Backpack Blessings – More Than a Wave, More Than a Pencil

Sermon Title: Back-To-School Blessings – More than A Wave, More than a Pencil

Good News Statement: Jesus calls us to follow the Golden Rule

Summary: Jesus wants us to take the initiative to do something good for another person.

Preached: Sunday, August 25^th, 2024, at Dogwood Prairie and Seed Chapel UMC

Pastor Daniel G. Skelton, M.Div.

 

Scripture (NRSV): Matthew 7:12, Today’s scripture reading comes from the Book of Matthew, who (along with Luke) sheds light on a rule established by Jesus that many students come to memorize throughout their academic career. Jesus tells the people to treat others the way they want to be treated in all that they do. How well are we living up to this rule today? How prevalent is the Golden Rule in our life? Let’s read Matthew Chapter Seven, Verse Twelve. May the hearing and reading of this scripture add understanding and meaning to your life.

 

The Golden Rule

¹² “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”

 

The Word of God, for the People of God; And all God’s People said, “Thanks Be To God.”

 

 

Introduction:

Just imagine… You do a favor that really helps someone and after that favor you tell them not to pay it back, you don’t need anything in return. Instead, you tell them to pay it forward. You tell them to pay it forward to three other people, who, in turn, each pay it forward to three more people. Sooner or later, what you started and what others paid forward would grow into a global outpouring of kindness and decency and goodness. Just imagine… what this world would be like if this is how people truly lived? Just imagine…

In October of 2000, Warner Brothers Pictures produced a movie that demonstrated the concept and idea of what it may look like if people—if society—chose to “pay it forward”—chose to show kindness and goodness to one person who then shared kindness and goodness toward three other people. The movie that was produced was titled Pay It Forward starring Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment.

Essentially, the heart of Pay It Forward is the Golden Rule. It’s something Jesus thought of 2000 years ago, and if taken seriously, it can still change the world today. Jesus doesn’t suggest we limit our actions to just to three people though – but to adopt it as a way of treating everyone we meet.

Today, as we bless the students and teachers for the 2024-2025 Academic School Year, let us do so by remembering the words that Jesus told his disciples and something that we learned in school: “In everything do to others as you would have them to do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. That statement of Jesus is commonly called the Golden Rule, and from the Golden Rule, we learn what it takes to make this world a better place. From the young to the old, from the student to the teacher, changing the world begins with each of you. Just imagine…

 

Body:

If you have never seen the movie Pay It Forward, I highly recommend it. For those that have seen it, what I am about to share will give you a refresher of what the movie is about. Here is the plot of the story:

A 12-year-old schoolboy in Las Vegas, Nevada named Trevor McKinney (played by Haley Joel Osment) is given a class project to complete by his social studies teacher Eugene Simonet (played by Kevin Spacey), a man with terrible burn scars on his face and neck. Trevor’s task is to come up with a plan that will change the world through direct action. On his way home from school later that day, Trevor notices a homeless man, Jerry (James Caviezel), and decides to make a difference in Jerry’s life. Trevor then comes up with the plan to “pay it forward” by doing a good deed for three people who must in turn each do good deeds for three other people, creating a charitable pyramid scheme. Trevor’s plan is to help Jerry by feeding and housing him so he can “get on his feet.”

The next morning, Trevor’s mother, Arlene McKinney (played by Helen Hunt), a single mother recovering from alcoholism, becomes angry with Trevor after finding Jerry in their house. She then accuses and confronts Eugene at the school about the reason Trevor has allowed Jerry into their home. Eugene is also intrigued by Trevor’s response to the social studies project.

After Trevor’s apparently unsuccessful attempt to help Jerry, he decides to help Eugene by setting him up with Arlene, Trevor’s own mother. Their relationship grows in strength until Arlene’s ex-husband, Ricky (Jon Bon Jovi), who claims he has “changed” and has quit drinking, shows up unannounced and Arlene decides to give him another chance.

