God, author of all peace, creator of all things, lead us this
day and every day in the paths of righteousness. May we be open and receptive as we seek to
learn more of you. Amen
How many of
you, when you were growing up, had topics that you were not allowed to talk
about at the dinner table, or worse yet, anytime your family had company? What were some of those aspects of life that
were not deemed acceptable for casual, non-private conversation? Ok, so sex is the obvious one. Religious beliefs, maybe. Family skeletons and ne’er-do-wells,
probably. Politics, perhaps. What about money? As a child, did you know how your parents
felt about money? Did you know whether
or not your family had plenty, or was just barely skating by? I think that money is a topic that is pretty
taboo most places. And, you may well be
sitting in the place where it is the most taboo. We, preachers and congregants alike, just
don’t want to talk about it. I am no
different—I dread the sermon on money every year—I usually don’t want to preach
about it and you, more than likely, would rather not hear about it.
But, let me
say this up front—money and stewardship are part of the picture. If we refuse to bring it out in the open, we
deprive ourselves of the opportunity to grow and change. The church itself, and I mean the church
universal, has given money and stewardship a bad rap. We are quick to point to the selling of
indulgences in the history of Roman Catholicism and the shistering of itinerant
ministers in the past and Tele—Evangelists in the present. Those, my friends, are excuses, not reasons,
for whispering about money matters if they are talked about at all. Jesus talks a lot about money; and, not just
money, but how we let it rule our lives or not.
In our
scripture today, a wealthy man runs up to Jesus. We see him standing there, his top notch,
designer robes swishing in the dust. He
is polite, the scripture says he treated Jesus with reverence. He asks about eternal life—perhaps, we would
call it abundant life. Jesus recites the
law to him and the man says he has done all those things since a child. We are then told that Jesus looked deep into
his eyes and he loved him. That love
generated the final stipulation. Jesus
told this wealthy young man to go sell everything he had and follow in God’s
way. This was too much for the man; and,
we are told that he turned with a heavy heart and walked away. He could not find it in himself to give up
his wealth. Jesus and the disciples
continue to talk and this is the conversation where Jesus give us the famous
line about the camel and an eye of the needle.
To enrich the metaphor even more, the “eye of the needle” was an actual
opening in the wall that surrounded Jerusalem.
Camels could not go through it.
To utilize that gate you could only be on foot with very little to carry
because the way was so narrow. Few tried
it and this is exactly what Jesus meant.
Notice that the scripture says that
Jesus looked into his eyes and loved him.
Jesus loved him before telling him to walk away from his wealth. This seemingly small detail is important
because it allows us to understand that when God’s Spirit calls us to spiritual
practice, it is from a place of complete and all-embracing love. I know that Jesus was saddened by the man’s
decision, not surprised, but saddened.
Finally, in
Mark’s Gospel passage, we hear Jesus promise his followers that they will be
repaid double, even triple, by God in the gifts we receive from God, including
eternal or abundant life. The disciples
were relieved even as the man attached to his wealth walks farther and farther
away from Jesus. This is not just a
story; it may well be the story of our times.
One of the most powerful things a church can do in an era of shifting
priorities and confusion at the very root of our financial security is to begin
to break the taboo against speaking about money. I am convinced that we must—even in the midst
of encountering our own personal conflicting thoughts around the place of money
in faith and spirituality—we must begin to talk about it. MCC churches, such as ours, make a commitment
to be transparent with all congregants in all things. I think we do a pretty good job of being
transparent with transactions, the business of the church, and the governance
of the church. I do not think we do a
particularly good job of mutual transparence around emotions, thoughts, or
conflicts around money; or, more precisely, the responsibility of this
congregation to support the ministries and services of a church that feeds them
in many ways.
