"Who or What is Truly Our King?"  2010

Exodus 36:1-7           Luke 20:45-21:4

 

Exodus 36:1-7

36Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful one to whom the Lord has given skill and understanding to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded. 2Moses then called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful one to whom the Lord had given skill, everyone whose heart was stirred to come to do the work; 3and they received from Moses all the freewill offerings that the Israelites had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, 4so that all the artisans who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task being performed, 5and said to Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for doing the work that the Lord has commanded us to do.” 6So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing; 7for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.

 

Luke 20:45-21:445In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, 46“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets. 47They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

21He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

 

This has been   a very good year    here at 1^st Presbyterian church …

            we have been able to do a lot do a wonderful & remarkable things…

   … and I do believe we have been useful   in the work of God's kingdom.

 

You paid for a new wheelchair-accessible van  and a new garage for it.

            You supported our high school and mid-school mission trips,

                        and our very successful Vacation Bible School this summer,

                        all  above and beyond covering our regular church budget.

 

    The moderator of our Christian Ed. committee was very pleased

            to report a dramatic increase number of 3^rd and 6^th graders

               set to receive new promotion Bibles in the fall, à

- yet she also concerned about how much that would drain their budget.

 

    So one Sunday, I announced in worship that the promotion Bibles

            for our 3^rd and 6^th graders this year would be about $500,

                                    --- and I invited your contributions to cover that.

 

   Then a few weeks later you were asked to stop giving

            because the excess that had already been received was enough

                       also to cover the cost of next year's of new student Bibles.

 

Truly I am privileged to serve such a faithful and amazing church;

            for you are very generous in sharing

                        your time, your talents and your financial resources;

                 and you probably don't hear,

                        "thank you and well done",  nearly often enough.

God is accomplishing so many great things in and through this church,

            and what do you bet,   that the very best, is still yet to come!

 

As I thought about stewardship for this year, Exodus 36 came to mind.

    By this point in the Exodus story,

            Moses has safely led the people out from under Egyptian slavery.

 

God had also provided instructions for building the tabernacle,

            as a place for them to worship during their wilderness journey,

                                    and God had even equipped the artisans

                                         with special skills and gifts for the construction.

     All that was left,   was the tiny detail of gathering enough

            gold, jewels and other precious materials for the project …

               … so the people were invited to bring their freewill offerings.

 

Try to picture this scene with me…   …imagine Moses and the artisans,         

        watching people add more to already huge piles of precious stuff,

                        and realizing, they already à

                                    had way more than they could possibly use,  vs. 5-7

            So Moses gave command: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.”  So the people were restrained from bringing; for what they had already brought was more than enough to do all the work.

 

Even among those fleeing former slaves in that barren wasteland

            God still provided an abundance of costly & precious resources

                        more than enough necessary  for all of the work to be done.

 

There are important lessons for us,

            that our God is a God of abundance and not lack and scarcity

                        and that there is far more to faithful Christian stewardship

                                     than just the amount that we give

                                                toward the mission and ministry of the church.

 

A few years ago, Ted Turner was all over the news;

            when he announced his plans to give a billion dollars

                        to the United Nations for some special projects.

 

Such huge contributions always capture the world’s attention

            because we are most impressed by the largest contributions,

                        assuming that more is better, and a lot more is a lot better.

 

But in Luke's gospel,  

          Jesus challenges this world's understanding of value and worth.

 

Our Luke text begins with Jesus warning against the scribes,

            whose religious practices seems to be    mostly about

                        impressing other people and receiving public recognition.

 

The gospel writer pairs that warning from Jesus with a story,

            as an object lesson from the life and ministry of Jesus.

Jesus and the disciples are at the Temple in Jerusalem looking on

            as folks are contributing their money into the treasury.

 

Archeologists and biblical historians write that there

            was in a large courtyard area near the temple entrance,         

                   where along one wall there were 13 curled brass receptacles 

                                    that looked like metal ram’s horns,  called “shofars”.

