October 21, 2012
Where do we sit?
- Mark 10:1-52
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Jesus announces for the third time
his intention to travel on to Jerusalem
and for the third time he tells the disciples he will die.
As with the previous two announcements,
it is followed by the disciples' failure to understand.
Can we really blame them?
In a time of crisis,
when Jesus has just told them that he is going to his death,
they react instinctively with the move to self-protection.
They separate themselves from their companions
and secretly ask for seats of honor,
seats of privilege.
It is as if they are afraid there won't be enough glory to go around
and so they'd better get theirs first.
No wonder the other disciples are angry;
they see that James and John are trying to edge them out.
And are we any different?
When we feel under attack, or afraid, or anxious,
isn't the temptation to move toward self-preservation,
give into our fears about scarcity,
and see others as competition or rivals rather than friends or companions?
The reality is that as human beings we are just insecure enough to believe
that there is not enough to go around –
not enough anything
not enough money, enough time, enough love, you name it –
and so we automatically look out for ourselves rather than our neighbor.
We all do as the disciples did when faced with fear and anxiety.
They are trying to come to grips with difficult teachings
that run counter to social and religious norms.
Their world is being turned inside out
and it seems very human of them to want to know
if they have a place in this new world
that they will have a seat
a safe seat next to Jesus.
But of course Jesus is playing by a different set of rules.
Jesus is playing by rules where saying "Me first!" puts you at the end of the line.
Jesus is playing by rules which call us to put the other person first, where status just doesn't count the same way.
Deciding which rules we are playing by is,
in the end, a stewardship decision.
When we decide to play by the rules of the world
our stewardship decisions are based on asking "what's in it for me?".
But when we play by the rules of the kingdom
our stewardship decisions are based on the question "what's in it for them?".
A seminary professor named Stanley Hauerwas has a novel idea about how churches should receive new members. Whenever people join the church, Hauerwas thinks they should stand and answer four questions:
* Who is your Lord and Savior? The response: "Jesus Christ."
* Do you trust in him and seek to be his disciple? "I do."
* Will you be a faithful member of this congregation? The answer: "I will."
* Finally, one last question: What is your annual income?1
It is obvious Hauerwas does not serve as a pastor of a congregation.
His idea just wouldn't work because most church members
believe salary figures are more sacred than prayer,
and would quickly tell anyone asking to snoop around somewhere else.
A few weeks ago
I asked what questions you wanted to ask God or church.
In the top five was
“How much should I give to the church?”
For me- that is never an easy decision to make
but there are some basic scriptural guidelines that help-
We are asked to make this decision prayerfully.
Sit with God and reflect-
- how have I been blessed?
- what are the wonderful things I have in my life?
- do I have real needs? Not wants, but needs?
We should make this decision in a planned way.
- scripture calls us to give our first fruits
off the top
- giving should be planned, budgeted
- plans might change as circumstances change and that is OK. But at least you have a plan
Scripture also says our giving should be proportional-
- we are called to give a portion of what we have received
- some organizations take cost of doing business and divide by number of members giving everyone a “fair share” but that’s not fair. What is fair is everyone giving the same portion or the same percentage.
- the tithe is the traditional portion and many Presbyterians use that as a goal- giving 10% of annual income
- most can’t start there- so where are you now? What percent of your income do you give? Can you increase that this year by 2% of your income?
- a few years ago I talked about my own experience with tithing in a sermon. Later a member asked me some questions about it and finally said, Well, I am going to try it. I am not sure it will work. I may use up all my savings doing it. I may die with nothing left. But she took the challenge and tried it. For five years she tithed every year. When she died she left a tithe of her estate to the church. She had plenty left.
Giving is an act of faith
God asks us to give prayerfully,
in a planned way,
and in proportion to what we have been given.
We give- not because the church needs the money to pay the bills- even though the church does.
We give- not because there are so many people in need in so many places and we can make a huge difference in their lives-even though there are and we do
We give as an act of faith
in giving we say we trust in God
in giving we say we are thankful for all our blessings
in giving we say God has provided enough for us to share
in giving we say- God gave his only son for me
this is the least I can do in return
One thing is for sure.
If we want to follow Jesus, we had better brace ourselves.
He calls us to serve a God who loves us,
a God who will keep disturbing us until we finally relinquish our grip
on our money and our possessions and our lives.
Once we say yes to God, we can expect holy disruptions in our lives
changes in our priorities
sacred demands on all we have.
Once we say yes to God our lives are never the same again.
Thanks be to God.
Amen.