Busy- idleness or Busy with Community mindedness and Relationship building?

Sermon Pent. 26 C

 

In 2010 a mine collapsed in Santiago, Chile, trapping 33 miners below ground for more than two months. They held up in a small refuge area with about 2k of tunnel available, where 3, 14cm holes were drilled to drop down a few basic supplies until they could be rescued safely.  It was crowded, dark, damp, and humid; and the longer they stayed trapped the more infection spread.

People studied the miners’ stories when they came back topside.  It was found the 33 men had organized themselves into a community.  Every man had tasks to do each day; no one was left to be idle.  Despite the situation they were thriving: moral was good, comradery even better, for the most part peoples’ needs were being met with supplies available, there was a sharing of rations (tuna and water); they were a community of brothers who had each others’ backs.

That is until down one of the 14cm holes, people topside thought to send down a TV so the men could watch the world cup of soccer.  Once the TV went down community disintegrated.

The letter to the Thessalonians says, “For even when we were with you, we gave you this command: anyone unwilling to work should not eat.  For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, mere busybodies, not doing any work.

Often, when this passage is talked about, the conversation quickly goes to Canada’s welfare system: people getting paid to not work, to sit on their couches...and so on.  I am sure you have heard and been a part of this conversation before; rife with stereotypes, derogatory judgment, and fueled with lots of emotion.

The letter to the Thessalonians is speaking to a community of Jesus followers, who are attempting to live in community as was described in the book of Acts: 

Chapter 2:

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³ Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All who believed were together and had all things in common; ⁴⁵ they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds^[a] to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶ Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home^[b] and ate their food with glad and generous^[c] hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

And similarly in Chapter 4:

³² Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. ³³ With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. ³⁴ There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. ³⁵ They laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.

It sounds too good to be true, but, for the most part the communities of early Christians worked. There were some problems and Paul is encouraging the Thessalonians to not weary in doing what is right; to keep trying by ironing out some of the difficulties.

I think that today we apply passages like this one to our concepts of work, generally paid work.  In these communities there was a lot to be done, not all of it, in fact a large portion of it that was unpaid in a monetary sense. There were gardens to hoe, clothing to be washed, the sick to be tended to, food to be cooked, soup lines to be opened, gifts to be taken to the treasury to support widows in Jerusalem, prisoners to be visited, prayers to be said, teaching to done, children to be watched, fish to be caught, roofs and houses to be maintained... and so on.

These people because of their experience of the Gospel, wanted to live together in a different way from the world around them.  Their hearts and souls were changed, craving relationship, compassion, community –ideals not found in the society around them. They found when they lived in community, as stated in Acts, no one had need, they lived with thanksgiving, praying and worshiping together they saw amazing wonders and signs; they experienced hope amidst chaos.

Applying this scripture to our lives may take a reversed view of being idle.

Many of you will have seen signs in roundabout driveways, in front of hospital and school doors, that read “idle no more”, or “idle free zone.”  The idle no more campaign grew from the environmental movement and asks drivers to turn off their vehicles (if they will be sitting for more than 6 sec) rather than sit and idle the engine; the idea is to lessen exhaust fumes, thus, reducing pollution.  Idling no more means turning off the engine.  It means waiting patiently, not itching to keep going, and be gone in the fastest amount of time. It means not being lazy to turn the engine off and then back on.

How many of you would consider yourself busy?  As Christmas approaches do you perceive life getting busier still? Days are full: with work –both the responsibilities and the added pressure we put on ourselves of stuff needing to be done, volunteering, daily tasks, grocery shopping, caring for children or the elderly, ferrying people from here to there and back again, emails, social networking; television shows, tuning in for the news...

Perhaps it is time that we idle no more and turn of the engine.

Breathing freely, take a moment to wait, to be patient, to ponder.

Before turning the engine back on, consider your busy-ness.  How much of the time are you running around like a chicken with its head cut off?  Not knowing if you are coming or going?  Are you taking time to do the things that give you life; that you enjoy?  Can you let go of things, work projects, pressure, stuff you think needs to be done but is not your responsibility?  And the true test as to whether your busy-ness is really a clever way to disguise idleness – is the focus of the busy-ness community minded and geared to relationship building?  If not, it is time to seriously take to heart Paul’s words and for us to re-visit the early Christian community in Acts.

Because of the Gospel we are given a choice to live a different way.  Luke’s gospel is quite clear in telling us that it will not be easy: it could mean prison or death, being betrayed by friends or family, or being hated.

It would mean having to live outside of our natural human instincts; instincts rife with stereotypes, derogatory judgments, and fueled with lots of emotion. It would be a conscious choice to live as a follower, to live into the dream of a new heaven and a new earth, where former things shall not be remembered or come to mind.

If we were trapped in a mine, I would like to believe that we would organize into a community, where everyone had daily tasks, where no one was idle; a place where needs were met with the resources available, that rations were shared, that moral was high, storytelling superb, prayer daily, and that hearts would be full of thanksgiving; a place where busy-idleness ceased, no TV, no cell phones –only face to face, hand to hand relationship.

If we can picture that this is how we would act if stuck in a mine...why not live into that picture of community now?

This week follow your heart.  Prioritize your days by first doing those things that bring you life and joy. Pray and be thankful.  Refrain from activity that hinders and harms relationship.  Focus on work that builds community.  Take courage and have hope amidst the chaos that yes there is another way.