Will Preach For Food Podcast

C2MLJ, w/ Rev. Brenda Satrum

September 17, 2022 Doug Season 3 Episode 27
Will Preach For Food Podcast
C2MLJ, w/ Rev. Brenda Satrum
Show Notes Transcript

GOSPEL READING

1Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2So [the rich man] summoned [the manager] and said, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 

3Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 

5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 

8And his master commended the [unrighteous, adikaios] manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd [phronimos, wise, prudent—like serpents, or bridesmaids, or Jesus-people (Paul)] in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.10“Whoever is faithful[pistis]  in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest [adikaios] in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” 

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Hello question: Do you resemble someone in your family? Who? In what way?

 

GOSPEL READING

1Then Jesus said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2So [the rich man] summoned [the manager] and said, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 

3Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 

5So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 

8And his master commended the [unrighteous, adikaios] manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd [phronimos, wise, prudent—like serpents, or bridesmaids, or Jesus-people (Paul)] in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealth so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.

10“Whoever is faithful[pistis]  in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest [adikaios] in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” [WEALTH is not right/straight only PEOPLE are???]

 

(SLIDE 1-TITLE) Let’s talk family resemblance. (SLIDE 2) I look like most like my Grandma Satrum and my Aunt Judy. And if you put me and my brother’s kids together all you’ll see is eyebrows: a gift from the Sorums I think. I sound like my Mom—remember when we all shared home phones and you couldn’t tell the kids from the parents? And I walk like Grandpa Satrum because Dad walks like Grandpa and I followed them both around the farm, stretching my little legs long and leaning for momentum. There was WORK to be done, after all! 

 

My square jaw and eyebrows are all about DNA, right? Maybe even some of the mannerisms—a friend of mine recently found his birthmom. His wife says it’s uncanny how their build and even their movements and responses are the same though they didn’t meet for over fifty years. 

 

(SLIDE 3) It's the same in our spiritual family. Genesis 1:27 gloriously claims that humankind shares holy DNA—we’re created in the image and likeness of God. Every single human being always and forever bears the image of God in a unique and precious way into the world. I feel this truth right here—in my gut, my God-given core.

 

Our tradition is also honest: something’s off. As individuals and species we get off track, sideways, out-of-bounds in relation to God, our best nature, and our relationships with each other and creation. We often behave in unloving, unholy, unfaithful ways. So God in Christ comes among us, incarnating the truest heart of both God and humanity to draw us God’s Way, the Jesus Way.

 

Paul says (PBV) in our lesson: God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in God’s sight. Even before time began God lovingly, delightedly purposed to adopt us back as full inheritors of every spiritual blessing and treasure through Jesus. 

 

The Message version of Ephesians 1:7 says: “God wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. [So] because of the sacrifice of the Messiah we’re a free people.” No matter what you’ve done or what’s been done to you, you are a Precious Child of God (PCoG). You know God loves you THIS much because Jesus came sharing wealth like the prodigal heir of a Dad willing to let it go. 

 

(SLIDE 4) We know God loves debtors because this week, Jesus comes like a prodigal manager, for God’s sake—who makes a phronimos (where we get diaphragm, GUT) decision to cut our debts, to “show us the love” so when he comes knocking, out of work, hungry, thirsty, a stranger, needing clothes, sick or a criminal, we’ll faithfully welcome HIM into our homes (forgive our sins as we forgive our debtors!). The longer I look at it, the more sense it makes: Jesus is the unrighteous, out-of-bounds manager, crossing all the “righteous” lines and losing his life for love to draw us into a whole new Way of righteousness.

 

The Message words Ephesians 1:11-12 (SLIDE 5) this way: “It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.”

 

(SLIDE 6) See, in Christ we learn a new family resemblance. Like the tone and cadence of my speech and most certainly my walk, we become like Jesus from hanging out with him and his friends even more than from effort. Jesus’ first disciples followed him around—yes, actively doing what he did and saying what he said—but more than that, they caught what was going on in Jesus’ heart: the love, the power, the Spirit that animated him from his phronimos, his core.

