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Sep 08, 2023 18:30pm

Caring for Our Shepherds

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Remember the scene on Napoleon Dynamite where Napoleon decides to get a job to earn money? He goes to work on a chicken farm with the promise of pay and lunch and the boys work hard.

It’s hot and the lunch is laid out. Some type of sandwich cut in half with a topping of swarming flies to go with it. There’s hard boiled eggs of course. I mean, what chicken farm wouldn’t serve those? And an orange drink with a good extra helping of raw eggs in it.

Yum.

Then the farmer exclaims, “forgot my checkbook. Hope you don’t mind I pay you in change.”

Napoleon gets home and counts out the money to find that it’s $6 and he realizes he just worked for about $1 an hour.

The pay didn’t match the service.

Luke 10:4-7

“Carry neither purse, nor scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. And into whatsoever house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. And if the son of peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you again. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to house.”

Jesus is giving instructions to the 70 disciples for their journey. He tells them not to take anything with them, to accept the offer from a homeowner that promotes peace, and to stay in that one house. Everything they will need will be provided.

Hospitality was big in the Jewish culture. It would be an honor to have visitors stay within your home. They would go out of their way, sometimes doing without, in order to make sure all of the needs of their guest were met.

If the disciples went from house to house, the people might begin to compete with one another to draw the disciples into their home. Or others might feel unworthy that the disciples didn’t choose to stay in their home. To avoid all of this, Jesus said to stay in one home while they were in each town.

Everything would be provided. They would not have to worry about what they would eat or drink, if they would have a bed to sleep, these people who welcomed peace would welcome their message and provide all that was needed.

That’s kind of scary to think about, isn’t it? To rely on others to provide for you? There’s a lot of trust involved. The need to work and provide for yourself would certainly enter your mind. But Jesus called them to share His message and told them He would make sure every need was met.

Think about our pastors today. They have submitted themselves to the call of the Lord to preach His message. They have given up their lives to do it. They shepherd their flock, the church, caring for the needs of all the people. They prepare messages by studying for hours every day. They make visits to the sick and hurting. They preach funerals and weddings and oversee decisions that need to be made for the church.

How are we doing on our end to provide for them?

Just as the disciples’ needs were met, it’s our job to meet the needs of our pastors.

Some questions to consider this morning – Is your church providing an adequate salary for the work they do? The scripture says “the laborer is worthy of his hire”. Another version reads “he deserves his wages”. It’s our responsibility as a church to be good stewards of the money within the church to provide what’s needed. But are we being greedy or too tight with the budget while our pastor suffers?

Are we as a church also meeting their emotional needs? Are we supportive to their struggles and offer help where we can? Are we thanking them appropriately for all they do?

And as individuals, are we doing our part to make sure they are taken care of? Do we speak up when we feel they are not adequately paid? Do we check in on them to make sure they are doing ok and if they need anything?

Let’s take some time to pray this morning and ask the Lord how we can better serve Him through our giving and support of our pastors and staff. God provides but many times His plan is to do so through us.