IF YOU WANT TO EAT…

A Sermon by Bill McDonald from 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15

November 18, 2007

2 Thessalonians

⁶Now we command you, beloved, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from believers who are living in idleness and not according to the tradition that they received from us. ⁷For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸and we did not eat anyone’s bread without paying for it; but with toil and labor we worked night and day, so that we might not burden any of you. ⁹This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate. ¹⁰For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. ¹¹For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work. ¹²Now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living. ¹³Brothers and sisters, do not be weary in doing what is right.

¹⁴Take note of those who do not obey what we say in this letter; have nothing to do with them, so that they may be ashamed. ¹⁵Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.

Three days in the winter fairyland of Big Sky, Montana! Two of my buddies and I had booked a condo in a snowy meadow shadowed by towering mountains. We were going to ride snowmobiles, ski a little, cook our own meals, and just enjoy the snowy cowboy-flavor of this small Montana village. But I had to make a deal with them. You see, I don’t cook. I can scramble an egg and I make a mean peanut butter and jelly sandwich, but other than that, meals I prepare had better come ready to pop into the microwave. Luckily both of them are excellent cooks and so I signed on as the faithful houseboy and dishwasher for the trip. While scraping pans and scouring pots, I might have grumbled a little bit about how much more labor unskilled jobs require, but I sure enjoyed the food and appreciated the skills of those who prepared it. Is this what Paul was talking about—if you want to eat, you have to contribute something to the effort?

Could be. Early Christian churches were really more like communes or cooperatives where the believers would pool their resources in order to take care of all. If some were taking advantage of this for a free ride, that could eventually be a problem for the well-being of the whole group. After all, the Thessalonian church then and the Crestwood church today depend upon all members contributing what they have in money, time, skills, effort, attention and prayers in order for the church to be well-nourished and thriving. If you want to eat, then work. And always give thanks for the food, physical and spiritual, provided by the skills of others. A church member told me that his daughter used to say, “You don’t have to say the blessing for meals you eat in public because you are paying for them.” Even so, give thanks for everything provided by the skills of others.

She had spent all day painting the walls of the Sunday School classroom. Many paint-spattered church members had joined in the renovation project. But one guy just wandered from room to room and lingered awhile in each. He came into the room she was painting and stood by the ladder. He watched as she stretched to reach the top corner. His gaze followed her hand as she pushed the heavy roller up and down. When she finished, she wiped the sweat off her brow, climbed down from the ladder, and found herself facing the wandering observer. He spoke only one brief sentence to her. Do you know what he said? Yes, “You missed a spot.”

The church at Thessalonika was having problems with folks who weren’t working for the good of the church but who nevertheless felt free to complain about or criticize what other members were doing. “For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.” In our English translation we miss the delightful wordplay in Greek, for the phrase really should be rendered, “Some are busybodies instead of being busy.” Are we busy about the Lord’s work or are we merely busybodies criticizing the efforts of those who are trying to do something? Were there things that the Thessalonian church was doing wrong? Probably. I never saw a church yet that did everything perfectly. Room in every one for improvement and that leaves them open to criticism. But we are not to stand around and supervise, criticize, and demonize the church. If we want to partake of the spiritual food of the church, we must participate in its preparation. I had a hyper-critical man in my church in Texas who claimed that the church had selected him as the church watchdog. Funny, as I read Paul’s list in Romans 12, I see that the Lord has appointed some prophets, some ministers, some teachers, some preachers, some givers, some caregivers, but nowhere does Paul say that God appointed watchdogs—or busybodies. So if we are one of those, then it is time to take up a different role and discard that one. And time also to say a word of thanksgiving for all those in the church who are fulfilling all those vital roles. If we want the kingdom of God to come, we have to work toward it in kingdom ways. If we want to eat, then we have to work in nourishing ways.

There are some pretty harsh words from Paul in these verses. And I bet they were hard words for him to speak. “Keep away from believers living in idleness…have nothing to do with them.” Now, I can imagine Paul writing this command in anger but I can’t imagine him living it out. This one who took the gospel message to pagans and outsiders and the unclean and the rejects and the ones considered to be hopeless sinners. No matter what he writes, I can’t see Paul turning his back on anybody.

She was just out of the army and now with a young daughter. Her husband had simply walked away from his wife and child, moved out of town, left no forwarding address. She had gone through the courts to get child support only to be told that nothing could be done until she had divorced him. She had no one to look after her daughter and she didn’t qualify for any skilled jobs. Kathy and her daughter were sleeping in their car at nights and scraping by as best they could. The only comfort they found was at the church to which they belonged where members took pity on them and consoled them as best they could. Until Kathy filed for divorce. You see, divorce was against the teachings of their church. Even though it was the only way Kathy could get child support, even though he was the one who had walked away, even though she would take him back if only he would come back, even so, for her decision to file for divorce, the leaders of the church ordered that all members shun Kathy and her daughter. No members were allowed to speak to them. When they dared to come to worship, they were ignored as if they didn’t exist, as if no one could see them. Is this what Paul was ordering? I don’t believe it. For in verse 15 Paul says, “Do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as believers.” Other manuscripts translate that as, “Warn them as a brother.” Treat them like family. Underlying every one of Christ’s commandments, underlying every instruction by Paul, underlying every teaching of the New Testament is love. Is someone not pulling their weight? Love them into helping. Is someone being a critical observer? Draw them into the community by love. Is someone just living freely off your generosity or off the church’s inclusive nature? Then lovingly teach them how to scramble the eggs or to wash the dishes.

One person wrote, “I was on my fourth loop through downtown trying to find a parking meter with some time left on it when it suddenly occurred to me that this was how I had lived my whole life: trying to park on someone else’s dime. In my personal relationships, in my community, in my church, I was always willing to let someone else pay the way and do the work. I was parking on someone else’s dime. At that very moment I resolved to change my approach to life. So I pulled into a space and reached in my pocket for a dime.” If we want a bountiful world, we have to contribute toward it. If we want peace, we have to be peaceful. If we want kindness, we have to be kind. If we want to eat at the welcome table, we have to work to create the welcome. When Kathy finally got up the nerve to tell us that her former church had shunned her and that she was homeless and divorced, she couldn’t believe it when our members responded with, “How can we help?” She had nothing to offer us, but we and the community had lots to offer her. Section 8 housing, job training, food stamps, Legal Aid, child care, Aid to Dependent Children, hours of counseling, church members at her door with steaming nutritious dinners, open-armed welcomes at worship, all these lifted her back on her feet until she had her life back together again with a job and a home for herself and her daughter. Kathy was tireless after that in helping others, couldn’t do enough for the church, volunteered in the office, gently served communion and took up the offering which suddenly seemed so precious to her. She even typed my 300-page seminary thesis for me. I don’t think I would ever have gotten that degree without Kathy’s help. Funny how all that works—the give and take of life. So that all contribute, so that all receive.

I’m looking forward to a delicious meal on Thanksgiving Day—and a chance to wash a few dishes. Say a word of thanks that day for the blessings others bestow on you; resolve to be a blessing in return.