“Separating Truth From Claims”

Sermon Delivered By Rev. Dick Stetler – August 7, 2016

Centenary United Methodist Church

Proverbs 13:2-11; Luke 12:35-44

    This morning we are going to discuss how practical Jesus' parables and teachings were for all humanity from ancient times to those living well into the future.  Most of his teachings are timeless. Other teachings, however, were improvements on the customs and traditions maintained by religious leaders of his people.  (Matthew 5:38)

    During the first three centuries the scribes of the Roman Christian Church began refining the manuscripts as they copied them.  This was intentional so that the written record would conform to the theology that the Papal authorities understood as the truth.  There were five branches of Christianity in those early centuries.  The Roman Church acted swiftly to implant the idea into the minds of followers that they and they alone, were the authorities of Jesus and Paul's teachings.  How do we know this? 

    The thoughts that Paul allegedly wrote about women were added by future writers.  Here is a prime example, "Women should learn in silence and all humility.  I do not allow them to teach or to have authority over men; they must keep quiet." (I Timothy 2:11f)  Here is another sentence that has caused women to feel marginalized and robbed of their dignity as daughters of God. "A woman can be saved by having children, if she perseveres in faith, love and holiness with modesty." (I Timothy 2:15) 

    It should be a comfort to women to know that these verses do not appear in the earliest manuscripts attributed to Paul that had escaped being altered by the official scribes.  However, few pastors want to correct these teachings because the first Roman Council of Nicaea (325 AD) determined that the Bible had been dictated by God.  In earlier generations, pastors refused to teach anything that went against conventional orthodoxy.

    Because religious leaders did not choose to challenge such statements, substantial glass ceilings were established for women based on The Holy Scriptures for Christians and The Holy Koran for Muslims.  Yes, the Koran.  If we looked at the Koran that was created by Muhammad and compared it with the printed copies today, people would be shocked to discover how it has been edited and changed through the centuries. 

    One of the tests for determining whether a teaching is true is its universal application to all humanity. One such teaching was the Golden Rule. This Rule appears in all the major religions of the world.  "Care for others in the same manner and spirit that you would like others to care for you."  (Matthew 7:12)  Many other lessons for living have their basis in this teaching.

    The verses that we will look at this morning also have a timeless quality to them.

Who is a wise and faithful employee?  He is the one that was hired and placed in charge of managing the household of his employer and to give the other workers support at the proper time.  How happy that worker is when his employer finds him busy remaining faithful to his tasks.  He will be rewarded by being given even more responsibilities.  (Luke 12:42f)

    We often describe success stories like this as cream always rising to the top. This teaching was true for Joseph even when he found himself in one of Egypt's prisons for a crime he did not commit. People who have answered the call to be of service soar to great levels of productivity. Why this happens is obvious.  Such people are in great demand in every society.

    Recently, I had a conversation with a Bermudian businessman that illustrated what Jesus was stressing in our lesson today.  His plan followed the best practices that almost guarantee success for anyone who follows them. 

    First, he decided what he had a passion to do. Next he learned everything about the products he wanted to wholesale.  He approached a few vendors and followed through on what he promised he could do for them. In no time, word spread among the vendors until he was able to service 138 major clients here in Bermuda.  Companies like his do not need to advertise because they have a chorus of highly satisfied customers who sing their praises for them. 

    I asked him if there was a formula to his success.  He said:

Not really.  I offered my clients quality products along with a consistency of service.  They could count on superior products arriving at the location where they needed them at our agreed upon time.  I instilled in my employees that every client must be impressed with their character and attitudes.  If they wanted to work for me they had to abide by my standards.  If they could not make working for me look like an enthusiastic way of life, they were relieved of their responsibilities.

    He told me that he eventually sold his business. Today his company no longer exists.  The final owner wanted the financial profits without faithfully following through on the quality of products and service that his former customers had come to expect.

    In almost every country today we hear the cries for more jobs. Graduates from universities claim that they cannot find work.  From what we know of Jesus' timeless lessons, we might hear, "The world does not owe you a living wage.   First find out what you want to do and allow your desires to lead you to discover your inner, one-of-a-kind treasure."  Many will say, "This sounds easier said than done." It is not.  Doing this means going after what you have a passion to do.

    Years ago, I performed a wedding ceremony for a couple.  The bride was desperately looking for work.   No one was hiring people without some experience.  She called me several months after the wedding to see if my network of personal contacts could help her to find a job.  I told her, "That is not the way to go."  I asked her, "If you could have your dream-job, what do you envision yourself doing?"  She said, "I would give anything to work in Human Resources at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in Greenbelt, Maryland."

    Even though she had a degree in Law and had passed the Maryland Bar Examination, she could not see herself in a field that she dreaded. This was her father's fondest wish, not hers. I told her to apply for a position in H.R. When they tell you that they are not hiring, tell them you will work without financial compensation as an intern to gain experience.  She followed through. 

    NASA had no intern program.  However, they never heard of anyone willing to work in their H.R. department for free.   She called me with the good news that they had accepted her offer.  After I heard this news, I told her that it was time to let the genie out of the bottle.   I said:

Let your spirit show up every minute of every day.  Be on time for work.  Get to know everyone in the H.R. Department.  Stay late and ask if you can help others to complete their tasks.  Be a role model for everyone of what it looks like to express your enthusiasm for each assigned task.

    The predictable happened, she was a fireball in the Department of Human Resources and her supervisors could not afford to let her go.  They literally created a position her.

    While Jesus' teaching this morning may not appear to have much applicability to where most of us are at this stage of our lives, we can understanding why the timelessness of Jesus' teaching could be applied to any setting. 

    Jesus' lessons were not Jewish.  In fact, they had more to do with developing a fruit-bearing life than with any religious beliefs or practices.   Simply put, people need to take responsibility for every aspect of their lives before the external world will open to them.  Every society on earth needs inner-directed people to point out for others the way to create a fruitful, productive life.

    There may be nothing worse in life then to be employed in a field where the person has no passion for what he or she does to earn a paycheck.  They may get by in life but their spirits never awakened and the lid on their treasure chest of talents remained unopened.  They never spread their wings to fly.  These are the people who often complain about what is happening in their marriages, their work environment or the way the government is managing society's affairs.  Seldom will they have enthusiasm for the solutions that others propose.

    One of the timeless modern-day teachings in life is that you can lead horses to water but you cannot make them drink.  Buddha taught this same thing when he said, "You can never teach anyone the way to live. THE WAY must be experienced before the person bears the fruit it promises."  

    Five hundred years later, Jesus taught the same message. "Those who discover their inner treasure and develop it will be given even more.  However, those who never awaken and develop what they have, even the little they have will be taken away from them."  (Matthew 13:12)

    Five hundred years after Jesus, Muhammad taught, "You will never enter paradise until you have developed your ability to love one another."  In the presence of such tried and tested truth, how can so many people not see or hear what has been taught?  

    Where are the Muslims who chant, "Death to the west!  Death to all infidels?" Their god is only a projection from their own hostile inner world.  They are deaf to the countless teachings of The Prophet they revere by saying, "May peace be upon him."

    There is hope!  Just as these teachers were timeless in their message, so are we.  God's patience with every individual will never become exhausted even when people fervently believe that they have the truth.  They claim to have an exclusive relationship with the Creator.  They claim they are called to destroy others and their institutions.  Their passion is to secure for God what is left of our world. 

    Rest assured, people who believe this way are only producing many frightening claims.  There is nothing about their claims that makes them timeless.  When all is said and done, those who honor The Golden Rule will have life and have it in abundance.  Good things will come to them because of their orientation toward life and most of all, because of their compassion and attitudes towards others.