Sunday Homily - September 16th, 2018 - Ownership or Stewardship?
The Anastasis
(The Icon of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ)
(NOTE FOR READERS: For readers of this sermon not present, I usually preach from the pulpit. However, for the content of this particular sermon, I will be down in the midst of the congregation, a reason which will become clear in the content of this sermon)
Intro
Because we are going to talk
about a potentially uncomfortable subject :
Money.
As many of you know, it is our annual stewardship drive
here at Trinity Episcopal Parish.
And my prayer to Jesus is that you know that I don’t bring this up
as a coercive preacher, browbeating you into compliance.
But neither do I think that telling you money doesn’t matter for ministry
is a good stewardship practice either.
Rather, this morning, I want you to hear me simply as someone
who tries his best to live in the way that God is calling
and who firmly believes in the power of money
to accomplish ministry
if that money is offered back to God.
This morning, I hope to speak to you not only as your pastor,
but also as a Baptized member of Christ’s Church,
who struggles with how to properly deal with money,
just as (I hope) other people in this room
might struggle with as well.
So, here we go.
I.
Tithing was something I was raised to do.
My Baptist parents and my small country church
of which I was a member of for all 18 years
of my growing up life
constantly talked about the tithe.
The tithe,
a word which literally means “one tenth”
was the thing which meant I would give 10%
of my weekly allowance
to God, placed with prayer
in the offering plate.
I remember when I was young, my mom and dad
would actually have me put my own tithe envelope together.
I would put in my tithe of loose change, maybe a quarter and a dime,
10% of my weekly allowance,
and I put it in the offering plate
as my offering to God for that week.
But, there was one week,
that there was a particularly fancy remote controlled trackhoe
that was ON SALE at Walmart for around $20
and I only needed a few more dollars to buy it.
And you know where this is going.
I took that money out of my envelope and, magically,
I was all of a sudden able to buy that trackhoe,
a fact that I happily announced to my mom.
Now, Mom is a Certified Public Accountant for the State of Arkansas.
And if there was one person in the world
that you don’t want to alert
that there is unexpected money in my account
(which she managed for 18 years of my life)
it was her.
And she knew IMMEDIATELY where that “sudden windfall”
had come from.
Busted!
I got in a lot of trouble.
And the only defense I had for my 5 year old self
was this:
“Well, its my allowance! Can’t I do
what I want with it?”
That was my defense.
And my defense sounded quite appropriate for a 5 year old:
“It’s MINE!”
And yet, even though I’m not 5 anymore,
that defense - “It’s MINE!”
still resurfaces in so many places in my own life.
It's MY time, I can do what I want with it.
It’s my stuff, and you can’t have it.
Or, to quote directly from those really terrifying
J.G. Wentworth commercials:
“It’s MY money, and I need it NOW!”
And apparently I’m not the only one who struggles with the reason
why we give our tithe in the first place.
To give you some context,
I want to ask you a fascinating trivia question.
Here it is: “What is the national AVERAGE percent giving per person
in mainline Christian denominations
in the United States?”
Just think about it for a moment. (pause)
Is it 10%? Nope.
Is it 7.5%? No, but getting warmer.
Ah, then it must be somewhere around 4%-5%, right?
Wrong again.
2%.
2% is the average percent giving per person
in mainline Christian denominations in the United States.
(http://www.ecfvp.org/vestry-papers/article/520/the-2-campaign)
It took me a long time to understand what my parents were trying
to teach me about tithing.
And apparently I’m not the only one who struggles.
There are various reasons why that number is lower than 10%, I’m sure.
I’m sure there are reasonable answers to why everyone doesn’t
give their first fruits as a tithe.
But one major reason I think stands in the way
is that in our consumerist and materialistic world,
we have forgotten who all of our stuff,
our giftedness,
our very lives belong to.
Do we own our stuff?
Or are we own of the things we are given?
Are we owners
or are we stewards?
II.
the thesis question of the entire Gospel of Mark,
the ultimate question, “Who do you say that I AM?”
is all about ownership versus stewardship.
Jesus asks the disciples, “Who do you say that I AM?”
And who pipes up to answer
but the great Saint Peter in the great confession,
“You are the Christ, the Son of God.”
