Sermon October 31, 2010

Sermon A Three Part Series on Stewardship

Stewardship: Trick or Treat

Scripture Psalm 119: 137-144 and Luke 19:1-10

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ October 31, 2010

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 119 is an alphabetic acrostic consisting of twenty two stanzas, each with eighth lines, each of which begins with the letter of the Hebrew alphabet for that stanza. The stanzas work sequentially through the alphabet. It is a reflection on torah, the law. Our reading for today is a stanza for the letter tsade which is the first letter of the Hebrew word tsedek or ‘righteousness’ and that is the theme that runs through this stanza of the psalm. To follow God’s law is to live a righteous life.

Psalm 119: 137-144
137You are righteous, O LORD, and your judgments are right.
138You have appointed your decrees in righteousness and in all faithfulness.
139My zeal consumes me because my foes forget your words.
140Your promise is well tried, and your servant loves it.
141I am small and despised, yet I do not forget your precepts.
142Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and your law is the truth.
143Trouble and anguish have come upon me, but your commandments are my delight.
144Your decrees are righteous forever; give me understanding that I may live.

Luke 19:1-10
Halloween is the evening of All Saints Day or “Hallowed Eve.” Through the centuries it has claimed a more pagan and prankish nature of “Trick or Treat.” Lost is the remembering of those saints who have gone before us. Instead we are warned that if we do not give out good treats a trick will follow. Taxing bodies and authorities often have the same perception of them. If you pay your taxes, the government will provided the services you expect but if you don’t pay them you can loose everything. In the time of Jesus, tax collectors were agents of Rome and they had the authority of the Roman garrison to take what they wanted. They passed on to Rome what was expected and anything above that was their fee. Often they were wealthy men. Zacchaeus is chief among tax collectors. So how does Jesus receive this tax collector?

He entered Jericho and was passing through it. 2A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. 4So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. 5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today.” 6So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. 7All who saw it began to grumble and said, “He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner.” 8Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.” 9Then Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost.”

Sermon
Most of us know today is Halloween, but it is also Reformation Sunday: a time to remember Calvin’s “reformed, always reforming.” The day we remember that we truly are Protestants, or protestors. It is the anniversary of Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses nailed to the church door at Wittenberg. It is not very often that Stewardship Pledge Sunday falls on Halloween and therefore encounters all these other significant events in the life of the church. But I’d like us to use the Halloween focus today to consider stewardship and in particular pledging. Let’s be honest pledging can feel like Trick or Treat. The trick is all the worry that is associated with any significant financial choice. The treat is the wonderful feeling we gain when we share.

Zacchaeus certainly knew about financial planning. For centuries we have translated that his encounter with Jesus changes his behavior, but David Lose really blue me out of the water in his commentary on this passage. He writes that in the Greek, Zacchaeus is not speaking about a future plan but what he already does. In other words: “Look, half of my possessions I give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I pay back four times" – as in right now, already, as a matter of practice.” Wow!

Yet understanding the effects of salvation in one’s life is a repeated theme of Luke’s gospel. Change, conversion, needs to incorporate a changed attitude and behavior in relation to all of life including wealth. Did Luke have fellow Christians in mind who saw salvation as a ticket to heaven or as a recipe for inner tranquility with little or no thought for social justice, or distribution of resources especially for the poor? Did he want to disabuse them of such an attitude by making the tax collector the more righteous “son of Abraham,” which is the title Jesus gives to him?

Why do we really hand out treats on Halloween? Because we love children, and we enjoy seeing them happy, right? Why does Jesus call Zacchaeus out of the tree and invite himself to his home? Jesus loves him and wants him to be happy. Nothing Zacchaeus could do would have made him righteous in the eyes of his own community. His job made him a sinner, even if he worked hard at being fair. Jesus claims him as he claims us. He transforms our lives with his love. Pledges, stewardship is about our relationship with Jesus not about buying our way into heaven. We do it because it is a joy to serve our Lord. Amen.

Resources:
WorkingPreacher.org; David Lose,Marbury E. Anderson Biblical Preaching Chair, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN

Pentecost 23, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.

