Community Church Sermons

Year A

July 17, 2011

Pentecost 5

What Would Jesus Have Me Do?

Luke 10:25-37

Rev. Dr. R. Tim Meadows

LISTEN IN!

If you stretch the arc of history long enough, then at least twice around my lifetime, it has been a phenomenon. Spurring a best - selling book the first time and a whole line of bad jewelry and accessories the second time. It is the question What Would Jesus Do? (WWJD?) I understand that for many people this is a meaningful question that forces them to think seriously about life decisions, and I understand that many of you really like much of that bad jewelry and those accessories you purchased, but I always thought the problem was that this was the wrong question. A few years ago, I ran across someone who agreed with me who more eloquently than I, stated the obvious problem. The late Peter Gomes was the long time chaplain at Harvard University. He says about this question “The proper question is not “What Would Jesus Do”?, but “What Would Jesus Have Me Do”?. Jesus asks us to live into our full humanity and to do what is possible ---- this is the challenge that makes life interesting. The question “What would Jesus Do”?, is inappropriate because the life of Jesus is his life, not ours, our lives are ours and not his. The better question is what should we do based on what we know about Jesus?

What Would Jesus Have Me Do? This is the question that our New Testament lesson for today seeks to answer. Confronted with a narrow legal question, seeking a narrow legal finding, Jesus instead tells the story about the expansive grace of a culturally despised fellow. With this story Jesus seeks to answer the question of what we should do based on our experience with him.

Jesus insists that above all we should love others and through the story indicates that the definition of love is doing what we can, when we can, for whomever we can. Love is not complex and it is not passive. Love is what Jesus would have me do.

With this story Jesus declares that the culturally despised are often heroes in the work of God’s love. Those we would least expect, those who are the most societally marginalized, are often those who evidence God’s love the most because they either do not know or do not follow the rules of polite society. Finding a lesson in love from those on the margins of society is what Jesus would have me do.

With this story Jesus reminds us that the work of God is done by our hands and demands our best. Rather than simply offering intercession and awaiting the intervention of God, Jesus reminds us that our answers to prayer come when we allow God to guide our hands to do the work needed. When we give the best of ourselves in response to the needs of others. Offering myself sacrificially to those in need that is what Jesus would have me do.

With this story Jesus concludes that the work of God is something we are all capable of doing and should do. Whether we find ourselves among the culturally despised or the socially elite, we receive this ultimate compliment and charge from Jesus. You can do the work of God in the world and in doing so you will secure life for yourself and for others. Doing God’s work that is what Jesus would have me do.

Many of you are familiar with the name Bill Hybels, teaching pastor and founder at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, IL. The following story, inasmuch as I can faithfully remember such, is one I heard him tell:

“While on break from Willow each summer we attend an African – American church where I am often astounded at how the simplicity of the pastor’s preaching nevertheless commands great power. One instance I can remember he seemed to build an entire sermon on the Good Samaritan on the words Go and Do. After working the crowd to a fever pitch, as he wound up the sermon he simply had to lift his arms and the crowd would shout, as he lifted one arm they shouted GO! as he lifted the other arm they shouted DO! GO! DO! GO!
DO! This went on for some time and finally wound down. Some weeks later after returning home, I dropped my wife off for a volunteer shift at a local nursing home. I noticed as she exited the car, a well - dressed proper lady seated on a waiting bench, obviously anticipating someone to pick her up. When I returned to get my wife, the woman was still seated patiently waiting after several hours having obviously gone nowhere in the interim. Curious, I parked the car and went in to inquire about the lady. The receptionist said “Oh, that’s Muriel; she does that every day, she says her son is coming to pick her up for lunch but as far as I know it has never happened. We are not even sure she has a son”. As I walked out, suddenly, I began to hear in my mind two fever pitched words over and over GO! DO! GO! DO! I could not ignore them and so we took Muriel to lunch and had a wonderful time”.

GO! DO! GO! DO! Jesus said and you shall live. May God give us the grace to hear these words and respond at each opportunity we have for in that response there is life! AMEN!