Words from Jesus for Today: Get To

Words from Jesus for Today: Get To

Luke 12:32-40

“Keep your lamps trimmed and burning. Keep your lamps trimmed and burning.

Keep your lamps trimmed and burning for the time is drawing near.”

If you came to the Emancipation Proclamation Musical Celebration, then you heard our Boonville Unity Choir sing that old spiritual. This program was our first, of what hopefully will be many, cooperative expressions of our community revealing the oneness of the Body of Christ. There was a lot of great music to express the freedom desired and proclaimed in the Emancipation Proclamation. But I want to lift up this one song this morning.

For most folks, trimmed and burning lamps conjure up images of the parable of the five wise and five foolish maidens waiting for the groom. Five run out of oil, and their lamps go out. Five have extra oil, and they can keep their lamps trimmed and burning as they wait for the bridegroom drawing near.

I think the song may actually be a better fit for today's words of Jesus. “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks.”

In one case, we keep the lamps burning for the coming before the wedding; in the other, we keep the lamps burning for the return after the wedding. There is a case to be made that we are to always be ready, whether the one we are waiting for is coming or going. There is a case to be made that we are to be ready for that moment of serving which we know is coming, even if we don't know exactly when.

Unfortunately, being constantly vigilant sounds a lot like something we have to do. And if we have to do it, it can feel like a denial of our free will. It can sound like a rejection of grace. It can seem to be a form of works righteousness. You have to do this if you want to be a good Christian.

If it was just this one thing – keeping our lamps trimmed and burning, waiting for the right moment to serve – it might not be so bad that we have to do this. But it is never just this one thing. We are pretty good at adding things to our list of things we have to do.

Do we have to go to church? Do we have to tithe? Do we have to read the Bible? Do we have to fast? Do we have to quit having fun? You can probably add a few more “have to's” to the list. I think “have to” questions reveal something important about the one asking the question, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

These questions are not new. For a long time, being Christian has been defined in most people’s minds as stuff you have to do. Do this, and you are a Christian. If you are not doing this, you are not a Christian. A lot of the arguments in the church – liberal and conservative, evangelical and catholic – are over just what has to be on the list of things you have to do.

If the list was always the same for every Christian, it would in fact be a form of works righteousness. But the list doesn't stay the same. The lists of do’s and don’ts change with time and culture, even as we sometimes loudly proclaim that we hold fast to the faith and to the unchanging gospel.

We are not exempt from this temptation to have lists of things we have to do. Methodists, from the beginning, have had a list of things that most people hear as what we have to do, as well as things we must not do. Let’s look at the “must not do” list first, to see how many of us would still be considered good Methodists if this were a list we would have to abide by today. To make this a little easier to understand, I will use modern English instead of the 18th century English of John Wesley, who made the list.

We must not take the name of the Lord in vain. We must not profane the Sabbath by either working, buying, or selling. We must not buy, sell, or drink alcoholic beverages. We must not buy or sell slaves. We must not fight or quarrel with any other Christian. We must not sue any other Christian. We must not buy things of questionable provenance. We must not charge unlawful interest, nor repossess something because of unlawful interest. We must not try to convince someone to buy something they have to be convinced to buy. We must not to say anything bad or uncharitable about any of our leaders, but especially nothing bad against judges and ministers. We must not wear expensive jewelry or expensive clothing. We must not engage in activities which divert us from the glory to God. We must not sing songs or read books which do not build us up in our faith. We must not engage in needless self-indulgence. We must not borrow if it is probable that we can’t pay back.

After hearing that list of things we must not do, how many of us would still be in good standing as Methodists, if this was part of what we “have to do”. To be fair, that particular list is over 250 years old. The list in the current Book of Discipline, however, is exactly the same!

This is, at best, half of the “have to” expectations for Methodists. As John Wesley wrote, the “thou shalt nots” are the least part of religion. The “thou shalt nots” are based in a fear of the wrath of God, a fear of being punished for doing something we are not supposed to be doing. The “thou shalt nots” are that which we are released from, through the justifying grace of Jesus Christ.

Being a Christian is more about our heart and life, based on the grace we have received to live as disciples. Based on the commandments that we are to love God and that we are to love our neighbors, Wesley made two lists of things we have to do. One list is for loving our neighbors. The other list is for loving God.

Wesley's list for loving our neighbors, again in modern English, includes: we are to do good as mercifully as we can. We are to do every possible good to every possible person at every possible opportunity that presents itself for doing good – and not just when we feel like it, or if we think they deserve it. We are to do good for their bodies and for their souls. We are to do good which builds community and binds us together in love. We are to do good both diligently and as good stewards. We are to do good patiently, sacrificially, and humbly, especially when others treat us like dirt.

And our list for loving God includes: attending worship, listening to the Word of God preached and expounded, participating in the sacrament of communion, family and private prayer, studying the Bible, fasting and abstinence from worldly pleasures.

If you still feel like you are doing all that you have to do in order to be a Methodist in good standing, remember that those are just the rules for being a disciple. There are hundreds, if not thousands, more rules for how to be the Church, ranging from the local congregation, the conference, the jurisdiction, the denomination, and the Whole Body of Christ.

If being a Christian is all about what we have to do, we are all going to fall short. We know this, and the scripture proclaims this, which is also why we profess that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. So why do we keep asking what it is that we have to do?

People who ask “have to” questions generally come from one of two positions. One, they are asking where is the dotted line that I have to stay on the right side of in order to be in good standing. I have dealt with “dotted line” theology before. If we are looking at how far away we can get from God, instead of looking at how close we can be to God, then we need to repent and turn around because we are moving in the wrong direction. Dotted line theology, however, is the temptation of persons who want to be serious about their faith.

The second reason people ask what they have to do is that they are judging everything as if they are God. We reserve the right to decide if it is worth it for us to do it. If we don't see the benefit, we don't do it, because we decide, not God. The list is not about what God wants us to do, but about what we are willing to do if we choose to do it. The list is something that doesn't require a relationship with God. It doesn't require a strangely warmed heart. It doesn't require anything except our own approval.

There is a website, with a Facebook page, called United Methodist Memes. There was a new meme posted this past week which speaks to this sense of “have to.” Using screenshots from the television show “Mama's Family,” one character says, “Now Mama, you don't have to go to church to go to heaven.” In the next panel, Mama replies, “Well, you don't have to wear a parachute to jump out of a plane either, but it sure helps.”

That is one way to deal with what we have to do to be Christian. We don't have to do something, because of grace, but the smart money is on doing it anyway. But I think this approach misses what Jesus is telling us in our reading today.

It began, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Jesus didn't say, “It is your Father's good pleasure for you to earn the kingdom.” No, it is Gods good pleasure to give us the kingdom. When we hear that – when we really hear this and take in to our strangely warmed hearts – it changes how we answer the “have to” questions.

Do we have to go to church? No, but we get to! We get to come into the presence of God and join with all the saints, on earth and in heaven, in praising God.

Do we have to tithe? No, but we get to! Our giving will reflect our living as a God-blessed stewardship to be shared with the world.

Do we have to read the Bible? No, but we get to! We get to see the Bible change from an ancient law book of what we “have to” do, into our story of journey and faith, leading us into the perfecting love of Jesus Christ.

Do we have to fast? No, but we get to! By choosing to set aside a food or a pleasure for a time, we get to focus on how the Holy Spirit feeds us and nourishes us.

Do we have to serve others? No, but we get to! We get to discover and spend time with Christ, who has promised to come to us in the least of these our neighbors.

Do we have to quit having fun? No, but we get to experience the eternal joy now, and know that this is something greater than any earthly pleasure.

I know that most people see Christianity as a long list of restrictive “have tos.” That's how I saw it for many years as I tried to be the best Christian I could be. And I was pretty good at it, too, but the “have tos” and “thou shalt nots” could sometimes feel oppressive.

I didn't have the language for it then, but I would fall into the six deadly sins of Methodism – pride, enthusiasm, antinomianism, sins of omission, schism, and desiring anything other than God. These are the sins against the grace of Jesus Christ, the sins of heart and life which arise out of our desire to be the best at taking care of the “have tos.”

The good news is that we don't have to. The good news is that we get to – we get to love God and we get to love our neighbors. We get to be the people, and the community, God has intended from the very beginning of our faith story. And we get to do this because Jesus loves us so much that he came and lived among us, lived a life of perfect love, took on our sins on the cross, and was raised victorious over sin and death. We get to do this because Jesus promised, and actually gave to us, the Holy Spirit to guide and strengthen us as we live into this kingdom which is the Father's good pleasure to give us.

Jesus is coming to be with us, and in us, and to work through us. We get to be part of the will of God in bringing the kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We get to be the people who know that God is coming, and that it will be a time to celebrate! We get to be the people who know that God is returning, and we get to serve God's purposes in grace.That's the good news reason to keep our lamps trimmed and burning. The time is always near for us to love God and love our neighbors!

UMH 508 “Faith, While Trees Are Still in Blossom”