Sermon October 24, 2010

Sermon A Three Part Series on Stewardship

“Stewardship as an act of Humility”

Julio Sanchez installed as a trustee

Scripture Joel 2:23-28 read responsively and Luke 18:9-14

Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ October 24, 2010

INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Joel 2:23-28
At the leadership retreat last weekend, the participants prayed and discussed and reflected on the future of Unity Presbyterian Church. They actively sought God’s vision for Unity. The prophet Joel writes in response to an ecological disaster, a plague of locusts that exceeded their regular breeding and feeding cycles to the point that the economic well-being of God's people is threatened and even the beasts of the field were starving. Joel calls for all the people to repent and humble themselves before God. When a people are starving and afraid it is hard for them to believe in a future. God knows our fears and calls us to release them and see the future God has planned for us.
23O children of Zion, be glad and rejoice in the Lord your God; for he has given the early rain for your vindication, he has poured down for you abundant rain, the early and the later rain, as before.
24The threshing floors shall be full of grain, the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25I will repay you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent against you.
26You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I, the Lord, am your God and there is no other. And my people shall never again be put to shame.
28Then afterward I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions.

Luke 18:9-14
As we consider stewardship as an act of humility, Professor Lose cautions us “to avoid the kind of self-congratulatory reading of the parable that the parable itself would seem to condemn.” He reminds us that “everything the Pharisee says is true. He has set himself apart from others by his faithful adherence to the law. He is, by the standards Jesus seems to employ, righteous. So before we judge him too quickly… consider that the Pharisee isn’t speaking falsely, but rather that the Pharisee misses the true nature of his blessing... He has trusted in himself. His prayer of gratitude may be spoken to the Lord, but it is really about himself. He locates his righteousness entirely in his own actions and being. So this becomes a very important passage to consider as we reflect on our own stewardship in relationship to a humble life.

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”

SERMON
Stewardship is a life long practice of caring. It always has an element of purpose that is outwardly directed rather than inwardly. Humility is an attitude that is also outwardly directed in that it sees the value of others even before the value of one’s self. Stewardship as an act of humility sets aside our own wants, wishes and even needs to care for others. I think this is an aspect of stewardship that can be most resented. It calls for sacrifice. But what I want or need, I want to have when I want it! Jesus story about two men praying in the temple reveals how wrapped up in our self we can become that even our prayer life is self directed.
The Pharisee was called to religious leadership in his community. Seeing a fellow believer on his knees in self abasement, should have triggered some concern for the tax collector. Instead he only sees an opportunity to present himself to God as so much better than the other man. He was anything but humble. Yet humility is a potent aspect of good leadership. Two leaders are described as humble in the Bible: Moses and Jesus. You could not find better examples of leadership than these two men. No one would claimed them as weak or ineffective. Even today, in our highly competitive market, humility in leaders is valued. Mike Myatt, CEO Coach, writes, “…authentic humility is the most sincere form of confidence and strength.”
Stewardship is about service but it is also about leadership and they are connected through an attitude of humility. We traditionally do not share what we specifically give to the congregation. Some is that is a desire for privacy, but mostly it is born out of the humble knowledge that nothing we give for God can repay the dept born in Christ’s broken body. We are all sinners before the Lord. But even in humility we can own the struggle to be good stewards of the resources God has given us. I believe you are a generous congregation. There are times when like the tax collector we all end up on our knees grieving over our sinfulness and begging God for mercy. We loose our focus and cannot see how we can give any more for anything. That is a time for deep meditative prayer like we practiced last week. It is also a good time to share your struggle with another believer you trust. He or she can encourage you during times of trial.
We also as God’s stewards have time when life is so very good! Everything is going well and we can give generously out of our abundance. But I believe this is just as important a time to be in prayer, particularly a prayer of thanksgiving but also seeking God’s guidance. Just because all is well does not mean let go of God’s hand or the relationships with other disciples. Unlike the Pharisee it is not a time to exalt one’s self.
Next week our pledge cards will be dedicated. It is a time of great joy. For God invites us to join him in acts of redemption and salvation through our stewardship. But in true humility we know that only God can make our gifts worthy. My family used to say “proof is in the pudding.” I knew that meant that words were not enough; our words had to be followed by concrete actions that made a difference. “Action speaks louder than words,” which is another proverb from my childhood. Laying claim to personal value was just plain foolish. One cannot exalt one’s self. Only others can raise up our value. Really only God can raise us up. Through our stewardship we hear our master say “well done good and faithful servant… enter into your master’s joy.” Now that is exhortation on a grand scale. The Eagle’s Wings song comes to mind.

And He will raise you up on eagle's wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of His Hand.
Amen!

Resources:
See Matthew 25:23, Luke 15:7, and Numbers 12:3

Eagle's Wings written by Michael Joncas, 1979

www. WorkingPreacher.org “Commentary on Gospel” for Twenty-second Sunday after Pentecost by David Lose, Marbury E. Anderson Biblical Preaching Chair, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN
http://www.n2growth.com/blog/humility-and-leadership/