The Gospel According to Once Upon a Time
#3 – The Little Red Hen’s Challenging Question
Nehemiah 2:11-13,16-20 and 4:6 and 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13
By John Gill ~ July 21, 2024

Once Upon a time, a cat, a dog, a mouse, and a little red hen lived together in a little red barn. The cat, the dog, and the little mouse liked to snooze all day. So The Little Red Hen did all the housework. She also did all the work in the garden.

One day, she found some grains of wheat. “Who will help me plant these grains of wheat?” she asked. “Not I,” said the cat. “Not I,” said the dog. “Not I,” said the mouse. “Then I will plant the wheat myself,” said The Little Red Hen. And she did!

Very soon the wheat began to grow and the green leaves came out of the ground. The sun shone and the rain fell and the wheat kept on growing till it was tall, strong, and ripe.

“Who will help me reap the wheat?” asked The Little Red Hen. “Not I,” said the cat. “Not I,” said the dog. “Not I,” said the mouse. “Then I will reap the wheat myself,” said The Little Red Hen. And she did!

“Who will help me thresh the wheat?” asked The Little Red Hen. “Not I,” said the cat. “Not I,” said the dog. “Then I will thresh the wheat myself,” said The Little Red Hen. And she did!

“Who will help me take this wheat to the mill to have it ground into flour?” asked The Little Red Hen. “Not I,” said the cat. “Not I,” said the dog. “Not I,” said the mouse. “Then I will take the wheat myself,” said The Little Red Hen. And she did!

By and by, she came back with the flour.

“Who will help me bake this flour into bread? asked The Little Red Hen. “Not I,” said the cat. “Not I,” said the dog. “Not I,” said the mouse. “Then I will bake it myself,” said The Little Red Hen. And she did!

So, she baked the flour and made a loaf of bread.

“Now, who will help me eat this bread?” “I will,” said the cat. “I will,” said the dog. “I will,” said the mouse.

“No you won't!” said The Little Red Hen. “I will eat it myself.” And she did!

This familiar children's story came to mind one day as I was reading an old Readers Digest magazine some time back. Jeff Lake of Birmingham, New York, sent in this anecdote. He wrote: “One Sunday, I asked our pastor to announce that the church softball team had won its league championship. As he did, he asked team members to stand up. Although there were usually eleven of us at Sunday service, I was embarrassed to see only four of us standing. Not missing a beat, the pastor continued, ‘And what is most amazing is that they won with such a small team!’”

It has occurred to me that sometimes the church is like that. Church is a team effort. We are playing in the biggest league of all! But more often than not, churches don't have enough players to field a winning team.

I'm sure lots of us here this morning are sports fans. What does it take to have success as a team? (Invite answers, like: talented trained players, good coaching, practice, experience, dedication, etc.) All those are important, and all teams strive for them.

But, what sets great teams apart from all the rest? TEAMWORK. Teamwork can make all the difference between just fielding a group of individuals and winning a championship. The teams that really distinguish themselves all have several things in common:

Everyone does their part, playing their position;

Everyone sets aside personal glory for the common good;

Everyone is willing to work hard, giving 110%, and;

Everyone is pulling in the same direction, with the same goal.

There’s a great example of this kind of teamwork in the Bible. It can be found in the story that our first lesson alluded to: The Jews had been taken into exile in the land of Babylon, separated from their beloved “Promised Land” for nearly a century. Finally, they were allowed to return. When they arrived in Jerusalem, they discovered that the walls of the city were piles of rubble, and that the area was controlled by their enemies.

Nehemiah, who led the Jews as they returned, realized that the only way they could reestablish themselves in the land was to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem – and do it quickly! But, how do you go about building city walls when you are surrounded by enemies? The answer? TEAMWORK. Everyone did his or her part – whether they worked laying the stones, or standing guard, or supervising, or providing food and water for the laborers; Everyone set aside personal glory for the common good knowing that, unless they could quickly rebuild the walls, they would forever be at the mercy of their enemies; Everyone was willing to work hard, giving 110%; and Everyone pulled in the same direction, with the same goal in mind.

And, to the shock and consternation of their adversaries who had constantly ridiculed and jeered them, the walls were rebuilt in record time! All thanks to TEAMWORK!

You know, that’s how the church is supposed to be, too. Yet, the reality in many churches is far removed from the ideal. I’ve got a news-flash for you – in many churches (now, not THIS church, of course – OTHER churches) – in many other churches, not everyone does their fair share… Not everyone does his or her part, or sets aside personal glory for the common good. Not everyone is willing to work hard, giving 110%. And unfortunately, not everyone is pulling in the same direction with the same goal in mind. And BECAUSE many churches seldom function well as a team, they have only mediocre success.

You know, I think my favorite “parable” (at least for today) may be “The Parable of The Little Red Hen!” Of course, don’t bother looking in your Bible, you won’t find it there. But it is a parable, none the less.

As we listen to the rhythmic cadence of that little children’s story, the question put to us by The Little Red Hen haunts us – and it should: Over and over she asks: “Who will…?” And over and over we answer: “Not I.”

Now, don’t get me wrong – we may have some really good excuses for not doing our part. True, some of us may be just plain-old lazy, like the cat, or the dog, or the mouse. But most of us fail our “team” for (according to us) some very good reasons:

We are too busy, or too distracted to be very active in church. We’re involved in all kinds of other “worthy activities;” or we need our family time; or we insist we have to work; or we feel we need to rest; or we believe we can serve God just as well in a fishing boat, or on a soccer field, or on a golf course.

Others of us may feel: we don’t have enough talent to share, or our income is too small to tithe, or we’ve worked hard in the church in the past (we’ve “done our time”) and now feel that it’s someone else’s turn.

Some (not in THIS church, of course)… Some may even not WANT to do their part because (God forbid) they don’t like the current pastor, or they don’t like the style of the worship service, or they don’t like someone in the congregation, or they don’t like the direction the church is going, or they somehow got their feelings hurt years ago and just can’t seem to forgive, forget, and move on.

Whatever our excuses may be, they keep the church from being all God intends for it to be. That’s because a “team” is only as good as its players. And when players don’t play their best (or won’t play at all), the church suffers.

All of us want to be on a “winning team!” All of us want to have a church with lots of activities for all ages: retirees, working adults, families, youth, and children (the way churches used to be, and Tomoka was in the past). But are WE willing to volunteer to help with children’s, youth, or family ministries?

Everyone wants quality worship services! But do we sing in the choir, or serve on the altar guild. Do we volunteer to be an usher, greeter, communion preparer or server, liturgist, or acolyte? If we have computer skills, have we volunteered to join the tech team preparing and projecting the service?

We all want a church that cares for its members! But are WE willing to care for others ourselves – by joining our visitation team, nurture ministry, and prayer groups? Are we willing to be trained as a Stephen Minister to come along-side someone going through a difficult season of their lives?

Everyone wants to see a church full every Sunday! But, how often do we make it a point to be in worship ourselves, or, when we notice someone is missing take it upon ourselves to pick up the phone and let them know they have been missed?

We all SAY we believe in Evangelism. But who is here in worship this morning because YOU invited them? And how often do we share with a friend or family member what Jesus has done in our lives, and how Jesus can make an eternal difference in their life? And, when new people visit our church, do you and I make it a point to greet and visit with them? Do you care for our first-time guests in such a way that they want to make Tomoka their church family?

Most of us believe that the church should minister to our community. But how are you ministering in this community? Do you believe in “serving others” enough to sign up for one of the many mercy ministries our congregation is involved with – Do you volunteer to make a tangible difference in the lives of others?

All of us see the injustices that negatively impact those in our community who lack the resources and power to stand up for themselves to plead their cause. Have you ever said, “someone should do something about that!” But do you attend the FAITH ‘House Meetings’ we hold here at Tomoka? Have you become a Justice Ministry Network member? Do you make the Nehemiah Action Assembly a priority on your calendar and attend?

And we all want a church to BE HERE for us when we need the care of a pastor, or want to have a child baptized, or have a family wedding or funeral. But are you willing to support your church financially by tithing so that it is healthy and strong, and able to meet your needs and the needs of your family in the future?

Yes – we all want to be on a “winning team.” But too many of us refuse to “take the field.” Every congregation, including this one, needs more “team players” in our churches.

Some time back, I came across a little poem in a church newsletter. It’s not great poetry, but it sure makes its point well:

Are you an active member, the kind that would be missed?

Or are you just content that your name is on the list?

Do you attend the meetings and mingle with the flock?

Or do you stay at home and criticize and mock?

Do you take an active part to help the work along?

Or are you satisfied to be the kind that just belongs?

Do you ever voluntarily help at the guiding stick?

Or leave the work to just a few and talk about the click?

Come out to the meetings often and help with hand and heart.

Don't just be a member - take an active part.

Think this over, member, you know right from wrong.

Are you an active member, or do you just belong?

You know – since I returned to be your pastor in 2021, we have received a total of 88 new members (18 so far in 2024, alone). That means that, over and over again, we have all been reminded of the vows that each of us have taken when we joined the United Methodist Church. All 88 new members pledged, as each of us did when we joined, that they will “uphold the church with their prayers, their presence, their gifts, their service, and their witness.” In other words, they agreed that they would each be a team player, the kind of player that can help us win the championship. And I feel confident that that is the kind of member each one of them truly desires to become.

Just like those Jews rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem so long ago, our newest members have “committed themselves to the common good.” For the rest of us, however, that nagging question of The Little Red Hen just won't go away, because it's God's question, too.

When the prophet Isaiah received his call from God, he heard God ask that same challenging question: God asked, “Who will… go?” And how did Isaiah reply? “Not I”? No. That's not what he said! Isaiah was a team player. He said, “Here am I… send me.”

And so, that Little Red Hen just keeps asking that challenging question: “Who will…?” What will YOUR answer be? © 2024 by John B. Gill, III