At around this point, Jerry, who has moved on to another city, discovers a woman about to commit suicide by jumping off a bridge; even when she throws her purse at him and yells at him to get away, Jerry simply talks gently to her, encouraging her to come down and talk to him about her problems.

In another scene, Arlene seeks out her mother, Grace, whom she has not seen in three years. She says she wishes to say something to her and gives her mother the gift that enables Grace to have faith that she can become sober for a few days, long enough to visit the family and see her grandson: Arlene tells her mother that she forgives her for everything.

A stranger named Chris recognizes that Trevor is the originator of “pay it forward,” and conducts a recorded interview at the school in which Trevor attends. Trevor explains his hopes for the concept, but voices his concerns that people may be too afraid to change their own lives in order to make the whole world a better place. Eugene and Arlene are both present during the interview. When Eugene hears Trevor’s words, he realizes that he and Arlene should be together.

As Eugene and Arlene reconcile with a passionate embrace, they hear shouts and scuffling outside. Trevor has come to the defense of a friend who is being attacked by bullies, and is trying to fight them off, although they are older and bigger. As Eugene and Arlene run down to stop the fight, the main bully who is a gangster-like boy impulsively pulls out a knife. Trevor is pushed onto the boy with the knife and is thus inadvertently stabbed in the abdomen. Trevor is rushed to the hospital, where he dies from the stabbing. Terribly distraught, Arlene and Eugene are later watching a television news report about “pay it forward” and Trevor’s death, and learn that the movement has grown nationwide.”

You never know whose life you are going to change just by showing them some kindness. Just imagine…if we spent our days showing kindness and goodness rather than hate and disappointment; if we strove every day to “pay it forward”; if we treated others the way we want to be treated. If this is to happen, we’re going to have to embrace the Golden Rule in three ways: 1) View the Rule Positively, 2) Understand the Rule Comprehensively, and 3) Follow the Rule Daily.

 

Movement One: View the Rule Positively…

In several other religions, the Golden Rule is stated negatively. Most notably is a story of an event that took place in 20 B.C.: that is, around 50 years prior to Jesus giving the Sermon on the Mount. The tale was told of a Gentile (a non-Jewish person) who approached Rabbi Hillel and his rival teacher of wisdom. The Gentile promised each that he would convert to Judaism if one of them could teach him the entire Law while standing on one foot. So Rabbi Hillel said this: “Do not do to your fellow what you hate to have done to you. This is the whole law; the rest is explanation.”[1]

That incident would have been legendary by the time of Jesus, like I said, just 50 years later. Every Jew would have heard about that and probably even repeated it a few times. So Jesus takes a very familiar statement and turns it around—so that it is no longer stated negatively—“Do not do to your fellow what you hate to have done to you”—but positively. Jesus does the same thing on several other occasions.

Although it’s clear that Jesus regarded the Old Testament as the inspired word of God, he also directly challenged aspects of the Old Testament law. To illustrate, Jesus was repudiating Sabbath law when he defended his disciples’ harvesting of food on the Sabbath (Mt 12:1-14; cf. Ex. 34:21) so that his disciples wouldn’t starve to death. Along similar lines, it seems that Jesus repudiated a law of the Old Testament when he ingeniously prevented a woman caught in the act of adultery from being executed (John 8:1-11, Cf. Leviticus. 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22). Jesus caught her accusers in their self-righteousness by pointing out only people without sin are in a position to execute a sinner. Furthermore, Jesus states in Matthew 5:43-45, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

You see, Jesus was constantly doing things to help people think positive and not negative. Think of what Jesus is saying to his crowd on the mountain. There is a big difference between do not do to others what you don’t want done to you and do to others what you would have them do to you. And his hearers could not have possibly missed it. If our rule is don’t do to others what we hate we neglect doing for them what we love. So Jesus says, look beyond the negative form of the rule. No glory in observing that alone. Be positive in your approach to godliness. Do to others what you’d want done.