Secrets do
not heal. Honest, truthful,
compassionate sharing of facts and feelings heals. Our need not to know about the financial
circumstances of the church is strong—as if by not knowing we absolve our own
taboo-keeping about the sanctity of stewardship and the giving of gifts. By bringing the whole messy topic to light,
we destroy the ability of the spirit of conflict to take hold around this subject. I know that many, if not most, of you have
said at one time or another, “I wish they (the pastor, Board, Treasurer) would
quit talking about money.” I think what
we really mean to say is, “I wish they(everyone in the church) would find
another way to talk about money—a way that takes into account my own personal
financial situation and my desire to grow spiritually at the same time.”
Jesus, in
his statement to the disciples about wealth and the kingdom of God, tells us
something very important about the hold that money or wealth has on many of
us. He tells the disciples that there is
no way that a person can get into right relationship with money by themselves;
however, if we allow God to change us as we grow spirituality that relationship
will automatically change. Ah,
relationship, here we are again talking about relationship and balance and
allowing our hearts and lives to be changed as we come more and more into the
presence of God and seek to grow. So, how, then is the talking about money
spiritually edifying?
Money and wealth and things, or at
least the accumulation of things, are spiritual issues. Martin Luther, of Reformation fame, said, “What people of faith do with their money is
indicative of what they believe about God.” I might be
tempted to modify his statement for a little additional clarity—something like,
“the amount of focused energy centered on money by a believer is a strong
indicator of his or her relationship with God.”
Now biblical economics varies greatly from the prevailing economic
theory of the day. Biblical economics
focuses not on who does and doesn’t “get” wealth; biblical economics is an
economics of abundance which focuses on figuring out how to spread the wealth
of God’s abundance to all of creation. Most of the time, I will admit, it seems
like the economists are right—the “haves” get more of what they already have;
and, the “have nots” continue to struggle along. But churches and denominations like UFMCC
have made a commitment to work towards all kinds of justice including economic
justice.
I ask you to notice at least one
thing about this sermon. At no point did
I ask you for money. Surprised? Here’s why—I believe that as we mature as a
spiritual family and become able to talk about money and funding in healthy and
whole ways, that we will see God’s abundance at work among us. I believe that honest conversation leads to
heartfelt contemplation and prayer which leads to change. And change is to be
celebrated.
Perhaps our first celebration should
be to change the way we present our offerings to the church. Listen to a story from a missionary to the
Congo describe the way the offering went there.
First, a deacon got up and stood at the front of the church (really a
hut). The minister began calling the
congregation forward to give their offerings.
There was singing and dancing up the aisle as the dreadfully poor people
came forward to offer their gifts. The
missionary reports that she was stunned by the exuberance and excitement of the
congregation. After the offering was
finished, the minister announced that one of their sister churches had burned
to the ground—and the festivities began again as they joyfully dug a little
deeper for a second offering. Bare feet
and all, they danced and clapped their way to helping their brothers and
sisters in need.
They were
trusting—trusting the God of abundance to provide abundance to them and to
others. Abundance is not always what the
world expects and it may not look like abundance in the eyes of the world. Abundance is a way of being—a way of living
in a constant state of grace. Now, I’m
not suggesting that this comes easily.
It requires practice—spiritual practice.
I believe that we are ready to begin practicing the joy of giving and
tuning in to the peace that happens when we trust. As we begin to focus on God’s abundance, we
can feel it—hope, coming into our lives in ways we could never imagine—hope
that springs from the abundance of creation itself. We can be a part of spreading that hope
throughout the world.
That same
missionary tells another story—this time in Kenya. She tells of a woman who came forward to give
her offering. The basket was on the
altar table at the front of the room.
She walks up to the plate, stares at it for a moment and then picks it
up and puts it on the floor. You can
almost imagine the “uh oh—she’s gone and done it nows” whispered throughout the
little church. With no warning, she
steps into the basket, putting her whole self in the offering plate that
day. Friends, let us move forward in
abundance and hope, knowing that the very same God who permeates the Universe
has more than enough abundance to make it so.
Amen and amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment