Sunday, 7th October, 2007 [ Let’s share the Lord’s gifts ] - Luke 17 1-10

1. Care for Little Ones and Sinners.

Today, the first Sunday of October, is World Communion Sunday. Its a time when Christian churches around the world pause to observe Holy communion together. On this day we celebrate our oneness in Christ.
This ceremonial day was first established in the USA in the year of 1936, a year of global economic recession, the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, and the German invasion of Czechoslovakia and Hungary. The 1930¡Çs was a decade gripped by depression, culminating in the outbreak of world war II.
During these years, many were starving without enough money to even buy their daily bread. These were desperate years. The Presbyterian churches began to collect special donations to buy bread for sharing with the poor. The bread of life movement grew and extended to all Christian societies throughout the world regardless of denominations.
Holy communion, or the Lord’s supper, is also called the breaking of bread, because Jesus broke his own body like bread, to give to us. This act symbolizes the altruistic gift given by Jesus. We break bread together, to recognize Jesus¡Ç love, to give thanks to God, and to show our love for each other by sharing the Lord’s gift - the bread of life.
World Communion Sunday, gives us the opportunity to contemplate the love of God, forgiveness, and sharing our love for each other. We commence with Luke 17, reading verses 1-10, to see what Jesus teaches.
The words here are addressed to the disciples who were destined to become church leaders. These sayings of Jesus could be summarized as: do not be like the pharisees! This comes in critical reflection on practices generally identified with the pharisees thus far: lack of regard for little ones and sinners, faithlessness, and a heightened concern with recognition and status. That Jesus must warn his disciples in this way reminds us that disciples are forever in need of prayerful guidance.
Verse 1 begins: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come ” (Luke 17:1).
The expression, ¡Æcause people to sin¡Ç, comes from the Greek word, skandalon, a ¡Æstumbling block’, which means ¡Æscandal¡Ç in English.
As you know people without faith can come into a Church and judge the church by observing the behavior of the church leaders. For example please imagine a Pastor who mentions the following scripture in his sermon: “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land” (Deuteronomy 15:11 ).
And yet if the pastor himself is obsessed by the possession of money, those who have heard the sermon might leave the church because they won’t listened to this kind of hypocrisy.

Or, another case is when a visitor to the church sees or experiences conflicts and disagreements, like those so often described by Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. Even church members might be so disappointed that they would leave the Church. Therefore, we should never commit to such ’scandalous - stumbling acts’ which can in effect close the gate of heaven to others.
However, because we are human, stumbles are inevitable, and some may commit sins. But, Jesus has some advice regarding this matter, which is still relevant for us today: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him¡É (Luke 17:3). There might be financial, sexual or heretical troubles. Yet Jesus teaches us to forgive them without reservation, but only on the condition that, “if they repent”. Repentance is the one and only unique way to get rid of sins from the Church, and all those who attend and repent, will be totally forgiven.
We know how difficult it is to forgive. We can forgive perhaps for the first or the second time, but if someone continues to repeat the same mistakes, it might go beyond our endurance. Even the disciples of the first generation could not forgive every time, those who repeatedly rebuked and betrayed them. Luke’s church had similar problems to the contemporary Church in today¡Çs society. So much so, the Apostles began to pray, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5). The Apostles thought much more faith was necessary to forgive others, but Jesus replied:
¡ÈIf you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you¡É (Luke 17:6).
Commenting on this verse, William Barclay*, said: If we consider a project is impossible, it will never be achieved. However if we try very hard to complete it, we will find we are not working alone! We must remind ourselves that God is always with us.” Even if our faith is very tiny, and we keep-on making an effort to follow in the foot-steps of Jesus, we will be practicing Christianity. Jesus encourages us to do so!
The sayings of Jesus continues: “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty” (Luke 17:7-10).
A servant in the New Testament era was a slave. Slaves were under possession of their master. However Jesus does not tell us to serve God, as if we were a slave. Perhaps the answer to the many questions contained in the above verses from Luke 17, are better answered in Luke 22, verses 27-29, as follows:

2. Our Lord serves us !

Today’s invocation verses are from Luke 22:27-29: “For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred on me, a kingdom . . . ” Jesus said these words at the table of the Last supper to the Apostles.
In Luke 17, Jesus said servants must be faithful and commit to their tasks. The Apostles were obliged to serve God, without demanding any rewards. But, Jesus, in reference to the New Testament servants, says its normal to obey the master¡Çs orders: “Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink”.
But now, on the contrary, our Master Jesus, says in Luke 22: “I serve you”.
“After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:5-7).
And: ¡ÈNow that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you¡É (John 13:14-15).
And so, we as christians should do as Jesus did. Life In the secular world might be harsh and severe for many, but we must learn to break bread with them. in other words, try to share in their sufferings.
The majority of the American Christians in 1936 were so poor that they could not earn enough money to buy their own bread. Then, others made donations and helped them, with joy. We are all God¡Çs children! We do it in His name! To serve Jesus is not only our duty, but also our privilege for we become free from the secular world through Jesus. We who were once sinners and slaves, can become friends of Jesus by following Him.
Jesus said: “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you” (John 15:13-15).
Once we become friends of Jesus, we will not allow our neighbors to live in poverty. Please, remember the abolition of slavery movement began by the Quakers in England. Furthermore a novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, triggered the same movement In the USA, the author of which is Harriet B. Stowe, a faithful Reformist Christian.
Those who recognize that our Master, Jesus, died for us, will not allow others to suffer inhumanely. The majority of people were in favor of the abolition of slavery, but they thought it would be impossible to change a system which was in place for centuries. However, it did become a reality!
Our faith can make the impossible, possible! As Jesus says: “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you” (Matthew 17:20).
I would like to share with you the last prayer of John Donne*, English Poet and preacher, to finish todays speech: “Do you forgive me who caused others to sin with my sin which opened the door to wrongful life for them ?” Do you forgive me the sin of which I got rid of only one or two years ago ? Even though you forgave then I am still sinful”
As mere mortal humans we will never be perfectly sinless, and yet we are called to live by following in the footsteps of Jesus, by forgiving the debts of others, by washing their feet, and by offering them the bread of life, just as He did.

Reference:
*1. William Barclay (1907-1978 - Theologian, biblical commentator
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/read/the_enigmatic_william_barclay
*2. John Donne: (1572 – March 31, 1631), English poet and preacher of the Anglican Church, author of a poem: For Whom the Bell Tolls, which was adapted as a novel by Ernest Hemingway. - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donne

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