Honesty,
Gentleness, Generosity
Psalm 62:5-12, Luke 3:1-14
January 25, 2015
Grace Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Richard E. Miller
What Difference Does Baptism Make? Two Sundays ago, we heard about the baptism
of Jesus by John in the River Jordan. In so doing, we remembered our own
baptism. Some of us were baptized as babies, others as youth, and still others
as adults. But no matter when it took place, baptism carries with it a promise
to turn away from sin by renouncing evil and embracing Christ as our Lord and
Savior. But now we need to ask, “What difference does such our baptism make in
our daily lives?”
John the Baptist
To answer such questions, we turn to John the Baptist or John the
Immerser. Before Jesus appeared on the scene, and you wanted to be baptized,
John was, you might say, the only game in town. John was a unique sort of man.
If he preached here at Grace, a few heads would turn since his robe would be
made out of camel’s hair or even the skin of a camel. He’s have a leather belt
around his waist and sandals on his feet. His hair would be long and
scraggly. And during our fellowship
hour, he might sit on the floor eating locusts and wild honey.
Of course, in his day, such attire was
common. The fact is that he was wildly popular and proclaimed a rock star of
prophets. Large crowds from Jerusalem and all Judea would gather by the Jordan
River to hear him preach the stirring message, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
This meant that soon they would be judged for all their sins. When the people
heard these words, they would express sincere remorse and sorrow for their
sins. Then John would baptize them by immersing them in the river.
John Preaching to the Crowd
Our morning scripture tells of the time when John was preaching to a
large crowd of Jews. Most Jews felt that since they were descendants of
Abraham, they were a favored race and chosen people and thus would not be
liable to the coming judgment. However, John quickly straightened them out
on this score and he didn’t pull any punches doing it.
He got their attention immediately by
saying, “You brood of
vipers! Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. Every tree that does not
produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”
Now I think that if I was accused of being part of a brood of vipers, I’d be a
bit miffed.
Produce Fruit in keeping with
Repentance But the reason why
John said this became clear when he went on to say, “Produce fruit in keeping with
repentance.” In other words, If
you’re sorry for your sins, prove it by producing fruit of good works.
If you don’t, you will be cut down and thrown into the fire. Such words made
his listeners fearful and frightened. So they asked John,”What should we do?”
Notice they didn’t ask, “What
should we believe?” but rather “What should we do to avoid such a
fate?” “How do we produce fruit in keeping with repentance?” They
wanted John to suggest concrete actions that would prove their faithfulness.
And John was quite happy to oblige them. So he told them to do three things.
Be Honest in a Dishonest World First was to be honest in a dishonest world.
In the crowd were some tax
collectors who asked John, “What
should we do?” Now many tax collectors were notoriously crooked in their
dealings with the people. Why? Because the Roman government gave each tax
collector a minimum amount they must collect in taxes from the people to be
remitted to Rome. However, the tax collectors had the power to levy taxes far
in excess of what Rome demanded. And that excess they kept for themselves.
So John said, “Don’t collect more than you are
required to.” In other words, “Don’t do that anymore. Be honest in a
dishonest world.”
This recalls the time when Zaccheus, a
tax collector, decided to become a disciple. He said he would give half his wealth
to the poor and repay four times the amount of all he had cheated.
The injunction to be honest in a
dishonest world is built on the assumption that the world is dishonest. Of
course, not everyone in it is dishonest. But there’s just enough dishonesty to
tempt us to join them.
A few years ago, a survey found that
23% admitted cheating on their income tax. And if they could get away with it,
46% of students would cheat on final exams.
And far too often, people in high
places - politicians, athletes, actors and actresses - are guilty of embezzling
funds or cheating on their taxes or lying about their resume or cheating on
their spouse.
Fast Food Worker A few years ago, I read the story of one
young man who left work late at a fast food restaurant late at night and found
a wallet that had fallen under a table with $5,500 in cash. He immediately
looked in the wallet, found the owner, and returned the wallet with all the
money intact. When his co-workers heard about it, they ridiculed the young man
for weeks for being such a dope.
Yes, to be honest in a dishonest world
is hard since opportunities to lie and bend the truth are all around us every
day. How would being completely honest in all business and personal dealings
affect the way businesses are run and relationships are carried out?
Teddy
Roosevelt During his time as a
rancher, Teddy Roosevelt and one of his cowpunchers, riding over the range,
lassoed a maverick, a two-year-old steer that had never been branded. They lit
a fire and prepared the branding irons. The part of the range they were on was
claimed by Gregor Lang, one of Roosevelt’s neighbors. According to the rule
among cattlemen, the steer therefore belonged to Lang, having been found on his
land. As the ranch hand prepared to brand the maverick, Roosevelt noticed he
was about to apply his brand so he said “Wait,
it should be Lang’s brand, a thistle.” That’s
all right, boss,” the hired hand said, “he’ll never know.” “Drop that iron,”
Roosevelt demanded. “You’re
fired. A man who will steal for me will steal from me.”
