Marks of Discipleship: SHARE Financial Resources

Deuteronomy 8: 7, 11-18a

“[T]he Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills…. Take care that you do not forget the Lord your God, by failing to keep his commandments, his ordinances, and his statutes, which I am commanding you today. When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, who led you through the great and terrible wilderness, an arid wasteland with poisonous snakes and scorpions. He made water flow for you from flint rock, and fed you in the wilderness with manna that your ancestors did not know, to humble you and to test you, and in the end to do you good. Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.’ But remember the Lord your God….’”

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Today, my message is about money. Hopefully that fact isn’t coming out of left field for anyone. We’ve tried to communicate with all the means at our disposal that today is the day we make our financial commitments to Cross of Grace’s building fund, one of the two primary funds this church uses to accomplish its day to day ministry operations.

Even if you knew money would be today’s topic, what you might not have known was WHY money is today’s topic. Maybe you assumed we would talk about money today simply because the church wants your money. Well, the answer is more nuanced than that. The primary reason money is today’s topic is because our relationship with money is a matter of discipleship. How we understand finances and what we do with them lays bear our true hearts and can lead us closer to, or further away from, God’s kingdom.

Throughout the book of Deuteronomy, the topic of ownership is constantly addressed in the words of the Lord, which Moses communicates to God’s chosen people. The Ten Commandments are bookended with warnings against ownership. The first three — prohibitions on worshiping other gods or physical idols, and not misusing the name of God — reinforce the idea that the divine is unable to be constrained, pinned down, boxed in, or manipulated. In other words, God cannot be owned. Rather, God, the creator and redeemer of all things, is the true and only owner of every good gift in our lives. 

Also recall the commandment to observe Sabbath, in which God commands a day free from buying or selling. It is a reminder to enjoy God’s good gifts free from the fear of not having enough as well as the desire to accumulate more. The commandments end with prohibitions on stealing and coveting. 

Clearly, the human drive to own things, people, or even God’s self, is a spiritual problem rooted in humanity’s fallen nature. 

Today’s reading from Deuteronomy also addresses ownership. In it, Moses relays the Lord’s message to the Hebrew people that they are to remember the Lord’s provision when they enter the promised land, and not think they have earned their place there. The promised land was not to be divided up and owned; instead it was a gift from God to be enjoyed and stewarded. It was a lesson the chosen people were instructed in as they wandered the wilderness in anticipation of the promised land. Each day of wandering entailed relying on God’s daily provision of manna and quail. Moses makes it clear that pride in earning or ownership is incompatible with remembering God’s provision. When we say, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me,” we forget the Lord. And when we forget the Lord, we begin to worship and form our lives around other things. The final verses of Deuteronomy 8 warn that this culminates in our destruction!

So, give your money to the church, lest you be destroyed! Amen.

Ok, just kidding there. Well, not really...

Our relationship with money is a discipleship issue because there are two opposite forces pulling on how we view and use money. One is sinful — that is avarice or greed; the other is virtuous — that is generosity. All vices or virtues are cultivated by everyday, seemingly insignificant actions that become ingrained as habits over the course of months and years. What we do with a single dollar each day is as important as the occasional “big” financial decisions we face in our lives. 

The heart of greed is the fear of not having enough (i.e., not trusting in God’s promise of provision). Also, greed feeds on our tight-fisted grip on money as something that we have earned for ourselves and own with no responsibility for our neighbor.  

The heart of generosity, on the other hand, is the ease and enjoyment in giving things away because they have so little to do with who we understand ourselves to be. We give freely of our finances because our identity is not wrapped up in our net worth or the accumulation of more for ourselves, particularly at the expense of others.

Greed results in enslavement to stuff that leads to worry, insecurity, and a desire for more. 

Generosity results in freedom from anxiety as well as justice.

The practice of giving away a portion of your income off the top with intention (as opposed to giving away what, if anything, is left over) is called tithing and it is one of the most ancient and powerful tools in our discipleship toolbox.

