“Reciprocity”

or, “If you Scratch My Back, I’ll Scratch Yours…”

August 29, 2010

Jeremiah 2:4-13 Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16 Luke 14:1, 7-14

In places like Kuwait, Iraq and Saudi Arabia contractors pay for low income laborers to travel from poor
countries like Pakistan and Indonesia to come to these relatively prosperous and industrialized nations to find
work. Since they are obviously poor, passage is paid by agreeing, or contracting, to work for a period of years
in exchange for what their benefactors have spent on their behalf. Their work, as you might suspect, is often no
more than legalized slavery. In our part of the world we refer to this as indentured servitude and most of the
world abolished this practice by the early 1900’s. Sadly, even though illegal, this practice still persists in the
fields of migrant workers in the American west and in the textile sweat shops in large eastern cities.

In ancient times, particularly during much of the Roman Empire, there existed not only a system of legalized
slavery but throughout the culture there also was a system that we know as ‘patronage.’ Under the system of
patronage, wealthy and powerful persons, known as patrons, would agree to do certain favors for poorer, less
well-connected persons, who were known as clients, in exchange for their service and other favors. Each
morning, a client was expected to present himself at the home of his patron and he would also be expected to
support his patron on when he presented legislation in the senate or to accompany him when he was making a
public appearance, or essentially, to be available to the patron, whenever the patron required it. In exchange,
the client was invited to parties where he could make important business contacts; he might be given money,
introduced to influential persons that were friends of the patron or other benefits that only the patron could
arrange for him. It was, simply, a cultural system of what we now refer to as “If you scratch my back, I’ll
scratch yours.” The difference was that the patron/client system was far more than what we know as the “Old
Boys Network” and was absolutely not a system where clients and patrons were anywhere close to being equals.
A patron had all the power and all the influence and used his clients to increase the amount of power and
possessions that he already had and to make himself look good to his peers, to his community and to his patron
so that he too might be able to move up in status and social class. The only person in this system that didn’t
have a patron was the Emperor himself.

If we’re not careful, this is the view that we can get of the church and of our relationship with God. We work
for God and if we work hard enough, then God will do good stuff for us. If we come to church and volunteer,
then maybe we’ll be noticed by the wealthier and influential people of the church and maybe they’ll introduce
me to people who can give me a job or who can introduce me to people who can help me to be more successful,
blah, blah, blah. I know some of you are shaking your heads, but this is often a misconception of people outside
the church and it is not especially uncommon even inside the church. We have to be careful, because if we only
read passages like Jeremiah 2:4-13, we might get the impression that God trades in favors…
4
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
all you clans of the house of Israel.
5
This is what the LORD says:
"What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.

1
6
They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
a land of drought and darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
7
I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
8
The priests did not ask,
'Where is the LORD ?'
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
9
"Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children's children.
10
Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look,
send to Kedar and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11
Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their Glory
for worthless idols.
12
Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,"
declares the LORD.
13
"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

It wouldn’t be hard to read this and think that God was demanding that the Israelites remember that since he
paid for their passage out of slavery in Egypt, then they owe him a debt that must be paid in devotion and
obedience. In the end, God condemns his people, not for disobedience but for committing two sins, the failure
to honor God and the sin of arrogance and pride. Israel, like much of our modern world, determined to make
their own way and to be their own God. The creator of the universe sees this as building a water tank that
doesn’t hold water. Essentially, God declares that his people have committed a crime of stupidity.

2
The people of Jesus’ time and all of the New Testament understood the Roman system of patronage very well.
It was something that they saw and lived with every day of their lives. And so, in the writings of the New
Testament we can find messages that are written with that understanding and anticipate that understanding in
others. Jesus and several New Testament writers anticipate that people will approach anyone more powerful
than they, whether it is God or a more powerful church leader, with an understanding that they will be
exchanging favors in a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” kind of deal. In the letter to the Hebrews
(Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16) we hear these words…
1
Keep on loving each other as brothers. 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have
entertained angels without knowing it. 3Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and
those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.
4
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all
the sexually immoral. 5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because
God has said,
"Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you."6So we say with confidence,
"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?"
7
Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and
imitate their faith. 8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
15
Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his
name. 16And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. 17Obey
your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey
them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.

