Rev. Dr. Doug Showalter Scripture: II Corinthians 9:6-15 The Church of the Pilgrimage, Plymouth, MA Copyright 2011 September 18, 2011 "Our Christian Stewardship" IMAGINE, IF YOU WILL, that the clock has struck midnight and you are in a locked bank vault. You sit in pitch darkness. Everything has been deathly quiet. But then suddenly, the lights flash on and the money begins to talk: Coins chatter incessantly, and bills flap so fast they create a stiff breeze. In time, after the cacophany has settled down, a $20 bill strikes up a conversation with a $1 bill. Says the $20 bill: You know, I=ve really had a great life. I=ve been to so many places. I=ve been to Europe. I=ve been to the best clubs on the Mediterranean. I=ve been to Alaska, Hawaii, and some of the best restaurants in the world. Hearing that, the little $1 bill begins to cry. Its tears fall hot and heavy. As the $1 bill says: All I ever do is: Go to church, go to church, go to church! That=s an old joke. Perhaps you=ve heard it before? But, there=s just enough truth in it, to make it seem plausible. For, the priorities people set in their discretionary spending, do not always serve their church well. AS YOU KNOW, TODAY IS STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY in our church. It's the day, when all of us are challenged, to put a very important part of our Christian stewardship into action. This is the day when we focus on the financial gifts our parishioners are pledging, to support the various ministries of our church in the coming year. In a sense, Stewardship Sunday is our day of reckoning each year. It's the day when we Christians, in this household of faith, are called to demonstrate, in a very tangible way, what our Christian faith really means to us. Do you recall what Jesus said about money? Jesus said that people's hearts are where their treasure is. In modern terms, one might
-2- express that same basic thought, in this way: If you want to know what people really believe in, then just take a look at their checkbook stubs. For apart from their basic living expenses, people do spend their money, on the things they value most. [Matthew 6:19-21] I BEGAN MY SERMON THIS MORNING with some humor. I did that quite intentionally. For, of all the Sundays in the church year, Stewardship Sunday should be one of the most joyful Sundays for us Christians Why do I say that? I say that, because, as we=ve been told in the scriptures, our God loves a cheerful giver. Do you remember hearing that in our scripture reading this morning? In his second letter to the Christians at Corinth, the Apostle Paul said this: Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. WHAT DO YOU THINK? When Stewardship Sunday comes around each year, are you a cheerful giver? After you commune with God, and search your heart and soul, do you sit right down, and fill-out your church pledge card--with strains from the "Hallelujah Chorus" joyously ringing in your head? [++a few measures on the pipe organ from the "Hallelujah Chorus"] Do you do that? Or do you sometimes tend to fuss and fume, and wring your hands over rising costs, cramped household budgets, and an abundance of good will causes--all very worthwhile, of course--which seek your loyalty? I'll be honest. There have been times in the past when I've wrung my hands over my Christian stewardship. There have been times in the past when I could have been a much more cheerful giver, to my church and its ministry. BUT THEN ONE YEAR it struck me! With one great "Aha!," it finally dawned on me, why it is, that God so loves a cheerful giver.
-3- The reason is so simple: God loves a cheerful giver, because that's precisely the kind of giver God is! God gives us human beings the very breath of life. And God showers each and every one of us, every day, with all kinds of blessings. For example: --God gives us: our family and friends to love and to hug; --God gives us: the warmth of yellow sunlight and an infinite kaleidoscope of dazzling colors to enjoy; --God gives us: every kind of plant, animal, and weather outside to marvel at. In the final analysis, everything we humans have, is a gift to us from our God: our jobs, the roof over our heads, the food that nourishes our stomachs, the healing which mends our bodies--and so much, much more, that you and I so often take for granted!. God showers us all with blessings--every day. And as that shower pours down on us, our insanely generous God is joyously laughing, to the very core of God's being. I LOVE THE WAY one biblical commentator put it. His envisionment of God went something like this: Imagine for a moment that God is a salesman in a used car dealership. We humans go to that dealership with $265 of our hard-earned cash in hand. We're determined to drive a hard bargain on a used car. We kick the tires of a beat-up old Chevy, and are about to launch into our "I-can-get-it-cheaper-elsewhere" routine, when the salesman claps his hands and says, Boy, have I got a deal for you!. Why don=t you come around to the back of the lot? We go there and find a brand-new white Porsche, which gleams in the afternoon sun. The salesman chuckles. With a twinkle in his eye, he points to the Porsche and says, Here=s the deal: it=s yours, for free! The boss likes you; here, take the keys!
-4- In the rearview mirror, we see that salesman, with his huge red and white polka dot tie, smiling and waving, as we drive that Porsche away. i THE GOD OF OUR FAITH is a cheerful giver. With a generous heart--as big as all outdoors--our God lavishes divine love upon us. In fact, our God would never make it as a salesman of used cars or new. For even before the first morning coffee break, our God would joyously give the whole lot of cars away! To some people, this may all seem unbelievable. But it's true. God's generosity to us humans is boundless. LET=S TAKE A MOMENT to consider the record of our faith. IN ANCIENT TIMES, our God provided quail and manna, to feed God=s hungry people, in the wilderness of the Sinai peninsula: As you may recall, from the book of Exodus, the purple shadows of evening were just beginning to fall on the ancient Hebrew's camp, when suddenly, that camp was Acovered@ with quail. Perhaps tired from flying their migratory route, those birds were now on the ground scurrying everywhere. They were on the people=s tents, in their tents, and probably even in their cooking pots! God really does provide! [Exodus 16:13] AT THE WEDDING AT CANA, our God kept the party going, by turning simple water into fine wine. The bridegroom's home was full of happy people: dancing, singing, and feasting. But the joy was about to go flat, because the wine had run out. [John 2:1-11] Discretely, Jesus arranged to have six stone jars, filled to the brim with water. However, when a cup was dipped into one of those jars, people were amazed to discover, that the best wine had been saved for last. IN A PARABLE, Jesus indicated that our God generously bestows forgiveness and God=s divine care even on prodigals. The prodigal son returned home, after throwing-away at least one-third of his family's fortune. [Luke 15:11-32]
-5- Nevertheless, with great tears of joy and love in his eyes, the boy's Father dressed his son in the family's best robe. He restored the family ring to his son's hand. And, he hosted an unbelievably extravagant banquet--complete with fatted calf--to celebrate his lost son's return. As you will recall, the elder brother wasn't exactly thrilled at that--even though his own inheritance, as the first son, was still mostly intact. But that's the way of our God, to be generous!--some would even say, insanely generous. OF COURSE, GOD'S MOST GENEROUS gift to us humans, is the gift of God=s own son Jesus. As you know, Jesus traveled throughout Palestine, proclaiming God's Kingdom and healing the sick. Jesus also fed the hungry spirits and stomachs of the great multitude, which followed him. As the Gospels tell us: the grassy green hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee was covered with a milling crowd. The hillside was a whirl of bright colors, anxious eyes, and muffled sighs of hunger. In a loud voice, Jesus asked everyone to sit down. A great hush came upon the crowd. In the sight of all, Jesus took five loaves of bread and broke them in his hands. He also lifted up two fish to be divided. To the astonishment of all, more than 5,000 hungry souls were fed that day. Thanks to Jesus, not one single person left that hill empty. [Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13] THROUGH THE MINISTRY, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION of Jesus, our God has repeatedly demonstrated God=s generosity and love for us humans. For through the gift of Jesus Christ: --our God has redeemed us of our sins; --our God has opened heaven to us; and --our God has brought new life, new love, and new hope, into all our lives. Each morning, when I wake up, I can almost hear God saying,
-6- Here=s the deal: the day is yours for free! Here, take the keys! THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS, that a day hasn't gone by--in biblical times or our times--when the wonderful generosity of our God, has not poured down upon God's people, in some life-nourishing, meaningful way. Yes, you and I, have been in the wilderness...but God fed us! Yes, you and I, have had our best-laid plans go awry. Our wine ran out, but God was there, to re-plenish our spirits, our hope, and our joy in living. Yes, you and I, have been prodigals, wasting our lives in some far country. But God was right there, waiting for our return. God was waiting: --to clothe us in the best family robe, --to put the family ring on our finger, and --to celebrate our homecoming, with a joyous feast of love and forgiveness. Yes, you and I, have been in anxious, milling crowds on the hillside. But God was there, to make sure that we did not go away empty! YES, THE SHOWERS OF GOD'S GENEROSITY keep flowing down. And, you and I run through the puddles, not with umbrellas, but with huge, wide buckets, which we lift up to heaven, every day, to catch the downpour. And every so often, if we strain our ears, we can faintly hear--muffled behind the clouds--the sound of God's joy and laughter, in giving so much, to us. AND THAT, as I have discovered, is the simple, yet profound truth, of why our God, loves a cheerful giver. Today is Stewardship Sunday. It's the day when we Christians, in this household of faith, are challenged to put our Stewardship into action. It's the day when all of us are called to demonstrate, in a tangible way, what our Christian faith really means to us.
-7- GOD IS SO VERY GENEROUS to us. Let us also be generous to God--and to the work of this church of God on earth. As likely you know, our Stewardship Committee has encouraged our parishioners to commit at least 2.5% of their gross annual income, to the support of our church. That=s just one quarter of the traditional biblical tithe. As I ve learned from Al Bottomley, on our Trustees, it costs our church about $1,100 each and every day, on average, to conduct our church=s ministry and operate our facility. As likely you know, 11% of the pledge dollars each of us gives to our church are then passed on to our Mission and Outreach Committee for their ministries on our behalf. Also, as all of us likely realize, our church s pledge campaign for 2012 is critically important to our church. It s important, as our church now looks forward to finding and calling a new, settled Pastor. AS I SAID, God is so very generous to us. Let us also be generous to God. And by all means--whether the "Hallelujah Chorus" rings in our heads or not--let=s all send back to heaven, a great spirit of joy and laughter, in our giving to our church, for 2012. For our God both loves, and is, a cheerful giver. As our Stewardship Committee has asked us, Can you hear God calling you? Of course, the best answer to that question is: Here I am, Lord! Let s now sing that hymn, number 616. ENDNOTE i. Based on Robert Farrar Capon=s The Parables of Judgment. ( Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1989), 127-128.