Today you have the option to write down a number on a commitment card. That number will be some portion of the finances you will receive this year as compensation for your hard work. You might even refer to it as your “earnings.” It’s hard to part with something you earned. But when you understand that everything in your life is a gift rather than something you have earned or own, you are free to give it away as a gift. That number you write down, regardless of its amount, will be gratefully received and recognized by this church as an incredible and generous gift. 

The first thing the church does with your gift is to designate a tithe of 10% as a gift for others. We spend 10% to support the work of our friends in Haiti as well as our friends at Roots of Life in Noblesville. It’s an off-the-top tithe that is done with joy and trust that our gift will continue to multiply exponentially. This is a practice that has been a part of the congregation from its beginning, which means it has become a holy habit of generosity. 

And then there is the aspect that is most obvious and accessible to us — this building. This building is not the entirety of our ministry, but it is an important place. It is where my children have been raised in the faith...yours too, perhaps. It is where friendships are formed, beautiful music is shared, disputes are resolved, God’s word is wrestled with, and new ideas for humble service are explored. It is a place where laughter reverberates through the halls, tears are shed, and goodbyes are said. It is a place where all are welcome, where God’s grace is pronounced, the saving water of baptism is poured, and where we are aware of the divine presence in bread and wine. All of it made possible by your gifts, freely given, without condition or constraint, because of the faithful generosity of countless people over the last two decades.

I’ll end here with a clarifying comment. Our annual stewardship drives are not an exercise in accumulating more for this church. We do not seek more for this church out of fear that God could fail to deliver on God’s future promises for us and so we need to have money in the bank, just in case. We do not seek more for this church because we need to keep up with the other churches in our community that are constructing new bigger buildings. We do not seek more for this church because we think the next thing we will buy will make the church complete or whole. 

The reason we encourage your spiritual practice of tithing because engaging in this practice is the best way to form generous hearts. And also, thinking back to Deuteronomy 8, we don’t want to see you destroyed!

Amen.

Marks of Discipleship: GROW in Wisdom

Luke 20:27-38

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to [Jesus] and asked him a question, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally, the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

Jesus said to them, “Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.”

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This story is more than a little strange, so I want to unpack it while it’s fresh in our minds, before we get on with our sermon series and what it means to “Grow in wisdom and understanding of God’s Word and will for our lives.”

See, these Sadducees are either, genuinely ignorant about what they ask Jesus to answer regarding this woman and her dead husbands, or – and what is commonly thought to be the case – they are trying to trick Jesus with an impossible question; baiting him to trip over an explanation about life after death that will likely upset the powers that be, break with their history, challenge their tradition and offend their theology – and, mostly, get him into some trouble.

Jesus doesn’t give them what they’re after, of course. Or, at least he doesn’t trip and fall for what they may have thought was a hard answer to find. What he does is interpret their questions and their confusion in light of the resurrection – nothing more and nothing less.

Jesus says that they’re questions about all they’re supposed to know from Moses and the Hebrew Scriptures are too narrow. When they ask about what will happen to this woman who’s had seven husbands, they’re asking very worldly questions about God’s other-worldliness. They’re assuming that life on the other side of eternity is bound in the same way as life on this side of it all. They’re suggesting that what is restricted by human laws and earthly limitations here and now, will be restricted, in the same way, where the God of the universe is concerned.

And Jesus says, in not so many words, “Do you really think that the God of the universe and the ways of heaven will be constrained by the same parameters of life as we know it?” “This woman – and all of the knuckleheads she was forced to endure in this life – will be liberated, raised to new life, in a way that will release her from all of this, so that these laws you’re so worried about – and this life, even – will be unrecognizable, thanks be to God” “The God we’re talking about – the God of Moses and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob – sets talking bushes on fire, for crying out loud, and yet they aren’t consumed.” “This is the God we’re dealing with, people. So let’s stop with your small questions about a God who’s so much bigger.”