 

I believe we know instinctively that when we follow Jesus, it changes our whole life. (SLIDE 7) Honestly, I resist it every step of the way. Living with Jesus’ courage and power and love is hard, and it’s costly—even tho it feels right. Part of me doesn’t WANT to get my hopes up about that Jesus kind of life, I DON’t want to go his way—and clearly in our world a lot of Christians, a whole lot of churches share that sentiment, eh? We often don’t look a lot like our brother Jesus. 

 

But I do still hope. We do still follow. Pastor Doug and I, along with our fellow Emotionally Healthy Discipleship pilot participants from last spring see a good way forward with Jesus in EHD. Both its courses (Emotionally Healthy Relationships, which we’re offering this fall, and Emotionally Healthy Spirituality) are first of all about slowing down and spending time with God at home, in growth groups, and in worship: it pursues the Jesus truth in the way that Jesus did. It lives the Jesus life.

 

Before I say more about our EHR pilot, I wonder if you’d try something with me. 

 

(SLIDE 8)Ephesians 2:6-7 is one of my favorite visions of our spiritual reality with Jesus: “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with God in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages God might show the incomparable riches of his grace expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” I’d like to use our God-given imaginations to spend a moment with God.

 

Imagine a bench or a rock or a blanket or a couch in your favorite place ever. I like the big stone bench on the Burroughs trail that looks at Mt. Rainier—where do you want to be?. Look around. Feel where you’re sitting, the touch of breeze on your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun on your body. Now notice the presence of Jesus on your right, warm, with his left hand around your back. You don’t need to see him, just feel him there. And now, on your left feel the intense warmth of God’s love covering you both, warming everything around you in all directions… Ahhh. Yes. 

 

That was a short centering prayer, one small thing that we can do to connect with our spiritual reality when we need it. I’m sure Jesus spent similar times—reconnecting with Abba after a long day of work, travel, teaching, healing. If it really didn’t work for you, it’s ok! The reality doesn’t change when we can’t perceive it, like Rainier’s still there on cloudy days, eh? ;o) 

It’s a sample of what we’ll see more of with Emotionally Healthy Discipleship— (SLIDE 9)

 

Emotionally Healthy Discipleship is: 

Taking small steps with Jesus…

Doing small things with Jesus…

Over and over, day after day, so that we grow more like Jesus over time, especially in the prodigal love and joy that so clearly marked his life.

 

Now, EHD offers two courses: Spirituality and Relationships. After working through the materials, praying and reflecting, we feel led to focus on healthy relationships—getting to the practical how-to’s of loving God and others well. We’re offering the pilot classes online with me on Tuesday evenings and in-person here with both of us on Wednesdays during youth group. (SLIDE 10) We’re convinced that receiving and sharing the prodigal, out-of-bounds, lavish love of God in Christ is the best and most joyful thing we can do. So here we go! 

 

The pilot course small groups will learn, practice, and support each other. We have about 20 workbooks for those of you who want to try it—sign up at the display in the lobby or email me. We have LOTS OF Day by Day devotionals, the basic teaching and eight weeks/40-days of really nourishing silence, readings, and questions to carry and consider. And here on Sundays we’ll offer learning, inspiration, prayer and ideas to carry with you as we live into Jesus’ prodigal love.

 

Enough of the details! Take a deep breath. Recall again your moment on the bench between Jesus and Abba-God? Christ’s arm around your back, the warmth of God beside you? Ahhh, yes!

 

I hope you can carry and connect with that all week! (SLIDE 11) Consider these ideas for your journey: (1) Memorize Ephesians 1:3-5 or 2:4-10 in your favorite version. (2) Sit quietly with God for at least two minutes twice a day (This is hard—and being with God for even a couple minutes really helps me connect with God in every minute! Centering Prayer app). (3) Whenever you look at another person say quietly to yourself: Precious Child of God. And (4) decide how you will participate in EHR—we hope you’ll at least plan to listen to the messages and take one simple step with Jesus each week. And we’re excited to walk with some of you in the pilot courses!

 

(SLIDE 12) May you work and play and rest with joy in the lavish love of God, freedom in Christ’s prodigal forgiveness, and power in the Spirit’s fire. Amen!