Your Noble Task

 

I Timothy 3:1-5

 

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

September 30, 2007

 

 

I Timothy 3:1-5—The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God’s church?

 

            A few days ago Jennifer and I were having one of those tender moments with Josiah. Josiah was all cuddly and we were trying to peer into Josiah’s future by asking him what he wanted to be when he grew up. We listed off a series of professions: doctor, lawyer, pro-Red-Sox player, airline pilot etc; or would he follow in mom and dad’s footsteps and become a physical therapist or a pastor. He answered all choices we set before him with a resounding, YES. (I imagine we will have a pretty hefty college tuition bill come 17 years from now!)

            I imagine that all of us have had such a conversation regarding their own children or nieces and nephews at one time or another. As human beings we tend to hold certain professions in higher esteem then others, and we hope for our children to achieve only the best in careers.

Paul is writing to Timothy in the first of what we call the “pastoral epistles” about one of the highest offices in the church, the office of the Pastor. There is no higher office that a man can hold within the church. We see Paul list the qualifications that one should have if they aspire to serve in the office of Pastor. This list is enough to make any pastor or vicar sit back and realize the seriousness of the calling that they are pursuing.

 We often come to look at the office of the pastor or teacher to be the highest on the scale of “serving God”. However, my point to you today is that is not always the case. We often minimize the choice of careers when it is not directly associated with the church. The qualifications that we see Paul list in our text today is of course specifically geared towards those aspiring to be Pastors and leaders of the church; however, these qualities are admirable and should be aspired to by all Christians, no matter what their career.

Timothy was taught the Old Testament throughout his childhood. His mother was Jewish Christian and his father was Greek. Paul first met Timothy in Lystra, which is in modern day Turkey, on during his first missionary journey. It was during this time that it is believed that Paul led Timothy to Christ. Timothy joined Paul on his missionary travels and eventually stayed in Ephesus to deal with the issues there.

            Paul wrote this first letter to Timothy to develop the charge that he had given to the young teacher as he dealt with the issues of the church in Ephesus. Paul encourages Timothy to reject false teachings, and encourages him in the supervision of the affairs of the growing church. Paul also gave instructions on the qualifications for overseers and deacons within the church. Perhaps some of you may look right over this passage when we read it in church or in your personal Bible study. However, in my personal study this week on this passage, I discovered that this is applicable to all members of the body of Christ.

                 The first quality that is to be desired is that the person be “above reproach”. My first question in dealing with this passage was what exactly does above reproach mean? Some other versions use the word blameless. To be blameless or above reproach means that the overseer or deacon  must have a spotless character that no one can lay hold upon anything in his life which would be of such a nature as to cast criticism upon the cause of the Lord Jesus. He presents to the world at large such a Christian life that he furnishes no grounds for accusation. Talk about high expectations!!!

            If we look at some of the scandals that have happened within our church today we can see why this is so very important. Look at the scandal and criticism that the church undergoes whenever a pastor or priest is convicted of embezzlement or adultery within the church. Whenever the heinous acts are brought to light the church undergoes never-ending criticism. Because of the sinful acts that they committed, they have defamed the church and perhaps people are lost from the church because of their actions. The pastors’ actions should not take anything away from the work of the church.

Paul continues his list of qualities saying that the person is to be self-controlled, hospitable, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, respectable, not given to drunkenness, manages his own family well and his children listen to him.  

            Does this list of qualities describe you? Are you blameless? Could your neighbors or co-workers use the word blameless to describe your character? Are you leading a double life? What I mean by a double life is: do you have a Sunday morning façade you put on when you drive into the church parking lot, only to leave it in the car when you drive home after church? Does your life from Monday through Saturday reflect the life that you lead on Sunday mornings?

            Maybe you are dealing with some of the very issues that Paul mentions. Perhaps money is what is driving your life. Maybe you feel that the material things you have are not enough so you continually work to bring home more, perhaps to the detriment of your family’s time together. Maybe alcohol is your resource to dealing with the pressures of your life. Who runs your family: the parents or the kids?