Jesus, through the Golden Rule, is helping us to live a life that is more geared toward positivity than negativity because he understands that a “cheerful heart is good medicine…” (Proverbs 17:22) and what is needed to change the world, to change our life, to change the heart of someone around us. The Golden Rule is meant for us to have a positive outlook on life. Just imagine…if we practiced and lived out the Golden Rule with a cheerful heart and not just because we are told to be nice.

 

Movement Two: Understand the Rule Comprehensively…

The second way we have to embrace the Golden Rule, if we are to take initiative to do good, is view it with understanding. Jesus said this rule “sums up the Law and the Prophets.” What did he mean by that? It sums up the Law and the Prophets. The Sermon on the Mount shows us the answer: Matthew 5:17 states, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (NIV). Again, Jesus doesn’t want us to think negatively about what he needs us to do, but rather think about the good things that he is doing to better our life that have been around for centuries.

After giving this proclamation, Jesus goes on to highlight what was said back then to what he needs us to do now. It was said, do not murder to which Jesus says, “Do be reconciled to the person at odds with you” (Matthew 5:21-26). It was said, don’t break your oath, to which Jesus says, “Do be a person of your word. Just say what you mean and mean what you say—that’s how you would want others to talk to you” (Matthew 5:33). It was said, don’t leave retribution undone—eye for eye and tooth for tooth—to which Jesus says, “That kind of justice is for the law courts. Do be a forgiving person and a giving person” (Matthew 5:38). And it was said, don’t love your enemies, to which Jesus says, “Do be perfect. God loves those who don’t love him. Treat them the way you want to be treated” (Matthew 5:43).

When Jesus says, “this sums up the law and the prophets,” he’s telling us that the person who consistently lives according to the Golden Rule is keeping all the regulations in Scripture directing one’s conduct toward other people. The Golden Rule, when understood comprehensively, allows us to keep all of the rules in the Law concerning how others should be treated. The Golden Rule isn’t meant to be confusing or degrading or even dismantling; however, it is meant to be understood as a law, as a method and practice, that gets us closer to Jesus Christ: that gets us closer to living in goodness and kindness, that pushes us to remove the “don’ts” and instead insert the “dos”, and that reminds us that Jesus came to fulfill the law so that we could spend more time treating others the way we want to be treated. Church, are we doing that? Are we focusing more on what Jesus needs us to do or on the “do nots” in our life?

The Golden Rule is meant to be understood, comprehensively, through the actions Jesus does and through what he needs us to do. Just imagine…if we lived a life doing everything Jesus needs us to do for his people.

 

Movement Three: Follow the Rule Day…

To embrace the understanding of the Golden Rule, we must now follow the rule in our daily life. Jesus says, “In everything…” In everything, we are called to follow this rule. John Wesley once said, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” We are called to follow the Golden Rule in all that we do for as long as we can. Let me read you a piece of an anonymous email that sometimes gets forwarded among friends. It’s a parable for all of us. In this email, a person learned from a cat what it means to love as we want to be loved:

“Everyone in the apartment complex I lived in knew who Ugly was. Ugly was the resident tomcat. Ugly loved three things in this world: fighting, eating garbage, and shall we say, love. The combination of these things, combined with a life spent outside, had their effect on Ugly. To start with, he had only one eye. He was also missing his ear on the same side, his left foot appeared to have been badly broken at one time, and had healed at an unnatural angle. His tail had long since been lost, leaving only the smallest stub, which he would constantly jerk and twitch. Ugly would have been a dark gray tabby-striped type cat, except for the sores covering his head, neck and even his shoulders with thick, yellowing scabs. Every time someone saw Ugly there was the same reaction. “That’s one UGLY cat!!”