Instead of looking at others for what they can do for you, we are told to look at one another as if we were
brothers. Entertaining strangers is not something that fits with the idea of reciprocity and exchanging favors. A
stranger is not likely to ever be in the position to return the favor, but we are called upon to help them anyway.
A person in prison is obviously unable to return any favors given to them and yet again we are called to help
them. In marriage, we are commanded to look out for “the other guy” or the “the other woman.” Dishonoring
marriage not only damages your spouse, but also damages any other participants who are involved as well as
many of the witnesses. Instead, God call upon his people to remember that he is always with us and he is
always helping us. We are even called upon to respect our leaders, not because they can do something for us
but “so that their work will be a joy, not a burden.” We are called to respect and obey out leaders out of a
genuine concern for their welfare. Instead of doing things for God in some kind of exchange program, we are
called to offer sacrifices to God continually. We are to offer sacrifices of praise and to do good, and do good
for others, so that our lives will honor God. God doesn’t ask us to fill our lives by volunteering for a thousand
meaningless activities (even in the church) and he doesn’t demand that we give all of our money to charity.
What God desires is for us to honor him by doing the things that he commanded us to do. Still, this just might
sound a little too much like trading favors, but if you’re concerned, then listen to the voice of Jesus in Luke
14:1, 7-14…
1
One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched.
7
When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: 8"When
someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than

3
you may have been invited. 9If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, 'Give this man
your seat.' Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. 10But when you are invited, take the
lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you
will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests. 11For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled,
and he who humbles himself will be exalted."
12
Then Jesus said to his host, "When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or
relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13But when you
give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14and you will be blessed. Although they
cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

Jesus tells us that the focus of our lives is not to advance ourselves and it is not to show everyone how good we
are. Instead, he tells us to be humble, to take the path of less posturing and less power and less position and
allow God to lift us up to where he would have us to be. Jesus said that instead of having a dinner party to
impress your boss and wealthy, important people that can advance your social standing and fast-track your
career, use your money and your time to help the people that can’t help themselves. Jesus promises that there
will be a payback; there will be a reward for doing good, but chances are that we will never see that reward in
this lifetime. Jesus tells us that we will be rewarded after the resurrection at the end of time.

In the ancient world they understood how the system of patrons and clients worked and today, even though we
do our best to prevent slavery and indentured servitude, we still understand exactly what is meant by “If you
scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” What we see in scripture is something different and the difference is where
we find our motivation. In a system of patronage, people act out of pure self-interest. They act with the
expectation of return. They do what they do in exchange for something being done for them in return. God
says that we should do what we do out of gratitude for what has already been done for us and in expectation of
the gifts we will receive after we are dead. We obey God’s commands not because of what he can do for us but
because of our love for him. We do good for others and we share with others because of our love for them and
because of our love for God. We obey our leaders because of our genuine concern for their well-being.

This is radical stuff. The whole system is different. Followers of Jesus were called to abandon the system of
patronage that ran their world and today we are called to abandon our system of favoritism and back scratching
for something different.

We are called not to me motivated by selfish ambition or greed but instead to be driven and motivated by love.

This week, I hope that you will go out and do something for someone who can’t pay you back. Mow your
elderly neighbor’s lawn in secret. Buy milk for someone who is on food stamps. I’ll leave it to you to figure
out what to do, but go out and be a blessing to someone who can’t bless you back.

If they ask why, just tell them that you are passing along a gift that was given to you.

4

You have been reading a message presented at Barnesville First United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of
the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor of Barnesville First. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media
ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of
the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Barnesville First UMC at 123 W. Church St., Barnesville,
OH 43713. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these
messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at
subscribe@barnesvillefirst.com. If you have questions, you can ask them in our discussion forum on Facebook (search for
Pastor John Online). These messages can also be found online at http://www.scribd.com/Pastor John Partridge and audio
podcasts at http://www.sermoncloud.com/ (type the church name in the search box). All Scripture references are from the
New International Version unless otherwise noted.