Luke 12:22-34
The
text I have chosen for today is not a lexionary text, but it does lead
itself to our topic, which is the giving of our money to the work of
God through the Church. That scripture which Kelvin read so well this
morning is preceded by an account of Jesus, as he speaks to a large
crowd. One from the crowd asks Jesus if he will convince this person’s
brother to share the inheritance with him. Jesus answers him sharply;
who made me a judge over you? Then he chides him saying, beware of
covetousness. Following
that, Jesus turns to the crowd and tells a story. There was a farmer in
Pemberton who grew potatoes and carrots. Because the summer had been
dry and warm, he had a larger crop than usual; so large, in fact, that
after he had filled his orders, he still had a great amount left. Ah,
he said, I know what I will do, I will tear down my storage sheds and I
will build newer and larger ones, and I will store the products. In
that way, I will be able to sell the remainder when the season is over
and prices are higher. I will then sit back and say "I have plenty for
the future, so I will eat drink and be merry." But, Jesus added, this smug self-contented
farmer heard God speak to him and say "Fool! Tonight you are going to
die, and then whose will all that is stored be?" Next, Jesus turned to his disciples,
who apparently were concerned about how they were going to eat and
live. He says to them "Don’t be concerned about what you will eat or
what you will wear; God will take care of you, just as he does the
birds and the lilies. Don’t be anxious" he continues, "instead, seek
God’s kingdom first, and all these other things will be yours as well."
Now I don’t know about you, but I find
that is a very difficult text. Try as I may, there are times when I
feel anxious. I am anxious whether we have enough upon which to retire.
I am anxious that at times I seem to be losing the battle of focussing
on needs instead of wants.
It seems to me that what Jesus is
saying to his disciples is there is a great fallacy in thinking that if
you have things in your possession, you will have security. The truth,
says Jesus, is that we need to be possessed by God. If we seek security
through possessions, we will find out that our possessions possess us,
and we are caught in a maelstrom of never being satisfied. This highlights a great problem that
we have in our society. From the moment a child begins to watch
cartoons, he or she is bombarded with an endless display of
commercials. The ads tell each of us the same message. If you buy this
product, you will be happy or healthy or feel better about yourself.
All you have to do to be happy is slim down or build up; drive this car
or own that home; wear that dress or jewelry, and of course, don’t be
overweight or flat or bald or have rough skin. No wonder we have a
society longing for self-approval.
Unfortunately, we live in an economic
society that thrives on greed, and it is a very difficult perception to
overcome. That’s why Jesus says to his disciples "Seek first God’s
Kingdom and all these other things will be yours as well." By
other things, he means, happiness, contentedness, security. You may not
have as many “things,” but you will have peace and a sense of
well-being, because you have linked your life with the source of your
being and found the commodity that the profit motive cannot provide. Listen to this poem by Frederick
Zydek. Does this speak to you?
Sometimes I forget to consider the lilies of the field
which neither toil nor labour for their keep.
Part of me is always searching for stuff instead of seeking ways
to improve the merchandise of gratitude and prayer.
Some mornings, rather than fall to my knees to give praise
I scan the want ads for stuff
Cheap stuff. Stuff for nothing.
Stuff enough to crowd out the emptiness I know it brings.
Why can’t I read a book unless I know I own it?
It’s the same with art, furniture and the sounds of electric pianos
I have urges that want to walk the corridors of divine mysteries
But spend my time gathering glitter.
Once I had a dream.
I stepped before the throne of God.
He asked only one question:
“Did you become who you were supposed to become?”
“I’m not sure,” I told him.
“But when I died, I had so much stuff,
it took three days to find me.”
So much stuff- not only material
things, but attitudes, prejudices, preconceived ideas, and assumptions.
Do we see the hope and security of the Christian message amidst the
stuff? Jesus is saying to
his disciples, those who had few possessions, don’t worry, don’t be
anxious or afraid. Can worrying add a single hour to your span of life? Walter Brueggemann, a powerful
contemporary theologian, says “we are living in tension- a tension
between two value systems. The first is money as security-where more is
better. The second is God’s generosity of abundance, where giving
expresses joy.” How are
you handling that tension? How are we as a congregation handling that
tension? Are we living in fear of not having enough money or stuff, or
are we acknowledging God’s generosity and abundance? Acknowledging
God’s generosity may not bring us any less suffering. It will not ease
our arthritis, our sore knees, our aching backs. It will not correct
the stupid mistakes our children make, or the hurtful things that some
say to us, but it will bring us peace and joy.