“All the children were warned not to touch him, the adults threw rocks at him, hosed him down, and squirted him when he tried to come in their homes, or shut his paws in the door when he would not leave. Ugly always had the same reaction. If you turned the hose on him, he would stand there, getting soaked until you gave up and quit. If you threw things at him, he would curl his lanky body around feet in forgiveness. Whenever he spied children, he would come running, meowing frantically and bump his head against their hands, begging for their love. If you ever picked him up he would immediately begin suckling on your shirt, earrings, whatever he could find.

“One day Ugly shared his love with the neighbor’s huskies. They did not respond kindly, and Ugly was badly mauled. From my apartment I could hear his screams, and I tried to rush to his aid. By the time I got to where he was laying, it was too late. Ugly lay in a wet circle, his back legs and lower back twisted grossly out of shape, a gaping tear in the white strip of fur that ran down his front. As I picked him up and tried to carry him home I could hear him wheezing and gasping, and could feel him struggling. I must be hurting him terribly I thought.

“At that moment I thought Ugly was the most beautiful, loving creature I had ever seen. Never once did he try to bite or scratch me, or even try to get away from me, or struggle in any way. Ugly just looked up at me completely trusting in me to relieve his pain. Then I felt a familiar tugging. Ugly, in so much pain, suffering and obviously dying, was tugging at my shirt. I pulled him closer to me, and he bumped the palm of my hand with his head. Then he turned his one golden eye towards me, and I could hear the distinct sound of purring. Even in the greatest pain, that ugly battle-scarred cat was asking only for a little affection, perhaps some compassion. He had been scarred on the outside. But I was scarred on the inside. And it was time for me to move on and learn to love truly and deeply. To give my total to those I cared for.”

Many people want to be richer, more successful, well liked, beautiful. But for me, sometimes being “ugly” is who God needs us to be. Even in our pain it is possible to give to others what we would have them give to us. To do for them what we’d done. Ugly just did what he would want done to himself. And his actions changed the heart of a person who needed to show greater love.

Jesus knows we can change the world. Do to others what you would have them to do you. Don’t wait for them to do something for you. Take the initiative. You want to be forgiven? Forgive! You need affirmation? Affirm! You feel hurt, wounded, broken and could stand a gentle touch? Be gentle with others! You enjoy a nice compliment? Compliment others!

The Golden Rule will transform our actions. If we truly apply it, we’d never be mean, always generous, never harsh, always understanding, never cruel, and always kind. I’d love to be like that wouldn’t you? I would rather be ugly so others could be beautiful.

In the storyline of the movie Pay It Forward, people first needed to have something done for them by someone else before they passed a good deed along. That’s not all that different from our relationship to God. He sent His son, Jesus Christ, to die for us—to do something for us that we could never do—that is be cleansed of our sins. He demonstrated the ultimate love, and now He asks us to “pay it forward.” “Do to others what you would have them do to you.”

Church, we are not composed of people who were simply just taught the Golden Rule. We are composed of people who carry out and do the Golden Rule. At the beginning of every school year, I like to remind myself of this rule because it is a rule that can change the world: it is a rule worth fighting for, it is a rule worth living out and praying about, it is a rule worth dedicating our life to, our mission toward, and our discipleship for, and it is a rule that needs to be paid forward to everyone and in everything we do. Church, if you want to be known for doing good and treating others the way we want to be treated—with kindness and respect—then it’s time to pay it forward. It is time to do what Jesus came for all of us to do. What does that look like in the life of our church?

Who would have ever thought that such a simple rule could have such a profound outcome on who we are as a person, as a disciple, as an imitator of Jesus Christ on this earth? Just imagine…if we all lived out the Golden Rule.

 

Conclusion:

Students and teachers, I invite you to think about the Golden Rule: what it means to you, what it means to your students, and what it means to be a living example of that rule for others to witness? As you think about the Golden Rule, take into consideration how the Golden Rule, when paid forward, can change someone’s life. How the Golden Rule is positive, can be understood by many, and how it is something Jesus needs us to follow and do. I leave you with a story and a poem that calls us to be living proof of goodness.

