The Shepherd’s Voice

Readings for Sunday, August 29^th
Psalm 112
Heb 13:1-8, 15-16
Lk 14:1, 7-14

The Other Six Days from Good Shepherd Lutheran Church on Vimeo. Download this sermon.

Last week I talked about Sabbath Work, Jesus action of healing a crippled woman in the synagogue on the Sabbath was a revolutionary action where God demonstrated mercy is more important than law.

This week in both our gospel text and our second reading we see that Jesus starts another revolution, however it’s a social revolution where humility is honored and sacrifice is praised.

In the ancient world, in Jesus’ day, etiquette was not simply about manners it was about honor and shame and social position and political standing, these things were very important.

In contrast to Sabbath work, both of these texts talk about the other 6 days of the week. How do we Christians honor God once we leave the holy huddle, what happens when we leave the altar and exit the door?

For some of us, we are different or we live differently outside of church, the other 6 days, we act differently in the secular world than we do in the sacred sanctuary.

This is not the case for everyone. Mother Teresa, we celebrated her 100th birthday this past week, she took God’s Word seriously and actually lived out their faith in the secular world. Mother Teresa welcomed the poor, the sick, and the lame. I think someone in our gospel text mentioned that.

Jesus said when you are having a luncheon, “when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” Mother Teresa heard God’s message of mission and lived the other 6 days because she understood God’s unequivocal call on her life. Her legacy continues in India to this day. Did she think of herself as successful?

Mother Teresa was once asked, “How do you measure the success of your work?” She thought about the question and gave her interviewer a puzzled look, and said, “I don’t remember that the Lord ever spoke of success. He spoke only of faithfulness in love. This is the only success that really counts.”

Being faithful, we know that God is faithful, but for us it’s hard to be faithful in other six days of the week. How do we understand our role as disciples of Christ?

The writer to the Hebrews gives us a kind of laundry list of things that should be followed once we exit to door. The first one mentioned is: Let mutual love continue, not just on Sunday, but also the other 6 days.

What does that look like for you? When I think of mutual love I think it’s about honoring another person as we would like to be honored, showing respect. Have you ever met a haughty person you’ve ever liked? No, I haven’t either!
Mutual love is about respect, about being humble of heart. Jesus said it this way in our gospel text, see verse 11, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

There’s a story about the funeral of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was considered the greatest Christian ruler of the early Middle Ages C 742-814. There was a significant revival of art, religion and culture during his reign. After his death a mighty funeral procession left his castle for the cathedral at Aix. When the royal casket arrived, with a lot of pomp and circumstance, it was met by the local bishop, who barred the cathedral door.

“Who comes?” the Bishop asked, as was the custom.
“Charlemagne, Lord and King of the Holy Roman Empire,” proclaimed the Emperor’s proud herald.
“Him I know not,” the Bishop replied. “Who comes?”
The herald, a bit shaken, replied, “Charles the Great, a good and honest man of the earth.”
“Him I know not,” the Bishop said again. “Who comes?”
The herald, now completely crushed, responded, “Charles, a lowly sinner, who begs the gift of Christ.”
To which the Bishop, Christ’s representative, responded, “Enter! Receive Christ’s gift of life!”

God honors the humbly and sends the rich away empty handed. There are some 75 passages in the Bible that talk about God’s compassion to the humble of heart. When we show humility, mutual respect, and love for one another God honors that form of discipleship.

Don’t get me wrong, Charlemagne did not earn salvation by being great or by doing good things or by being humble. There is no way to earn salvation. We are humble out of respect for God, out of love for God, out of a desire to honor God because God has changed our heart and the result has changed our actions in life.

As Martin Luther once said we are all beggars before God, all equally needy. Whether we are Charlemagne, Mother Teresa, you or I, it doesn’t matter none of us will ever be “good enough” to force entrance into the presence of God.

How we lives our lives is NOT about being good, scripture says none of us are good, no not one. In (Luke 18:18-20) there was a ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone.” That’s pretty clear, pretty compelling.

Moralism tells us we need to be good, but being a Christian is not about being moralistic. Doing good works is the result of a changed heart, a transformation. Luther worried about doing good versus doing evil when he first became an Augustinian monk, but once her understood what Christ did his life totally changed, he was transformed.

Good works for Luther were the out growth of a transformed life, a changed heart.

In our second reading from Hebrews 13 we are given sort of a laundry list of what those good works might look like once our lives have been transformed.

Here is what the other 6 days might look like for someone who has been transformed by the Spirit of God.

• V1 Show mutual love, we already spoke about that.
• V2 is we need to Show hospitality to strangers,
• V3Remember those who are in prison,
• V4Let marriage be held in honor by all,
• V5Keep your lives free from the love of money,
• V7, imitate the lives of the faithful,
• V15 continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God,
• V16Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.

These are all marks of discipleship, marks of a transformed life. I believe Mother Teresa called this faithfulness in love.

As Jesus revealed what the kingdom of God might look like to his followers, either through parable or story, it was never what we, or the world, expected.

Some of us seem to be trapped in a world where only the strongest and most cunning survive. We are trapped in a place where self-exaltation is more than just vanity, it is a necessity, however, in the end, our world becomes smaller. Yet the kingdom of God that Jesus ushers forth calls us to humility and gracious hospitality to the poor and broken.

Sabbath work is hard, but the other six days are harder still, therefore we need to learn how to be disciplined in the faith. Yesterday in our Leadership retreat we talked about marks of discipleship that help each of us remain disciplined in the faith. These were:

1. Prayer – pray continually, that was Jesus advice to his followers (Acts 10:2)
2. Study God’s word – as Lutheran’s we have a high regard for scripture (Ps 119:105)
3. Worship – v15 continually offer a sacrifice to God
4. Invite – How can people meet Christ if they never hear about him? (Rom 10:14-15)
5. Encourage – We are to be salt and light – support, come along side
6. Serve – Jesus calls each of us to serve in His kingdom (Luke 1:74)
7. Give – time, talent, and treasure – it’s part of our witness to the world

Jesus takes our perception of the world and flips it on its head. For most of us Jesus challenges how we see the world. Our lives are either more about us or about being open to the love of God who is already at work all around us.

It’s important the other six days that we remember we are living in the midst of resurrection and we need eyes of faith to see it, eyes that can only be given to us by Jesus Christ. So (Mt 5:16) Jesus said, “Let your light shine before people so they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

Amen.

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