Adding Flavor

PRAY!

Story of General Morgan’s dilemma

It was 1781, and the Colonial Army General Daniel Morgan had a problem.

He had a ragtag force - made up of South Carolina militia (farmers, blacksmiths - just ordinary men who knew how to handle a rifle, but had little military training).

Combined with his troops, parts of the Continental Army from the northern states, who were losing their will to fight. What kept them from deserting was the fact that deserters could be shot on sight.

So, this “army” was about to face the British - and they were outnumbered, out-trained and outclassed by the British troops. In General Morgan’s own words, “his militia could not be counted on to fight.”

So, what to do? How could he muster his unmotivated troops to face the enemy? To face their fears and move into the very real danger and engage the battle?

Now, we’re in week three of our sermon series on Evangelism, Out of the Saltshaker (idea that in order to be salt of the earth Jesus says we are, we have to get out of the saltshaker and into world.

I’m not trying to suggest by any means that engaging in everyday evangelism, telling others good news of Jesus, poses real danger for us - that we’re facing what those men faced.

Though that is actually the case for many Christians in the world who live in countries where they are actively persecuted.

But it does feel like an overwhelming task.

I had a professor in seminary - this was over 20 years ago, and he was already talking about the fact that so many in our culture have been inoculated against the gospel.

It really makes the task more difficult for us - we live in a culture that has a caricatured view of Christianity, or they’ve had an experience with it - and it was a negative one.

So, as far as they’re concerned, they’ve been exposed to it, and they don’t want anything to do with it. Inoculated.

In fact, we were talking about this just the other day at our Session meeting - about how increasingly little influence we have as followers of Jesus on our culture today. More and more in the minority. More and more folks don’t even see reason to consider Jesus - he seems irrelevant. We have science and technology - who needs God?

And yet, there’s so many folks hurting out there. So many folks filled with bitterness and anger. So many folks lost, confused - trying to figure out who you are on your own, that’s an overwhelming task. It’s easier than ever to communicate with others - right at our fingertips, and yet we are lonelier than ever. We have access to more - amount of food we produce, ability to deal with sickness with modern medicine, capacity to endure natural disasters has dramatically increased…and yet, we are increasingly anxious and fearful.

Sharing the good news of Jesus is an overwhelming task.

But what if it really didn’t take that much? What if takes just a little bit of salt?

Do the Doable

So, most weeks I’m at Tudor’s for breakfast three times a week (bible study for a couple of middle school guys, high schools guys on Wednesday morning, longtime weekly breakfast with a friend).

I’ve settled into my routine, order the same thing every time…three eggs, over medium. (I’m waiting for day that I just have to give them a little head nod - and they know. Hasn’t come).

With that order I always ask for some salt and pepper. And really, all I want is one package of pepper and one package of salt. Invariably, they give me way too much. 5-6 packets of each!

I don’t even use all of one packet of salt they give me. Because as we all know with salt, you don’t need a lot. Just a little bit of salt adds flavor that I want.

That’s our main point this morning, we just need to start doing a little to be salt of the earth. To add flavor. That’s what Jesus is calling us to do when it comes to evangelism, to getting out of the saltshaker, into the world. Do the doable. Ordinary attempts by ordinary people. A dash of salt.

Which is exactly what General Morgan did with his overwhelmed troops. Before the battle, he told the militia this: Don’t hold your ground. Shoot two times and run. That’s all. Do that, then you’re free to run for your lives.

So that’s what the did. South Carolina militia was up on front lines, backed up by the more seasoned soldiers.

British forces began to march on them, the militia fired their guns the first time (remember, this was in days of single shot musket), reloaded and shot a second time and then they turned and started retreating. They’d done exactly what General Morgan had told them. Shoot twice and get out of there.

But when they turned to look back at their pursuers, they realized they weren’t being pursued. It was the British troops who were retreating.

Emboldened by this turns of events, this ragtag group of undermotivated, very ordinary soldiers returned to the front line and began fighting voluntarily.

They gained the advantage and soundly defeated the British. It was a decisive victory in the Revolutionary War.

As Jim Henderson writes, the biggest opponent for the militia wasn’t the superior British troops, it was the fear within their own minds.

So, rather than ask them to do what they couldn’t do, Morgan simply asked them to do what they could do. To see that they already had the skills they needed.

The skills to do the doable. Ordinary attempts by ordinary people. Just a dash of salt. That’s all they needed to add flavor.

Now, it’s clear that Jesus did amazing things, things that are hard to even imagine. Gave sight to a man blind from birth. Turned water into wine. Healed a man whose legs were useless…get up, pick up your mat and walk. And he did!

But what’s fascinating to see is how often it was the little things that Jesus did that made a big difference. The simple, ordinary acts that had a big impact.

Let me give you three examples.

In Mark 1, a man with leprosy comes up to Jesus and drops to his knees before him, begging, “if you’re willing, you can make me clean.”

Jesus was willing. Here’s key detail, vs. 41…Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man.

“I am willing”, Jesus said. “Be clean.” Immediately the leprosy left the man and he was cleansed.

In most of the healing miracles, you don’t see Jesus touching the other person. Perhaps he did, but it’s not mentioned. But here, with a leper, with a man who would have been considered unclean, untouchable -a man who would have been required to keep distance from every one, declaring to all, “unclean,” so people knew to keep away.

This is man Jesus touched. A simple, beautiful act of compassion. A gesture that said you are loved. Just a dash of salt adds a lot of flavor.

In Luke 19, Jesus is passing through the city of Jericho. And that’s an important detail - passing through. Because Jesus is celebrity here, a large crowd is gathered, everybody wants to be around him. And if he had been staying in Jericho, it would have been a huge honor to host him at your house.

Jesus is walking along, and he looks up, there, sitting in this large tree is man named Zacchaeus.

There’s a couple of things that are important to know about this situation.

First, Zacchaeus. is a tax collector. Not just a tax collector, but the chief tax collector. As we talked about a couple of weeks ago, tax collector was synonymous with sinner. He was despised. A traitor. A cheat.

Second, he’s up in a tree. There were two things Jewish men did not do - they did not run, and they didn’t climb trees. It was considered undignified.

What a moment for these folks! Here’s the despised Zacchaeus caught in a humiliating situation. You can bet that crowd was letting him have it - after all, he couldn’t see who they were, he’s in an embarassing situation - I’m sure they assumed Jesus felt the same way about this dirty tax collector.

What does Jesus do? Jesus does the doable. Turns out he’s not going to just pass through. He’s going to stay the night. “Zacchaeus, I must stay at your house today.”

Just like that, Zacchaeus goes from being mocked scoundrel to the honored host. Just a little dash of salt.

In Mark 5, a woman who has been bleeding, suffering for twelve years, is trying desperate to get near Jesus. Again, there’s a crowd. This time, there’s a sense of urgency.

The synagogue ruler’s daughter is dying and Jesus is on his way to the house.

In desperation, this woman reaches out to touch Jesus’s robe, thinking, “if I can just touch his clothing, I’ll be healed.” So she does. And she is.

But Jesus realizes power has gone out from him. So he stops and turns around. “Who touched my clothing?”

His disciples are like, “Jesus, what are you asking, there’s a crowd pressing around you. Who hasn’t touched your clothing?”

But Jesus keeps looking around. At this point, woman wants to go run and hide. She knows she’s busted. So trembling with fear, she falls before Jesus and confesses that it was her.

Jesus, with all his love and gentleness, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed.”

Do you see it? This big crowd, all pressing in, in midst of this urgent situation - Jesus stops, takes a moment to be with this woman. To look her in eye, to affirm her. It’s all good. To love her.

Doing the doable. Just a dash of salt.

Do What’s Doable

Now the healings were obviously miraculous, but there’s so much else here that are ordinary things that any of us can do. A loving touch. A generous gesture in the midst of a tense situation. A moment to stop, be present to someone, affirm them. Those are all doable things.

These are what Jim Henderson calls, “free attention giveaways”. There’s two parts to that.

First is the “attention” part. We are attentive to others. We pay attention.

We listen to them make a little comment. We sense some sadness in their voice.

Remember from last week? Be yourself. Be human. Be normal. Be real. Be intentional.

To pay attention is to live with Gospel intentionality.

I’m attentive to God, to what he’s doing in world, in lives of people around me, how the Spirit may be nudging me.

And I’m attentive to other people. I’m watching. I’m noticing. I’m listening…really listening…to them.

M. Scott Peck tells story of an interaction with a classmate of his when he was 15 years old: I suddenly realized that for the entire ten-minute period from when I had first seen my acquaintance until that very moment, I had been totally preoccupied. For the two or three minutes before we met, all I was thinking about was the clever things I might say that would impress him. During our five minutes together, I was listening to what he had to say only so that I might turn it into a clever rejoinder. I watched him only so that I might see what effect my remarks were having upon him. And for the two or three minutes after we separated, my sole thought was of those things I could have said that might have impressed him even more. I had not cared a whit for my classmate.

We can not love other people without paying attention to them.

First and greatest commandment is to love God with all of our hearts and all of our minds and all of our soul and all of our strength.

Second is to love our neighbors as ourselves.

If we’re not being attentive to God, we’re not loving him. If we’re wrapped up in our own little worlds, we cannot be loving other people.

Second part are the free giveaways.

We first pay attention - we see the need. We realize what might be meaningful or helpful to them. And then we do it - free giveaway.

A small gift. An act of kindness. A moment to be present to them. A thoughtful gift. A helping hand.

That’s doing the doable (which, honestly, as Jim Henderson says, is all we’re going to do anyway).

So, here’s the challenge. Do the Doable. Just being your ordinary self, making ordinary attempts.

This week, make an effort to Pay attention

Spiritual discipline, shift our attention to God, to others

Practice noticing the people God has put around you. This might be especially challenging if it’s somebody you’re known for a long time, but see if you can find one thing you’ve never noticed before. How often we go through checkout and never notice cashier or anything about our server at restaurant. Take notes. Honestly. We’re learning to pay attention. Ask God to give you new ideas about how you could serve this person.

Second part of the challenge - Do the Doable. Make an ordinary attempt.

Free attention giveaways. We begin with paying attention - loving others enough to notice, and then acting, doing something.

Let me give you some examples...

Jim Henderson tells of time he was in grocery checkout lane, his cashier was racing through his items. He noticed she was wearing a button that said, “We want to adopt.”

He was surprised and touched by her vulnerability and boldness to share that with complete strangers.

So he said to her, “I have some friends who’ve adopted. I’ll pray for you.”

That was it. Just a dash of salt, adding flavor.

A woman named Sharon decided she was going to do something entirely different during the busy Christmas shopping season.

She’s at the checkout counter at toy store - she overhears the salesgirls discussing lunch. They were exhausted, hungry and needed a break. But one of them didn’t have quite enough money to get a decent lunch, only a snack. So Sharon reached into her purse, gave her a five dollar bill…Merry Christmas.

The girl was so thankful she started to cry, came around the counter and hugged Sharon.

Then Sharon handed each of the salesgirls a coupon for a free beverage at Starbucks…Merry Christmas.

They hardly knew how to react. One of the salesgirls finally asked, “Why did you do this? Sharon said, “Because Jesus loves you and Christmas is all about him giving his life for you.” They were thankful and Sharon had a blast doing it. Doing the doable.

So, this week, as you take the time to pay attention. To notice people (lonely neighbor, tired salesclerk, whoever it might be), do something…give them a small gift. Initiate conversation with neighbor you’ve only waved at before. Pay a compliment. Stop and ask a question.

Act with gospel intentionality. Do something. Dash that salt.

I love this quote from Jim Henderson, “I still pray for the miracles, but I no longer devote my best energy to that. I spend my time now trying to “see” Jesus in the ordinary.

Ordinary attempts by ordinary people. Just a dash of salt.

Let me finish with this.

This is preciously what God wants from us. To do what we can. Not what we can’t.

God is the one who takes our ordinary and can make it extraordinary.

One of the things I love about the story in Matthew 14, when Jesus feeds 5,000 plus, is what he uses to feed this huge crowd.

Crowds have been with Jesus all day as he’s taught them and healed their sick. But now it’s getting late and there’s no place to get food nearby, so disciples encourage Jesus to dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages to get food.

Jesus says to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish.”

“Bring them here to me.”

Do you see what’s so important about this story? Jesus doesn’t ask his disciples to come up with thousands of loaves of bread and hundreds of fish in order to feed the crowds. He asks them to bring what they have. To do what they can do.

They can’t imagine what they have as being enough.

But here’s crucial part. They bring it anyway. They give their measly five loaves and two fish. They do the doable. Turns out, in Jesus’ hands, it is more than enough.

Jim Henderson tells story of truck manufacturers in the 1970’s trying to figure out ways to make the trucks more fuel efficient because of the gas shortages.

Went through a lot of ideas, but finally settled on making a design change to nose of the truck. They rounded it out 10% and it made a dramatic impact on fuel efficiency of trucks.

That’s all we need - 10%. Doing the doable is 10% change in engaging in evangelism.

Taking that little bit extra time to notice. To pay attention.

Then doing small simple things, just ordinary attempts, those free attention giveaways.

As it turns out, just a little bit of salt adds a lot of flavor.