“Discipleship Is Not a Free Ride”

II Thessalonians 3:6-13

Several years ago another minister and I were discussing the Second Coming of Christ. As we talked, and as I thought about Jesus’ various warnings about not being caught unaware on that great day, an interesting analogy popped into my head. In the Cinderella story, when the prince comes to her house with the glass slipper, Cinderella is not out in the living room with her stepmother and stepsisters eagerly watching the door. She is in the kitchen working. In the end, the slipper fits not the lazy stepsisters, but the humble serving girl.

When Jesus comes I really don’t think that he wants to catch us sitting around meditating. He wants us to be working: doing evangelism, doing mission, serving others, taking care of one another, being about his Father’s business. He hopes to find us out in the kitchen, so to speak, doing the humble and often mundane tasks of discipleship. He wants us to be responsible members of society as well as responsible members of the church. Within the limits of our gifts, talents, health, and training, Jesus wants us to be at work in the world and at work in the church.

Paul’s second letter to the church in Thessalonica deals heavily with the Second Coming of the Lord. One of the issues he addresses is Christian behavior in the meantime. What are we to be doing until the Lord comes again? We’re to be doing what we’ve been called to do: working, serving, and going about the business of discipleship. Are we to pray, study the Bible, and spend time in worship and Christian fellowship? Of course. Those are legitimate tasks of discipleship. Is that all we’re supposed to be doing? No! We still have livings to make, children to raise, parents to care for, and members of the church and community to serve. We have neither the time nor any sort of divine permission to sit around waiting for Jesus to come.

In Thessalonica there were some misguided Christians who assumed that it was their task to sit around waiting for Jesus. So day in and day out that’s what they did. Every night, however, they still expected to be fed, housed, and otherwise taken care of. Thus they became a financial burden on their fellow Christians as well as an embarrassment to the church. On top of all that, finding themselves with a lot of time on their hands, they began going around the church and community gossiping, spreading rumors, and otherwise stirring up trouble. Needless to say there were some hard feelings within the Thessalonian Church.

What did Paul advise the church to do? He urged its faithful members to disassociate themselves from the freeloaders. Don’t have anything to do with them. Don’t take care of them. In other words stop accepting and enabling their behavior. And to the freeloaders Paul had these words: “… get to work immediately – no excuses, no arguments – and earn [your] own keep. Friends, don’t slack off in doing your duty.”

Please note that Paul still referred to these freeloaders as brothers, sisters, and friends. He had no desire to see them totally cut off from the fellowship of the church. He wanted them to repent of their laziness and meddling, get back to work, and start being the faithful disciples they had promised to be. He was advising the exercise of church discipline not advocating harsh or unreasonable punishment.

What do his words to the Thessalonians have to do with us? We don’t spend our days idly speculating on or passively waiting for the Second Coming. Jesus will come when Jesus comes. That ball is in God’s court. We know that. To a greater or lesser extent we are doing the Cinderella thing. So the question still remains; what meaning do Paul’s words hold for Twenty First Century Presbyterian Christians?

One implicit bit of his advice is obvious. We are not to spend our down time stirring up trouble in the church. No gossiping about one another. No backbiting. No whiney undertone of poor pitiful me. No passive aggressive sabotaging of the church’s ministry and mission. Working through the proper channels to address complaints. Got a problem? Tell the pastor. Tell the Session.

That’s not the primary thrust of Paul’s words, however. Paul is in effect expressing a thought I heard Freda Gardner, former General Assembly Moderator, utter: “We never retire from discipleship.” Jesus may come any minute, but we keep doing God's work. Some of you folks have put a lifetime into the work of this church, but it’s not time for you to become inactive. To borrow from Renee Mackey’s sermon and charge at my installation service, yes, you now have a pastor, but your time, energy, and gifts are still necessary. Don’t quit now! Disciples do not retire. Nor do they ever rest on their laurels.

And then there’s that stewardship thing. Historically and statistically twenty per-cent of a congregation’s membership do eight per-cent of the work and give eighty per-cent of the money. We can substitute twenty-five and seventy five for twenty and eighty, but there is still an imbalance.

Some folks are obviously better off financially than are others. Some of us have lighter or more flexible schedules and better physical health than do others. At any one time in the life of a church, one or more of us may be going through a major life or family crisis. Our gifts and talents vary considerably. Some of us are doing or giving all we can. Your pastor very much understands all that. This sermon is not a guilt trip. Nor is it some sort of tongue lashing from on high.

But the fact remains that not all of us are doing or giving all we can. For some of us life is relatively crisis free. Some of us do have spare time and extra money that could be given to the church. All of us discount, underestimate, and under use our spiritual gifts. None of us is totally lacking in talent or ability. Referring to last Sunday’s sermon, every one of us probably has good reasons for not doing or giving, but few us have valid excuses.

A Christian congregation is a community of faith. This community is at its best when its members work together, everyone doing or giving his or her share. When some of the community’s members choose to either do or give nothing or to do or give less than their fair share, the community cannot function at its highest level. Important tasks are neglected or under funded. Things fall through the cracks. The real needs of people are not met. Those doing and giving their fair share often try to compensate for the shortcomings of their brothers and sisters. They take on more and more of the burden, and in time they burn out, give up, or lash out in anger. In one way or another the health and vitality of the community is damaged. The mission and ministry of the church are harmed.

Again, this is no guilt trip. Nor is it a tongue-lashing. It’s simply a reminder that each of us blessed by God in more ways than we can even imagine. Each of us has time, energy, abilities, and resources that God can use in the doing of his work. None of us has the luxury of walking away from our God-given responsibilities - in the church and in the world. Although we are to support and carry one another through times of crisis and need, those of us who can care for ourselves and are able to assist others in their times of need are not eligible for a free ride on the shoulders of our fellow Christians.

I’ll close with Paul’s words to the Thessalonians: “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us [the original missionaries to you]; we were not idle when we were with you, and 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.” Friends, let us not become a burden on the church. Let’s each of us do his or her fair share. Amen.