Overflowing
Giving
Scripture: Psalm 126 read responsively and II
Corinthians 9: 6-15
Preached by Linda Jo Peters ~ October 28, 2012
Reformation Sunday ~ Dedication of Pledges
Unity Presbyterian Church ~ Terre Haute, Indiana
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| Thanks to Colt Carter for providing beautiful bagpipe music for our Reformation Celebration |
“Blessing of the
Colors”
Prayer for the Blessing of the Colors:
Almighty God, who has promised that in all places where your
name is honored, you will meet with your servants to bless them, we rejoice in
this opportunity to present these “Colors” representing your people from all
over the world many who suffered terrible oppression of their culture and
language. May they be as symbols of our
unwavering loyalty to you and our steadfast faith in Christ our Lord. We praise
you for our ancestors: for all those saints of long ago who shared Christ’s
story and love with many people. We pray
that in the present day, the dedication of these early saints may still inspire
us to even greater achievements in the service of Christ and our fellow citizens.
On behalf of all people we present these Colors before You o Lord God in
appreciation of our Heritage; and we ask Your Blessings upon these, your humble
servants. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
INTRODUCTION TO SCRIPTURE
Psalm 126 read responsively
In this psalm, the notion of reversal occupies a central
place, inviting the reader to recognize that restoration by God does more than
simply restore what was lost. God restores the spirit of those who have lost so
much so they can sing and dance with joy.
1When the Lord restored the fortunes of
Zion, we were like those who dream.
2Then our
mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then it was
said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
3The Lord has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4Restore
our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in the Negeb.
5May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of
joy.
6Those who
go out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of
joy, carrying their sheaves.
II Corinthians 9: 6-15
This letter continues Paul’s encouragement that the
Corinthians give to the poor in Jerusalem.
There is no greater reward than knowing Jesus as our friend, and that
reward is freely. What then is the reward of faithful service? The principle of
reward in the scriptures is a simple one. Those who act responsibly are
rewarded with greater responsibility. God makes grace abound in us that we may
abound in every good work.
This is not a prosperity Gospel of greater returns for the giver. Rather this concerns the resources that are ours in Christ which are increasingly available to us as we use them wisely and well. If we are found trustworthy in little things, then we can be trusted with greater resources. Greater resources will be directed our way to use toward the realization of the Kingdom of God.
6The point is this: the one who sows sparingly
will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap
bountifully. 7Each of you must give as you have made up your
mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver. 8And God is able to provide you with every blessing in
abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share
abundantly in every good work. 9As it is written, “He scatters
abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10He
who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your
seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11You
will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce
thanksgiving to God through us; 12for the rendering of this
ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many
thanksgivings to God.13Through the testing of this ministry you
glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by
the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14while
they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that
he has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable
gift!
SERMON
Reformation Sunday can be a day when we only look back at
what was, but God wants us to use the past to inform the present and future. Even more, God calls us to live fully in this
moment given to us by the Eternal One. We
give thanks for how sweet this time together is. This moment is filled with joy. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians is
tapping into this amazing joy that fills a believer to overflowing. Once we claim God grace for our lives we
recognize how precious the whole world is.
We fill up to overflowing with a desire to make a difference.
I believe the church is in a new reformation era. God is mightily at work reshaping us for the
future. It is important to remember that
prior to the Reformation the church sold passes out of purgatory called
indulgences, music and worship and church leadership was the purview of only
the clergy. Women were undervalued. Yet there was much the church did that witnessed
with power the mission and ministry of Jesus Christ. It was the church that provided for the poor,
the ill and dying, encouraged art and spiritual formation in all people. The hammering on the Wittenberg door of Luther’s 95 Theses was the toll of the Reformation. What is God hammering up today?
One of my favorite of Luther’s Theses is:
13. The dying are freed by death from all penalties; they
are already dead to canonical rules, and have a right to be released from them.
But the thesis that still speaks to us today is:
66. The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which
they now fish for the riches of men.
Fleecing the rich is a proud Christian tradition. We have laughed at the antics of the nuns in Sister Act as they stood in front of an
adult books store to get donations. But
our fishing nets are not for separating people from their money but capturing
people for Christ Jesus. When we are
caught by the net of faith there is not a gift we would not give. There is no risk we would not take for Jesus
Christ. As Paul wrote “the rendering of
this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with
many thanksgivings to God.” When we give
of ourselves, we are helping others that is true, but even more we are
overflowing with thanks to God. It is
out of this thanksgiving that we become extraordinary givers.
The church is being called to a risky mission. Living in a culture where being generous with
friends and family is look down as foolish let alone being generous to the
strangers and those we will never know. Our culture is probably not a whole lot different than the
culture of the first century in that aspect.
Money and power are tightly woven into an impenetrable barrier of
control over most of our lives. Religion
is used to support those already in control.
But thanks be to God who has given us the breaker of barriers, Jesus The
Christ. In him all things are
possible. The selfish become generous,
so generous it overflows in a bounty of grace.
But there will be forces seeking to suppress our generous spirits and
push us back behind the barrier of distrust and fear. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote about
the drives we have to achieve at all costs.
He wrote:
Keep feeling the need for being first. But I
want you to be the first in love.
I want you to be the first in moral
excellence. I want you to be the first in generosity.
Here is a little bit of scientific knowledge I leave you
with:
Hard as it may be to believe in these days of
infectious greed and sabers unsheathed,
scientists have discovered that the small,
brave act of cooperating with another person,
of choosing trust over cynicism, generosity
over selfishness,
makes the brain light up with quiet joy.
Natalie Angier[1]
God created us to be
generous. So as you make your pledges
today as you give your offerings, may your brains light up with joy! Amen.
Calvinists did seek to have simple music in the
church, there was one place where it could be heard more artful music: the private
home services. One distinct practice among the Reformed Christians was private
worship. This usually took place daily with the family and household all
gathering together to sing, read scripture, and study the catechism. It was
here that the beautiful fully harmonized and sometimes even polyphonic Psalms
zealously resounded. For it was perfectly acceptable for a family (with all
members trained in music as was the custom of the day) to sing and play
together beautiful and sometimes elaborate settings of the Psalms, canticles,
and hymns.
The most wonderful of Reformed composer that I know of was Claude Goudimel (1505-1572). Goudimel was a French Huguenot who lived in the Calvinist community at Metz. He had converted to the Reformed faith in 1560. In 1567 he left Metz because of the growing persecution of Protestants there and moved to Lyons. However, his peace only lasted a short while. Sometime between August 28 and 31 of 1572 he was martyred in the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre.[2]
The most wonderful of Reformed composer that I know of was Claude Goudimel (1505-1572). Goudimel was a French Huguenot who lived in the Calvinist community at Metz. He had converted to the Reformed faith in 1560. In 1567 he left Metz because of the growing persecution of Protestants there and moved to Lyons. However, his peace only lasted a short while. Sometime between August 28 and 31 of 1572 he was martyred in the St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre.[2]
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