            Perhaps we try to make up for our terrible qualities and failures by doing as much as we can for the church. Maybe we serve on several committees and boards, volunteer countless hours to the church or to community service so that God can see our “good works” and perhaps he will disregard the sinful lives and habits that we sacrifice ourselves to day in and day out. However, Isaiah tells us in chapter 64 verse 6: All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. The prophet Isaiah is telling us that our good works, because they are tainted by original sin, are nothing but filthy rags in the sight of our creator and Father. This leaves us broken and helpless, totally dependant on our Savior and Messiah to rescue us from the pit of our sin and filth.

            The wonderful news is that you have a God who loves you more than you can imagine. You have a God who created you and has mercy on you. God knows that you cannot, on your own, lead the life He desires. He sees you sitting in the pit of your sin and filth, surrounded by your dirty rags of good works. God sees your broken lives, and he knows that you need the help of a savior.

            God out of his infinite and divine love for you and me sent a Savior. He sent us a Messiah, someone to come and pick us up out of the pit of our sin. God sent his only and beloved Son to this earth to die for you. Christ came to this earth and he modeled for us the qualities that he would have in the leaders of His church. Jesus Christ was blameless, without fault or sin. Jesus modeled all the qualities that Paul listed in our text. Jesus lived the perfect life that we could not achieve. He took your filthy rags. He took your love of money. He took your bad habits. Jesus took all your faults and sins directly to the cross. On the cross of Calvary, Christ took your sins and paid the penalty for each one of them. Your sins have been forgiven. You have been washed clean by the blood of Christ. Your debt has been paid to God.

             When you were baptized, your sinful nature was drowned and you were given a robe of righteousness. Through the waters of Holy Baptism, you were made God’s child. In a few minutes we will celebrate Holy Communion, where once again we receive the forgiveness of sins that Christ won for us on the cross. Christ’s words echo in our ears: Take Eat, this is my body given for you and Take Drink, this is my blood shed for you. Christ died on the cross for you and he sacrificed his life for you. He died for you so that you don’t have to pay the price for your imperfections and sins. He died for you, so that you can have eternal life with God forever!

            What is our response to this life saving gift that Christ has given us? Our response is to thank God for his mercy and grace in our lives by striving to do the good works that He would have us do. Our works are not earning our salvation; rather, they are our thankful, obedient response to our heavenly Father for the spectacular gift of life with Him that he has given us through Jesus Christ.

Does this mean that we all need to quit our jobs and go back to school so that we can become a pastor, teacher or some other professional church worker? Maybe for some of you that has been weighing in on the back of your mind and heart. Has God called you to the office of the ministry but you have been too scared follow God’s call? No matter what your calling or job, you can be sharing God’s love to the people around us in that job. The pastor is not the only one who can talk about Jesus and the Gospel on a daily basis. In this respect, we are all on a level playing field.

            God has given each one of you a very special talent and gift that you use in your current jobs.  For some of you your gift may be accounting and dealing with numbers; maybe your gift is administration and leading companies into the future; maybe you have been given the gift of interpretation of the laws of our country; maybe your gift is in the field of health care; maybe your job involves working with the land; maybe you have been given the gift to help and teach children. Whatever your career and gift, they can all be done to serve God.     

            Your job, no matter what it entails, is all in service to God. Many of us agonized over the dreaded question: what am I going to do with my life? For some of you, maybe that question plagued you years ago, or maybe the question is eating at you right now. No matter what job you choose, whether it is to be a janitor or president of the United States, they can all be done to the glory of God.

            Your job is your vocation. The meaning of vocation is a strong feeling of being destined or called to undertake a specific type of work, which has been chosen by God. God has given you many talents and abilities and they are all used in your current vocations. You can serve God by using your God-given talents and abilities to serve those around you.

            God has given each one of you a talent that can serve God. We know exactly how God wants us to live; we see the list of admirable qualities Paul listed to Timothy for those aspiring to the office of the ministry. Those qualities are not just reserved for pastors and church workers; they are all qualities that each and every one of us can strive for as we serve God in our many jobs using our unique talents and abilities.

            Christ’s sacrifice for you on the cross saved you from the wretched life we all once lived. You are a forgiven, baptized child of God. God has given you talents and abilities to further the Kingdom of God. Those talents and abilities can also be used to serve God in your life’s work and vocation. We all have those days that we dread going to work, punching that time card to do another day’s tasks. Look at your job as your vocation. See your job not just as a means to an end or the way you can “bring home the bacon”. View your job as your vocation; the job that God has placed before you, called you to do – and in doing so, glorifies God.