake in resisting change, who feel threatened by radically different
ideas or who will fight to preserve their world-view of keeping life as
it is. Newer
generations in search of the next BIG thing, however, are embracing
change far more rapidly than at any other time in history.
Tesla's electric, driverless cars were pure fiction until they
were created by Elon Musk.
Today there are many copy cat
companies among other automakers.
It will be interesting to watch the economic impact on
oil-producing nations when oil is no longer a necessity. Think of what will happen when the teachings of Jesus are lifted
from the safe-keeping of the Christian Church and given to the world as
the product of a visionary mind that saw the potential of tapping into
the invisible world of spirit.
Could Jesus be to the
Science of Spirituality what Tesla's Elon Musk, or Amazon's Jeff
Bezos, or Apple's Steve Jobs are to being the masters of their
respective sectors of the world's marketplace? Was Jesus the original
leaven for the loaf?
Absolutely! Jesus clearly understood that our physical environment does not
guarantee happiness. Jesus knew this. Happiness
is only guaranteed when we choose to bring that state-of-mind to the table in every
circumstance. Countless
people look to their world, to their relationships and to their
governments to supply what such external sources cannot provide. God works miracles through everyone who chooses
to sing his or her song
even though they may not live long enough to see any result from doing
so. This is how life is. We
are all on a different rung of the
ladder of spiritual evolution. Quality living from Jesus' perspective has always been about our radiating joy, happiness and peace while we grant to others the same privilege and freedom to share what they have found. |