Focus: While serving a significant purpose, the work we do calls for God-centered humility and charity.
Function: To encourage the people to go about our daily living and work with humility, charity, and purpose.
Text: Luke 14:1-14
Lord’s Day 32
For many of us, this Sunday is special in that it comes to us in the context of Labor Day weekend. And Labor Day weekend signifies the end of summer and the beginning of Fall activities, including going back to school. Today, then, is a good day to ponder the significance of our labor. And to be clear from the outset, let it be known that when I talk about labor, I am talking in a comprehensive sense; I am thinking of all our daily activities, including our employment and business pursuits.
Now a few months ago, Pastor Todd and I decided to preach a series of messages on the 10 Commandments using the Scriptures of course, and also using the Heidelberg Catechism as an echo of the Scriptures’ teachings. Thus for today, we made liturgical use of Lord’s Day 32, which sets the stage about doing good works. Why should Christians labor, doing good works, by keeping God’s commandments? After all, none of a Christian’s work is perfect. And our good works cannot save us from sin and earn us eternal life either. So, why do good works and keep God’s commandments? Now that’s a good question to ask on this Labor Day weekend.
The Scripture reading from Luke 14 helps us to put the question about our daily living and activities in clear perspective. Its teaching provides us with an answer and underscores this simple truth: while serving a significant purpose, the work we do calls for God-centered humility and charity.
Luke provides us with the setting of the story saying: “One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.” Luke’s reference to the Sabbath alerts us to Sabbath issues or concerns expressed by Pharisees and a legalistic approach to God’s commandments. The Pharisees had all kinds of rules and regulations as to what you could do (and could not do) on the day of rest. One such rule was applying (non-emergency) medical care to people. That can easily wait till another day.
As Luke introduces us to the setting, it becomes clear that the entire passage can be divided into two parts: The first part (vs. 1-6) stresses that the Pharisees are carefully watching Jesus’ actions; the second part (vs. 7-14) makes clear that the Lord Jesus is carefully observing the actions of his prominent host and the actions of the guests in the Pharisee’s house. The Pharisees have all kinds of notions about work on the Sabbath and they wonder what Jesus will do; and the Lord Jesus has something telling to say about the actions of a good host and proper guests. In fact, the passage teaches us that while serving a significant purpose, the work we do calls for God-centered humility and charity.
Consider, for example, that first part of the text. The unspoken question of the Pharisees is this: will this Jesus refrain from working on the Sabbath or will he heal this severely afflicted man suffering from a condition called “dropsy”? Jesus knows their thought. So, he confronts their legalistic approach to God’s will: “Is it lawful (that is, is it part of God’s will for us) to heal on the Sabbath or not?” Silence. No answer from the Pharisees! So Jesus answers his own question; he takes hold of the afflicted man, heals him and sends him away. By his work of healing the man, the Lord Jesus answers the question. Yes, contrary to the opinions of the Pharisees, it is lawful.
In fact, the Lord exposes the Pharisees’ assumptions about doing works on the Sabbath by posing a rhetorical question. Jesus does not even expect a reply from the Pharisees, saying: “If one of you has a son or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull him out?” Of course, is the implied answer. That would be a good work, reflective of God’s will for us as expressed in the summary of God’s law. Doing good (that is, loving our neighbor) hinges upon the teachings of God’s Law as well as upon the teachings of all God’s prophets.
From this teaching moment in the Pharisees’ house, I say that we must let the will or law of the Lord be at the center of all our works or living. By keeping the Lord’s will at the center of our work, we are to act with humility, charity, and purpose.
That leads us to the second part of the text. There we find the Lord Jesus watching the actions or works of the guests and the prominent host. And Jesus has some pointing comments for both: in verses 7—11 Jesus emphasizes proper etiquette for the guests, and in verses 12-14 Jesus drills home a divinely-inspired etiquette for his host. Listen (this is for guests) “When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited” (and of course, if you have to give up your seat for that distinguished guest, why that would be embarrassing).
So, says Jesus, “…when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.” The point is clear: in your actions display humility. In all your works, practice modesty or diffidence. That’s why I say today that the work we do calls for God-centered humility. The table etiquette in the home applies equally as well to our daily conduct in the workplace and anywhere else.
But as we ponder our daily work and actions, we must also take into account God’s will for us to be charitable. Jesus teaches that aspect of God’s will in the second part of the text. Jesus observes that his prominent host has invited many guests who are able to return the favor of a dinner invitation. It seems that the host operates with the notion of “I scratch your back; you scratch mine.” Thus Jesus pointedly admonishes his host saying: “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.” Rather, says Jesus, “…when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”
In other words, be charitable--charitable in the workplace; charitable in the public square; charitable in your volunteering of time, treasures and talents. Clearly, while serving a significant purpose, the work we do calls for God-centered humility and charity.
SERVES A SIGNIFICANT PURPOSE
But why should you and I who claim to be Christians pay careful attention to the work we do? What relationship is there between our faith in Jesus Christ, who kept the law of God perfectly, and our daily actions as followers of Jesus? Why should we keep God’s law and do good works?
The catechism of the church raises the question in this way: “We have been delivered from our misery by God’s grace alone through Christ and not because we have earned it: why then must we still do good?”
In its answer, the catechism does three things: First, it affirms that we cannot save ourselves from sin and death by doing good works. Says the catechism: “To be sure, Christ has redeemed us by his blood.” The foundation of our salvation rests solely on Jesus Christ. His shed blood is our ransom.
Then the catechism goes on and gives us the primary reason for doing good works as we live our daily lives: “…we do good because Christ by his Spirit is also renewing us to be like himself….”
Here you have the foremost reason why Christians are “do gooders.” When the Spirit of Christ brings new life to us, he transforms us into a new being. As fallen, sin-poisoned descendants of Adam and Eve, we produce misery and sin through our works. But when Jesus Christ makes his home within us through his Word and Spirit through faith, we are being renewed in the image of God. We are being forged more and more, slowly but surely, into the image and mind of Christ. That’s the primary reason for doing good works in all our living.
The catechism then concludes with further insights from the Scriptures and gives us four secondary reasons why the work we do calls for God-centered humility and charity and serves a significant purpose:
· Gratitude: “so that in our
living we may show that we are thankful to God for all he has done for us.” In other words, our good works are a response of gratitude for God’s good work toward us in Christ Jesus.
· Instrument of Praise: “and so that (God) may be praised through us.” Think of yourself as a musical instrument—a horn or trumpet for example. We are to trumpet our praise and adoration of God. We are instruments of praise.
· A Living Faith: “And we do good so that we may be assured of our faith by its fruit.” How do we know that the faith we profess is NOT a half-hearted, deadbeat, lame duck faith? We know it by the good works we produce. Good works, laced with God-centered humility and charity, have purpose. They give evidence of a living faith--a faith that leads us to “walk our talk.” Such faith assures us that Christ’s Spirit is at work within us and through us.
· Witness: “and so that by our godly living our neighbors may be won over to Christ.” This rings true to what Jesus said in his sermon on the mount: “…let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
So it is that the Lord comes to us this Labor Day weekend. By his own example and through his teaching in the Scriptures, the Lord Jesus makes clear that the work we do calls for God-centered humility and charity. And yes, our work and all our actions serve a very significant purpose: through our God-centered actions, we are being renewed in the image of Christ. And along with such renewal, we witness, we express a living faith, and we extend praise and gratitude to God.
Glory be to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.