Giving As a Way of Bearing Witness 10-28-12

The Reading— 2 Corinthians 9:8-11 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it, Yahweh throws caution to the winds, giving to the needy in reckless abandon. God’s right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. [You are given] something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. The Middle Reading—Anna Burke Yes, I am a King! But my kingdom is not in the boundary of time. It is a new way of branching out, and a new way of rooting down. It is a new way of looking at things. It can be here or there or anywhere you want it to be because it is a way of living and loving, of giving and receiving. Yes, I am a King! And I change your understanding of life. I want you to see that in every moment there is more, in every loss there is gain, in every gain there is loss, and beyond the way of the cross there is clearer vision. Yes, I am a King! I will do whatever it takes to draw you to the place of freedom. Where the bonds of affection will be strong as life and where human hearts will find their home. The Gospel Reading: Luke 12: 22-34 He continued this subject with his disciples. “Don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or if the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your inner life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the ravens, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, carefree in the care of God. And you count far more. “Has anyone by fussing before the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? If fussing can’t even do that, why fuss at all? Walk into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They don’t fuss with their appearance—but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them. If God gives such attention to the wildflowers, most of them never even seen, don’t you think [you will be attended to], take pride in you, do [the] best for you? “What I’m trying to do here is get you to relax, not be so preoccupied with getting so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way God works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how God works. Steep yourself in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Don’t be afraid of missing out. You’re my dearest friends! [God] wants to give you the very kingdom itself. “Be generous. Give to the poor. Get yourselves a bank that can’t go bankrupt, a bank in heaven far from bankrobbers, safe from embezzlers, a bank you can bank on. It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Giving As a Way of Bearing Witness 10-28-12 Holy and Creative God of all being and life, we come into your presence knowing that you have much to teach us today. Mold us into all that you have created us to be. May the words of my mouth reflect your truth and may our thoughts bring you glory and pleasure. Amen We begin our sermon today with Jesus teaching. I start with this because I do not want to lose sight of the importance of teaching—teaching as a practice and teaching as a way of life and teaching as a way of giving back to God. Teaching, itself, is “bearing witness” to God in our innermost being. At heart, I am a teacher. I come from a heritage of teachers. My grandparents were both teachers in one-room school houses when all you had to have to teach was your own high school diploma and a love to teach. Although my grandmother went on to raise children and my grandfather became a rural letter carrier their teaching roles continued. My grandmother’s wisdom was first learned by her own children and then gobbled up by a series of grandchildren, myself among them, who loved to hear what she had to say as long as it didn’t involve some personal wrong-doing that day. My grandfather was a “mailman” back in the day, where he carried far more than just letters and packages to the hearts of the people who loved his daily visits and would stand waiting at the end of their driveways at his expected time, just to hear his daily word of wisdom and care which he dispensed freely as he passed out letters along those winding, gravel roads. My mother, as you know, was first a teacher of Latin and Spanish, and then, went on to become a Librarian, where she opened the world of reading not just to me but to hundreds of children. When she died, my Facebook page and mailbox was filled with tributes to her, not just as a person, but as someone who taught them the joy of reading. Teaching is a gift, listed among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and something we learn to treasure when the teaching is insightful and impactful on our busy lives. So, Jesus is teaching. And, we, if we are truly listening, if we are truly present, we are learning. First, he talks to us about our natural urge to complain about what we have before us. He tells us to pay more attention to our inner lives than to our outer ones. The exact nature of what is before us on the table, or what hangs in our closet, is not nearly as important as what goes into our inner lives—our hearts and our minds. He says, “take a look at the birds”. Do they worry? No, and, if God will take care of birds, then God will take care of us. Jesus teaches by example—this is not one that I’m particularly fond of—think about it, if I or any other of my height-challenged brother or sisters stand in front of a mirror and stretch and pose, and stretch and pose, can we really hope to add even a single inch to our stature? Of course not, God created us the way we are and, ultimately, all the fussing in the world doesn’t change that. Then he calls us to a precious truth. Look at the wildflowers. Do you see them trying to change who they are—no, they simply give to us—viewers of God’s creation—an amazingly beautiful array of color and design. I once was driving in Texas where I lived for a brief while. I almost passed a field of wild poppies growing by the road. For once, I listened to my inner desire and pulled the car off the road. I went running into those poppies absolutely overwhelmed by the sheer beauty of each flower, each color, each pattern laid out in that field by our Creator God. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen and 30 years later I can find myself still amazed at the sheer beauty that was before me. Jesus’ lesson here is obvious—he says that most wildflowers are never even seen and yet God still creates then in glory and splendor—and yet we worry over just the way our clothes hang or emphasize what we believe are our good points. Envision yourself in the most beautiful field of flowers you have ever seen…..is there any way we can dress to outshine that beauty? And, then, the finale—Jesus calls us to stop focusing on “getting” what we want. Jesus wants us to know that that very focus stops us from really receiving and seeing what God is “giving” to us each and every day that we live. Think about your field of wildflowers—make it a place you can go when you want to experience God’s grace in your heart and mind. Let yourself relax, as Jesus says, knowing that God will provide for you just as for the fields, and mountains, and seas. Let God remove any fear or worry that you might miss out on something that you need. Jesus tells us that God wants to give us everything—the “very kingdom itself”. Finally, Jesus hits us where we live—calling us to invest in the reign of justice, in God’s work. “It’s obvious, isn’t it”, Jesus asks us. The place we put our focus, those things upon which we put our thoughts, that is the place we will not only most want to be, but it will be the place we end up being. Now the hard part about that teaching is truly understanding where our hearts are. We want to focus them on God, but other things get in the way. We want to “be generous” as Jesus calls us to be, and other priorities call out to us, often much louder than the “still, small voice of God” who waits for us to be willing and wanting to hear. I don’t know about you, but if my phone rings one more time with a political call I going to scream. I know who I am voting for, have never been in the “undecided” column that both parties seek, and yet, still, the calls keep coming. You see, the world, whether it is politics or someone wanting to evaluate your home for the new windows they are selling, never stops—never stops calling out to us to place our focus someplace else. We have to make a decision to listen. We have to make a decision to be willing to be taught God’s holy and gracious Truth. Think about the teacher of all teachers, Socrates. I like Socrates—mostly, I like that he taught by encouraging his students to ask questions. During his trial for heresy, he is reported to have said: “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I agree with Socrates, I agree with his method of allowing someone to ask us questions while we learn. His insight about the shadows in our lives was brilliant—even though not very popular then or now. You remember, his metaphor was about living in a cave. As long as you stayed in the cave of self-absorption and self-centeredness, you did not know what it was that was casting the shadows on the walls, only that there were shadows. Once you chose to leave the cave, you could see reality—the real things that caused the shadows. Jesus calls us to look beyond what throws the shadows on the walls of our cave-like lives and enter the bright sunshine of God’s love to determine where our focus and purpose lie. And we are called to examine our lives, to turn to trusted others and allow them to ask us questions and encourage us to answer honestly and openly. Here is a simple question that I cannot take credit for, but which I will share: If two people set out to arrive at a destination, which one is likely to arrive—the one with a map, or the one without? This is a no-brainer—she who has a map will arrive first. When you faithfully and truthfully examine your life, you get to choose your destination—you get to set your own goals. Better yet, you get to lay out the path and how many “proverbial” miles you will walk each day, or year. You establish your own map and you have the opportunity to decide when and whether you are on track or have taken a detour. In other words, when you set as your goal, following Christ and becoming all that you are created by God to be, you have a way to actually get there. When you engage in this questioning through spiritual formation, this examination of life brings great freedom. However, it is not always so easy to get started. Paul calls us to remember that God’s right-living, right-giving ways never run out. If this God, who creates the seeds that the farmer plants that later become bread for your journey, think of all God gives to you—that which will grow and be given away by you in your own generosity. We rarely understand the greatness of God’s generosity to us, or all that our Creator wants to pour into our lives. That’s why C.S. Lewis said, “Our problem is not that we want too much, it’s that we’re satisfied with too little.” This year, let’s not be satisfied with “little”. Let’s walk boldly into God’s presence and say, we are ready to learn all that you have to teach us. We are ready to be your people and to be your church. And all God’s people said, “amen and amen”.