What parts of your life would be
different if you were to follow John’s challenge to be totally honest in a
dishonest world? Your answer determines
whether or not you produce fruit in keeping with the repentance of your
baptism.
Be Gentle in a Hostile World
After telling the tax collectors to be honest, some soldiers in the crowd came
up to John and asked, “What
should we do?” John gave them these words of advice: “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse
people falsely - be content with your pay.” In other words, be gentle in a hostile world.”
Extortion and false accusations are part of what makes our world hostile.
And the soldiers talking to John had
the power to make false accusations and extort money from individuals and shop
owners in order to supplement their pay.
We say to ourselves, “I’ve never robbed anyone or used
power to get money from anyone.” However, to be gentle in a hostile
world today also means to never lash out with unnecessarily harsh words, and to
never make threats in order to get one’s way. It means never being arrogant or
to display a mean attitude or action. No, it doesn’t mean becoming doormats and
letting the world walk over you. It doesn’t mean never fighting for your
rights. But it does mean being gentle in a world that rarely displays
gentleness, being kind in a society that rewards aggressive and hurtful
actions.
It also means to be gentle with
yourself. It is said that “You are a
child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to
be here. Therefore be at peace with God.” {Max Ehrmann, Desiderata}
The Balloon Stomp I was intrigued by the story of a teacher who
introduced a game to her students called “Balloon Stomp.” The rules were
simple. The students had a balloon tied to their legs. Then they’d run around
stomping each other’s balloons until only one student with a balloon still
inflated. The students shoved each other and knocked each other down in their
efforts to stomp balloons. To win a student had to be pushy, rude and
offensive. Then the same game was introduced to a group of handicapped
children. But this time it was the balloons, not the other students, that were
perceived as the enemy. So instead of pushing and shoving, they began helping
each other pop balloons. One little girl knelt down and held her ballon so a
little boy could stomp it. Then he did the same with his balloon so she could
stomp it.
Being gentle in a hostile world is as
simple as learning which version of Balloon Stomp to play.
Be Generous in a Selfish World
After telling the tax collectors to be honest in a dishonest world, and telling
the soldiers to be gentile in a hostile world, he turns to the group as a whole
and says, “Be generous in
a selfish world.”
John did this by saying to them all, “Anyone who has two shirts should share
with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”
In other words, in a world that promotes and rewards selfishness, be unselfish.
To carry out acts of generosity in a world that doesn’t expect it gets their
attention.
Are we generous with our money? Are we
generous with our time? Are we generous with our compliments and words of
praise? Of course, there may be times when we must make a snap decision on how
generous we are going to be.
How Many Roses? The story is told of a
young man in a flower show who was taking an unusually long time to place his
order. When the clerk asked how she could help, he explained that his
girlfriend was turning 19 and he couldn't decide whether to give her a dozen roses
or 19 roses -- one for each year of her life. The clerk put aside her business
judgment and advised, "She may be your 19-year-old girlfriend now, but
someday she could be your 60-year-old wife." The young man bought a dozen
roses.
Giving Anonymously Of course, to be truly
generous means to give without anyone knowing who their benefactor was. It
means being generous without any thoughts of recognition or thanks. This is the
purest form of generosity. Unfortunately, many people want recognition and credit
and thanks for every generous act they do.
Final Thoughts Again I pose the question, “Because we have been baptized into
Christ and have promised to be his disciples, what should we do?”
The answers are these: Be
honest in a dishonest world. Be gentle in a hostile world. And be generous in a
selfish world.
Dr. Kent M. Keith wrote some thoughts
called “The Paradoxical
Commandments” which illustrate what John the Baptist is saying.
1. Some people are illogical,
unreasonable, and self-centered Love them anyway.
2. If you do good, people may accuse
you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
3. If you are successful, you may win
false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
4. The good you do today may be
forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
5. Honesty and frankness may make you
vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
6. The biggest men and women with the
biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest
minds. Think big anyway.
7. People favor underdogs but follow only
top dogs. Fight for a few underdogs anyway.
8. What you spend years building may be
destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
9. People really need help but may
attack you if you do help them. Help people anyway.
10. Give the world the best you have
and you may get kicked in the teeth. Give the world the best you have anyway.
These are the things we should do. Amen.
Luke 3:7-14 NRSV
John said to the
crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned
you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not
begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you,
God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe
is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good
fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’
And the crowds
asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two
coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do
likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him,
‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount
prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He
said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation,
and be satisfied with your wages.’
Psalm 62:5-8 NRSV
For God alone my soul
waits in silence,
for my
hope is from him.
He alone is my rock and
my salvation,
my
fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my deliverance
and my honor;
my
mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all
times, O people;
pour
out your heart before him;
God is
a refuge for us.