Remember when Jesus was confronted by
a scribe and asked, “Which commandment is the first of all” (that is to
say, which commandment is the most important). Jesus answered, “The
first is, hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind
and with all your strength. The second is this, You shall love your
neighbour as yourself. There are no other commandments greater
than these.” The scribe
was dumbfounded. He had tried to trap Jesus, but Jesus answered with
the Jewish Shema (from Deut. 6). Hear, O Israel, the lord
your God, the Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all
your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” The scribe
responded "You have answered correctly that God is one and to love
one’s neighbour as one’s self is greater than all the sacrifices and
burnt offerings." Jesus said to that scribe “you are not far from the
Kingdom of God.”
That’s our goal, the kingdom of God.
It’s seeking increasingly to embrace God’s abundance and generosity,
where giving is the source of joy. It’s a goal, but the world isn’t
doing very well in this area, in fact almost all Church participants
could do better. I
believe one of the reasons why this is so is that a basic problem in
our world is that many, if not most of us, lack a sense of hope. When a
person lacks hope, that person tries to fill the void with either
stuff, or out of insecurity, insists that others believe the same
things as he or she does. Even
countries try to protect a way of life that benefits the
decision-makers. They wage war to promote their concept, and try to
make others think likewise. It’s a terrible trap we have fallen into.
Seeking more and more is insatiable. Rather than finding peace,
we dredge up hostility, and that creates doubt and dislike, while it
solidifies others way of thinking and believing. We see it every day in
Iraq and in the Palestinian crisis
The pattern is there- “seek ye first
the Kingdom of God,” but powerful leaders don’t do it; and so we see
thousands killed as oil is pursued, or power is sought, or food is
controlled. The question for each of us to answer is, do we believe it
or not? The evidence will be where we give our loyalties, because where
our treasure is, there is where our heart will be. For those poor folks
plagued by addictions, that’s where their money goes-that
unfortunately, is where their heart is. But there is good news: because we
are people of faith, there is hope. God does not require that we meet a
certain standard to be his people. We are his, and as that realization
grows, so will our response. Great things are accomplished by ordinary
people who have a vision, and even though it is imperfect, it is where
their heart is and their treasure follows. Once you accept this method of
living, you don’t have to wait until the Church is perfect in order to
give to its ministry. It isn’t perfect, and friends, it never will be.
William Willimon speaks of that reality in his great book, The Gospel
for the Person Who Has Everything. He writes:
“When I was serving
my first student pastorate in Georgia, I remember complaining to a
seminary professor about how disappointed I had been
over the poor quality of my Church members. They had shocked me with
their marital problems, their lack of commitment and
their general backwardness. Frankly, I thought that I
deserved better. After listening
to my long complaint, the professor replied, “But the shocking thing is
that Jesus said that people like
them would be entering the Kingdom first. What do you do with that?”
I look at the
Church today and I am scandalized by our unfaithfulness, our lethargy,
our timidity. I see
betrayal, ignorance, fear,
self-centredness, complacency and pride within our ranks. In short, I
see modern disciples who
distinctly resemble the scandalousness of those first twelve disciples.
The Gospel writers go to great
lengths to demonstrate that these first disciples were anything but
saints. And yet, it was to these people that Jesus
gave the keys to the Kingdom.” (Page 85)
That’s how the Kingdom begins. It
begins right here, in this room, with each of us who is present and
willing to accept God’s love, and is equally willing to respond to God
as we are able. We don’t wait until conditions are right- they won’t
be. We don’t wait until all agree- they won’t. We don’t wait until our
circumstances improve- they might not. We start here, where we are,
with people we know, warts and all, and we examine our lives and seek
the Kingdom of God so that other qualities will be ours as well.
Let’s be specific. In our society, we
give money to represent ourselves more than any one other thing. As
Christians we give to God, not to support a budget, but in gratitude;
in response to what we have received.
Practically speaking, we know that
what we gave 10 years ago is not good enough for today. Financing this
Church as part of God’s kingdom has become more expensive, just like
your home, your clothes and your food.
Chris and I have found that the
guideline suggested by our United Church of Canada is a workable and
helpful guide to our giving: 0.1% of yearly income per week. If
your yearly income is $25,000, for example, then a good goal to strive
for would be $25.00 per week.
If you give to the work of God through this Church the sum of $25.00
per week, you would have $23,700 for your living needs and wants
and other benevolent giving.
If your family income is $50,000 per
year, 0.1% a week goal would be $50.00; you see how it works. It’s a
goal I urge you to consider. Most of us know we can do better. As you consider, what you will do
for the work of this Church for 2005, remember the text "Where your
treasure is, there will your heart be also."
Where is your heart?