“God Divine” released a story a few days ago titled One Small Gesture that Meant So Much. “Every day, Arlington school bus No.7 drives past Louise’s little house. And every day, 93-year-old Louise is there at the window to wave to the students as the bus goes by. This little ritual played out for 5 years, and Louise became a bit of a legend to the students. The kids began calling her “the grandma in the window,” and everyone on the bus looked forward to returning the friendly wave. But one morning, the kids raised their arms to wave, and disappointment swept the bus as they made a startling discovery. Louise was not at the window.

The kids were so concerned that their kind bus driver, Carol, set out to uncover the reason for Louise’s absence. When she learned that Louise had suffered a stroke and was in the hospital, everyone was heartbroken. Carol delivered a bouquet of flowers to the hospital on behalf of the students.

While she was there, Carol spent some time chatting with Louise’s husband of 53 years, Dave, and found out just how important the morning ritual had become to Louise. Dave said, “It means everything in the world to her. It gives her something to look forward to every day.” The next morning, as the bus drove past Louise’s house, while the sweet lady still wasn’t there, a heartwarming sign appeared in the window that simply said, “Thank You.”

And because Louise would be at the hospital for a while, the kids wanted to do something special to let her know just how much she meant to them. They had a panorama photograph taken of the bus, with all of the kids waving out of the windows. Carol delivered it to Louise at the hospital. This sweet lady is expected to return home after a few more days at the hospital. It just goes to show that the gestures we often see as small can have a huge impact on those around us. A simple act of kindness can go a long way.”[2] Don’t be afraid to put the Golden Rule into action, because it might be the gesture someone needs to keep waving.

And the poem I offer you to think about is one that teachers have come to favor understand that those who we encounter have a story and have already encountered so much in their life over the years. It was written by Joshua T. Dickerson as a means to help us before we meet them. The title of this poem is Cause I Ain’t Got a Pencil.

“I woke myself up
Because we ain’t got an alarm clock.
Dug in the dirty clothes basket,
‘Cause ain’t nobody washed my uniform.
Brushed my hair and teeth in the dark,
‘Cause the lights ain’t on.
Even got my baby sister ready,
‘Cause my mama wasn’t home.
Got us both to school on time
To eat us a good breakfast.
Then when I got to class the teacher fussed
‘Cause I ain’t got no pencil.”

Jesus said, “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12). Whether our kindness comes in the form of a wave, the giving of a pencil, the understanding of someone’s situation, or even simply just being there for someone, remember that we are called as individuals and as a church to treat others the way Jesus would treat them: with love, compassion, kindness, and understanding. We are called to treat others in positive ways, to treat others knowing what it means to show kindness, and to treat others in such a way that Jesus would be proud of.

Rachel Joy Scott, a victim of the 1999 Columbine Shooting in Colorado, wrote an essay entitled My Ethics: My Codes of Life. Her essay advocates her belief and compassion for how she wanted the world to be viewed. She wrote, “The greatest form of love humans have to offer is compassion.” May we do our best today to live out her words and to do what Jesus needs us to do. All it takes is one person to pay it forward. Will that one person be you? Are you the one person, are we the church, that it is going to take time to wave and to give out a pencil, to treat others the way we want to be treated? Let it be so…

 

Closing Prayer:

Dear Jesus, help us to treat others the way you want us to treat them. Guide us to be positive, to be understanding, and to be willing to follow the Golden Rule. And Lord, place in our heart that will and spiritual strength to share your kindness and love by paying it forward. In your mighty name we pray, Amen.

 

Benediction:

May you be motivated by the grace of God to offer a wave to someone, to pass along a pencil to someone in need, and to be a living example of the Golden Rule for others in your life. The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; and May the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace (Numbers 6:24-26). In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, go, in everything, treating others the way you want to be treated. And all God’s people said, Amen. Amen. Amen.

 

[1] A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Craig S. Keener, p. 249

[2] https://www.godvine.com/read/grandma-waves-to-school-bus-every-day-1105.html, 08/18/2024.