Now, I don’t mean to simplify all of this so dramatically, but I also don’t think this is as difficult as we’ve made it out to be. Because the truth is, Christian people in the world, still like to play games with God’s word, very much like the Sadducees back in Jesus’ day, and when we do – so much of the time – God gets the small, short end of that stick.

So, like we’ve said, we’re beginning this sermon series with a call to “Grow in wisdom…” wisdom and understanding of God’s Word and God’s will for our lives. In the weeks to come, we’ll get to the other marks of discipleship – sharing our resources, telling people about God, praying daily, worshiping regularly, and giving of our time and abilities. But today, we’re starting with Scripture… and our call to grow in wisdom of what we find in the Bible, which is supposed to inform and inspire all the rest. And I’m under the impression most Christian people wish they knew their Bible better – me, included. Do you agree?

When I’ve asked this question of others before, I’ve heard all kinds of responses. Some have said they feel like they’re missing out on things they would have, should have, could have learned over the course of their life, but they just weren’t taught or weren’t ready or weren’t paying attention when they had the chance. Some have said they just don’t have the time it takes – but if they did… when they do… they look forward to knowing more. Some have said it’s just too much, just too confusing; that there are just too many ways to come after it all, they wonder if it’s worth it. Some have said they want to know more so they can have more intelligent conversations and win theological debates at work or over Thanksgiving dinner. (You know who you are, you Saducees, you!) Some have said that’s what they have Pastors for – to do the studying and interpreting and understanding for them.

But I want people to study their Bibles, to “grow in wisdom and understanding” of what we find there, for those water cooler conversations and at Thanksgiving Dinner and whenever we duke it out with the Sadducees, if we must. But I want people to study their Bibles and to “grow in wisdom,” because it can give you life and it can change your life and it can impact the way we engage the world, through our faith, of course.

Like, I think it’s important to know there are two different accounts of creation, in the book of Genesis, which is not a science book, because it liberates us to read each of those stories in their own right, as artistic, poetic, beautiful expressions of a loving God’s creation, and of our role as a part of that. And – for me – it means I don’t have to check my brain – and all the things I learned in science class – at the church door.

I think it’s important, too, to know that “money is not the root of all evil,” as some so often misquote that verse from 1st Timothy. But the love of money is the root of all evil. I think that matters because, if we dare to love our money less, it might impact how generous we are with our Building Fund commitments next week. It might also impact the way we love our neighbor as ourselves and vote and inform public policy. (It should never be just about “the economy, stupid,” as the saying goes.)

And when it comes to growing in wisdom of what we find in the Bible, I think it matters that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was never meant to condemn homosexuality; it matters that “an eye for an eye” is not a justification for the death penalty or for revenge and retribution at all costs; it matters that “where two or three are gathered in my name” has nothing to do with justifying low worship attendance or skipping church; and it matters that when Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” he was facing imprisonment and a death sentence, not hoping to win a football game.

What I’m getting at is, “Growing in wisdom and understanding of God’s Word and will for our lives” stands to have a great impact on how we live and move and breathe and engage our faith through Scripture.

And it takes time. And effort. And conversation. And discussion and discernment in the company of other believers. But it’s not rocket science, either. And I think it’s something like what Jesus was saying to the Sadducees in this morning’s Gospel.

If you’ve been to the bathroom around here, you’ve likely seen this hanging on the door to your stall or above a urinal:

In this cartoon, Jesus might as well be speaking to the same group of Sadducees who confronted him this morning when he says: “The difference between me and you is, you use scripture to determine what love means and I use love to determine what scripture means.”

Let’s Grow in wisdom his way, shall we? Let’s read and receive and interpret and inspire others with God’s word – always and only through the lens of love, the way Jesus did.

Growing in wisdom and understanding of God’s Word and will for our lives is about learning of God’s love for us, and of God’s love for all people, at all costs. And it’s about learning of our call to love God – and each other, back – in as many ways as we can manage. And it’s about the freedom and joy and new life we’ll experience when we do, because of the freedom and joy and new life we are promised, in Jesus’ name, the Word of God, made flesh, who died and who was raised, for the sake of the world.

Amen