Sermon, 9/18/22: Even Thieves, in their Dishonesty, have Codes of Honor

Pentecost 15

Psalm 79:1–9; Jeremiah 8:18–9:1; I Timothy 2:1–7; Luke 16:1-13

Give me an accounting of your management. Luke 16:2b

Over these last weeks, we have heard the Prophet Jeremiah admonish the biblical Hebrews of just how far they had strayed from the path which God had intended for them, and what the consequences of the apostasy were to be. That which we hear today from Jeremiah could be described as a lamentation. The psalm appointed for today seems also to mirror Jeremiah’s lamentation. No less a lamentation are the words of Jesus who, at first glance would appear to approve the code of honor among thieves. In fact, however, such is not the case.

The pronouncement of Jesus, too quickly described as a lamentation, is not a lamentation at all, but rather an exhortation to rethink our codes of honor. Beginning literature students would see the example of the dishonest servant as a rhetoric literary device: Jesus invokes or uses a negative example, in order to extol the positive:
Anyone who can be trusted in small matters can be trusted also in great; and anyone who is dishonest in small matters is dishonest also in great. If, then, you have not proved trustworthy with the wealth of this world, who will trust you with the wealth that is real? (Luke 16:10 – 11)

So it is that I see not negativity or lamentation at work, even as I acknowledge Jeremiah’s keen sense of biblical Israel’s shortcoming and the equally unsettling image which Jesus has projected onto our spiritual screen. Rather, I bring before you today one individual, an ardent follower of Jesus, who reinforces Jesus’ positive teachings, even that of Jesus’ pedagogical praise of unethical behavior or a manager. That individual is none other than the Apostle Paul who, like you and me, comes with human flaws. I turn to Paul precisely because Paul offers us a way, whereby, we might be fortified to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ. Paul, not unlike many others whom God has chosen—Abraham, Moses, the Virgin Mary herself—to explain and to further God’s never-ending attempt to reconcile and return the Creation to its original goal.

Today, as well as those in previous weeks and in the weeks ahead, our readings are from Paul’s First and Second letter to Timothy. These two letters, like the ones to Titus and Philemon, are unique, in that they are written to individuals. Granted Paul’s other letters are addressed also to people in those small churches, but nevertheless to groups. Paul’s letters deal with what has been called “ecclesiastical discipline.” They are a mixture of the autobiographical, testimonial, and the directional. And if we accept the fact that style in writing changes from generation to generation, we cannot help but read just how really personal and full of love and concern they are.

About himself, Paul writes to Timothy: “For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.” (II Tim. 1.11) What justifies such a self-description?

A. Paul as Herald: There were three types of heralds in New Testament times. One type served as the public announcer of major messages from the king. The messenger is not expected to alter in any way the announcement that he is required to broadcast, whether he agrees or disagrees with the message that he carries. A second type was a trusted aide on the king’s staff, usually a very fast runner who delivered terms of peace or surrender or a truce to the generals of warring armies. The third type was an auctioneer of sorts. He was hired by merchants and artisans to use his loud voice in describing to passersby their product and handiwork, in an attempt to convince them to purchase the items that were for sale. Paul saw in himself all three types, when it came to spreading the message of the Good News of God in Christ.

B. Paul as Apostle: Paul begins his second letter to Timothy, with the designation “Paul, an apostle by the will of God.” Paul is not bragging, when he reminds Timothy that he, Paul, was called by God, changed by God, even as he persecuted the church, to become not merely a follower, but an apostle of Jesus Christ, hence vulnerable to the wrath of those in power.

In the church, as in the business world, titles have a tendency to puff up their bearers. But none of this attitude is apparent in Paul’s self-description. He wants merely to set the record straight. Paul had a calling from God to abandon his previous life of persecution of the faithful. From henceforth, he, Paul, was called to dedicate his life to proclaiming and further the peace which Jesus sought to establish.

C. Paul as Teacher: There is among theologians an on-going debate whether Paul was a better teacher than preacher. That debate will continue. In my mind, although I do not always agree with Paul, I conclude that Paul was good at both. In his letter to Timothy, Paul reminds his spiritual protégé of the four marks of the Christian teacher: courage, power, love, and self-discipline. Paul was the prototype of the strong inspirational preacher, teacher, as well as a CEO for the religious firm “Establishment for the advancement of God’s Kingdom.”

The theologian, Morton P. Noyes, offers the following regarding teachers of the Gospel. The marks of a good teacher are clear: a) the good teacher must be a person of faith and character; b) must care about other people, young and old, and must be passionate about, eager to share that faith and knowledge; c) must be willing to learn the art of teaching, one of the most difficult of all the arts; d) must have courage, patience, persistence, and love; and e) must be ready to give one’s best and leave the results with God.

My conclusion: The issue before us today is this: It is instructional, from time to time, to do some fact-checking on major figures in our Book of Records and to explore that individual’s significance in the development of the early church. In so doing, we are afforded an opportunity to see how we measure up. A lot had been entrusted to Paul, a man who formerly persecuted the new, fragile, fledging group called the church. And just how do we, in the 21st Century, measure up? What I learn, as I pause to look at what was driving Paul, the former Saul, is that faith is paramount in all that he undertakes. Paul was genuinely convinced that Jesus was and is the Son of God, the Messiah, the Chosen One.

It is not with pride, but as an example of how we, as people of faith, as a collective Paul, demonstrated this week in our diocese, in one of our parishes where once I worshipped, namely in St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown on Martha’s Vineyard, demonstrated to the nation and the world, what Christianity, what belief in Jesus of Nazareth can and should do, when confronted with a challenge, how we show the love of Christ, when confronted with the Other.

The Apostle Paul, because of and in spite of all his human shortcomings, understood and proclaimed, in both his personal as well as in his corporate epistles, that the Church’s sole mission is to show hospitality, a mission stated by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel according to Matthew:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory…with all the nations gathered before him…he will say to those on his right, ‘You have my Father’s blessing…for when I was hungry, you gave me food; when thirsty, you gave me drink; when I was a stranger, you took me into your home…’ (Matt. 25:31f.)

St. Andrew’s Church was not alone in showing hospitality to the Stranger, but that congregation became a living example of the biblical feeding of the 5000 men, but women and children. That congregation’s small offering was magnified into a community’s “potluck supper,” a staple in so many of our parishes prior to Covid.

When you get a chance, a quiet moment, read again Paul’s personal letters to Timothy and to Philemon. Like the autobiographical statements at the beginning of his letter, Paul, in the body of his epistles, makes an appeal, and in that appeal we come learn the essence of what motivates Paul. To Timothy Paul has written: “…join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.” (II Tim. 1:8b – 9).

And what you will discover, when you read, is that the verbs used to describe Paul’s ministry, his commitment, his faith are all actional verbs. Paul is attempting to help Timothy hold together the lives of the people to whom he was called. Like Paul, we are called to be active apostles on behalf of the gospel. We all have gifts which we as followers of Christ are to use in ways as to benefit others, joining in their physical and spiritual and emotional concerns, holding to standards, guarding the good treasure given to us.

But that is only half the story. Should you reread those personal letters of Paul, you will discover something else: Paul, echoing God’s Messiah, calls us to recognize God’s prior movement in our lives, that God calls us, gives us grace, strength, and courage to do good works, to bring life and immortality to light. It is to the work of that God that Paul gives himself and admonishes us, in faith, to go and do likewise. Amen.