And in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus responds to Peter,
“Blessed are you...for flesh and blood
have not revealed this to you
but my Father in Heaven.” (Matthew 16:17)
It wasn’t Peter who by his own OWNERSHIP declared Jesus as Christ,
but it was a gift,
a blessing from Our Father who Art in Heaven.
Peter was and is a steward of that Truth of Jesus as Christ,
exactly because Peter was not owner of that Truth.
But just because Peter can be a good steward one moment,
doesn’t mean that Peter can’t put his foot in his mouth
the very next moment.
When Jesus then reveals that He must suffer and die
and rise again on the third day,
Peter takes him aside and scolds Jesus.
And what does Jesus say?
“Jesus says, ‘Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind
on heavenly things, but on earthly things.’”
Jesus basically says,
“Peter, you are not my owner,
nor are you God’s owner,
that you should tell me what I should do.
Rather, Peter, listen to me and have faith in my Word,
because that Word is not something you own,
but something you steward.
Now take up your Cross,
take up your death
and follow me.”
Peter’s misunderstanding of Jesus’s Eternal Truth
was that of ownership versus stewardship.
When Peter tried to gain ownership over Jesus
over God Himself,
that was when Temptation,
Accusation,
Satan himself was at the doorstep.
But when Peter acted as steward of the Truth
The Truth that wasn’t his to begin with,
that was where he was commended,
that was where he was praised,
and called “The Rock” upon which the Church is built.
III.
is exactly what I didn’t understand as a five year old.
I thought that because it was MY allowance, that it was mine to own.
when in fact not only was it not mine
(it was an allowance: a gift from my mom and dad to use)
that money itself was not my mom’s or dad’s
to own.
It was the gracious gift of God for their just and proper use.
To feed their family,
to provide a roof over my head,
clothes for my body.
And my family used that money as a tool
to teach me that the money we had
was not ours to begin with
but it was always God’s free gift to us.
Friends,
when we were brought into God’s family by Jesus’s saving action:
his suffering and death for our atonement,
his rising from the grave as the foretaste of our life in Christ
when we because part of the household of God,
we died to our claim to ownership of our gifts.
Instead, Christ gave us these gifts we have for our stewardship
for our just use of the gifts He has given us
for the good of ALL humanity
that ALL might hear the Gospel
and be made whole.
IV.
something that needs to be said.
My family is a full 10% giver to Trinity Parish.
Out of my paycheck, we give our full $5240 dollars
all prior to tax
all given in joy and love
and not because we feel like we have to.
And instead of me looking down my nose at anyone who doesn’t,
instead of being incredibly uncharitable and unChristian
in my treatment of others who do not or CANNOT give 10%,
instead, I want you to join me in imagining with me.
Let’s imagine:
What would it look like,
if we here at Trinity Parish Church
decided to buck the national average of 2%
and instead invested in God’s ministry
already going on in Searcy
with 10% of our money?
Imagine what kind of ministry we could support!
Could we help fund Jacob’s Place, the local homeless shelter
caring for the homeless even as we sit here this morning,
and who are suffering from underfunding?
Could we assist our elderly and aging through Meals on Wheels
which provides healthy cooked meals for our elderly
who cannot afford to feed themselves?
Imagine what kind of ministry we could START!
Could we bless our neighbors in the apartment complex
right down the street,
many who are working multiple jobs to feed their kids,
one of whom has a special needs child who needs constant
caregiving and support?
Could we look at the use of our beautiful parish hall building
as a place where we can allow God to bring in the poor
the lonely, the destitute, the hungry, and those who need
a roof over their heads?
And, for us as Episcopalians,
imagine what kind of offerings of WORSHIP that we could have!
What would it be like, if through the additional funds
we are blessed with,
we strive together to offer the most beautiful worship
that you can find in Searcy Arkansas?
What would it be like if our celebration of the liturgy
could be the conduit for Jesus to reach our through us
and bring those who do not know him
to the knowledge and love of Him?
What if our generosity was a shining beacon to others:
so that when people see where our treasure is,
then they know that our hearts are all about God,
all about Jesus,
all about the Holy Spirit
working right here
right now.
What would it look like
if we gave up our ownership
and instead embraced stewardship?
What do y’all think that would look like?
In the Name of the + Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
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