Can We Be All In?: A Sermon for 23 Pentecost, Proper 28

“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.” As you can imagine, this line from Paul’s 2nd letter to the Thessalonians has been used by many “bible-based” Christians to discourage the feeding of the poor. And for those who choose to read the scriptures in that manner, it’s hard to argue any other interpretation. It says right there – in black and white – that in order to eat, one should have to work to earn their meal. But working for what you receive isn’t believed by many to be a just a Christian value, it is believed by many to be a American value as well. And the validity of the ethic of being required to work for what you receive is at the heart of many of our theological and political debates.

But we first need to look at hospitality customs in the biblical world before we appropriate Paul’s words to our context today. Presbyterian minister Elizabeth Forney points out that in biblical times, the ethics of hospitality were directed towards two distinct classes of people: the resident alien and the traveler. And in most cases, those two were not distinguished from one another – they simply referred to anybody outside of one’s community or tribe. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses says,  “For the Lord your God...loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” Hospitality was expected to be offered even to one’s enemies, as we hear in Psalm 23 – “You prepare a table for me even in the presence of my enemies.”

And in the New Testament, we hear in the book of Hebrews, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.” Jesus himself was the king of the free handout – whether it was wine at a wedding banquet, loaves and fishes, healings, blessings, or even raising someone from the dead. In none of those cases did he inquire whether or not the recipients had worked hard enough to earn the gift. The gift was simply given in love – because Jesus had it and others needed it.

But we must not confuse the immigrant alien, stranger, traveler, or even our enemy with someone from within our community…someone with whom we have a relationship. And that is what Paul is talking about in his 2nd letter to the Christian Church in Thessalonica. Apparently, some members of the church had begun shirking their responsibilities at home, in the marketplace, and in church because of their expectation that Jesus was coming soon. And because a number of community members were not doing their fair share of the work, the community was beginning to suffer. Paul points out to the Thessalonians that when he and Timothy were there with them, they carried their load of the work. And they expect others in the community to do the same.

Earlier this year, we had a Wednesday book group that read and discussed Joan Chittister’s commentary on the Rule of Benedict. This Rule of Life for monastic communities was written in the early 5th century and is still the standard bearer for Christian community living. Benedictine monasteries were known for their deep commitment to hospitality to strangers and travelers with no questions asked. But they were also equally committed to holding the community together by members carrying their fair share of the load – each to his own ability. John McQuiston, who attends CtK when he is visiting here from Memphis, wrote a commentary on Benedict’s Rule. In it, he writes, No one is excused from rendering personal service to others. No one is exempted from performing the mundane tasks of daily life. Rendering service to others is necessary to our own fitness. Exempting someone from commonplace chores endangers them to vanity.” In other words, just like Paul was saying to a Christian community 500 years earlier – the community suffers when all members are not taking the responsibility to do their fair share of the work, each to their own ability.

And almost 2,000 years after Paul wrote to a small church in Northern Greece, and 1,500 years after Benedict crafted a Rule of Life for a monastery in central Italy, Christians all over the world are still wrestling with how to be in community with one another. We are still trying to figure out how to faithfully live into our baptismal covenants and be The Body of Christ. And Paul’s letters to the churches he founded and Benedict’s Rule are great resources for making sense and practical use of this vocation that we are living in to centuries later.

As the rector here at Christ the King, I feel obligated to point out that each year, only about half of our households make a pledge of their time, talent, and treasure to the life and ministries of Christ the King. I am deeply grateful for those who are so committed to ensuring that the mission and ministries at Christ the King will continue next year and beyond. And I am also astonished at how much Christ the King has accomplished through the years with only half of our households making a contribution of their resources. And then I begin to wonder what it might be like if that were no longer the case. Of course I’m preaching to the choir because those who attend church on Sundays are usually the ones who are doing the work to keep the church going. And please don’t get me wrong – we are not facing a financial crisis here like so many other mainline churches are. We are not in decline. We are not opening a line of credit at the bank to pay our bills and staff like so many other churches are doing these days. When Bishop Russell visits us next week, he will not be meeting with our vestry to discuss our future as a viable parish. He will see a parish that is for the most part healthy and thriving. And that is due to the faithful work that so many of us have done and continue to do here at Christ the King. And we could just leave it at that. But y’all know me well enough by now that I can’t just “leave it at that.” I can’t help but to wonder what it might be like to go in to a budget process with the mindset of “what new ministry are we going to start” or “what new population of people might we be able to serve” as opposed to “how can we keep what we have?” What sort of difference might we be able to make in the lives of our parishioners who we are not currently reaching, as well as the lives of those in our surrounding community that we are not reaching, if we were “all in” – not “50% in” – here at Christ the King? We have done and are still doing a pretty darn good job with only half of our households making a commitment to the mission and ministries of Christ the King. But again, I just can’t leave it at that. Like Paul, and like Benedict, I can’t help but to expect that, as Christ’s very own Body in the world, we should be all in – each to our own ability and means. Christ himself showed us what it looks like to be “all in.” And we are now his Body in the world. Are we faithfully representing his body in the world? Christ went “all in” for us? Are we willing to do the same for him?