 

When people dropped their coins into them,

            they banged and clanged going down these trumpet-like spouts;

                        so that everyone nearby could hear the offering,

                                    with the sound indicating the amount they had given.

vs. 1-3

            (Jesus) He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them;

 

Apparently,  Jesus did not understand the arithmetic of fundraising…

            for the widow’s pitiful offering was an insignificant amount;

                        far too little   for anyone even to bother taking notice…

                           … surely not enough

                                    to make any difference in the Temple operations budget.

     So in what possible sense  had   she given  more than all the others?

 

Jesus tells us in  vs. 4                   

            for all of them have contributed out of their abundance,   but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

 

The point is, that even after

            the wealthier folks had made their more substantial offerings

                        they would still continue to be very wealthy people,

                                       for they were giving from their surplus and excess

                                                amounts that would hardly be missed at all.

 

            But the tiny and insignificant offering made by this poor widow

                  was an offering of trust, her total self, a sacrificial gift,

                                    for she gave  ALL  that she had -   ALL she had to live on.

She was holding back nothing in reserve,

            totally trusting God to provide what she needed…

                    … so her gift was given at great personal sacrifice and risk.

 

While the crowd was impressed by the amount of the larger gifts,

            Jesus is impressed by the amount of this one impoverished giver;

                        which reveals something of how God views true worth & value.

 

It's not the amount given, but it's the cost to the giver

          as an expression   of the giver's gratitude and trust toward God.

 

Ted Turner’s billion dollar gift got lots of public recognition.

            But God is more impressed and pleased by those who

                        quietly and consistently give even their smaller offerings,

                and whose delight   is to give more than they can easily afford.

 

We need to understand  why this sacrificial aspect is so important …

            … as it is explained in    1 Timothy 6:10                     

                        For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. 

 

The truth is, we all struggle with the pull of materialism and greed.

      We all like to have nicer things, a larger reserve in the bank,

                        for that is a universal and pervasive part of being human.

 

            But it turns out,  that faithful stewardship has an amazing power

                        to break the bondage of materialism and greed over my life.

 

*  generous and sacrificial giving loosens the corrupting grip of

       our avarice greed & our incessant desires always to acquire more,

            that can be so destructive to our soul, life and relationships.

 

*  our giving can help liberate us from our cultural addictions

       that drive us toward always trying to possess more and more stuff,

                   and that unhealthy longing to have more than our neighbors.

 

*  sacrificial & generous giving can weaken materialism's hold on us

                        so that our spirit can grow   as we learn to love God even more

                              than the nice things and prestige that our money can buy.

                                               

If we can somehow  manage to let go of some of our money,

            then it will no longer have such powerful control over us;

                                                and materialism  will no longer posses us

                                                      nor will greed  maintain its grip on our lives.

 

            There are some very significant spiritual issues at stake

                        in how we respond to God's call for faithful stewardship;

            à  because the place that money and possessions hold in my life,

                        will either improve or impair  my walk of faith with God,

                             and reveals  who or what   truly matters most in my life.

 

There is an irony about this day in particular –

            for on our church calendar, today is Christ the King Sunday,

                        when we celebrate the absolute lordship of Jesus Christ…

… and since I had to be away,  we delayed our Stewardship Sunday,

              when, by presenting our pledge cards,    in a most tangible wayà

                             we declare our truest sense of loyalty and commitment.

 

Who or what  is really and truly my Lord and King?

            Who or what  will rule and reign supreme in my life?

 

Either Jesus Christ   is   Lord of all

            and does rule over my life and all it contains,    or He does not.

                              Today, my pledge card refreshes that commitment.

 

This poor widow was entirely trusting God –she withheld nothing back in reserve

      and so her sacrifice is the very model of faithful discipleship;

            she gave herself entirely to God, & not  just a few of her things.

 

I want to grow spiritually, and let Jesus be first in my life.

            I want to participate in whatever God is up to in this place,

                        and I want to be numbered with God's people, and to be in on

                             all the cool stuff God is doing in & through this church.

     My pledge is an opportunity   to refresh and renew that commitment,

            and to self-examine, to see if my life  is in synch with my faith.

 

   Scripture doesn't tell us what happened

            to that faithful widow after she left the Temple that day.

I suppose it's possible she might have gone home,

                        and starved having nothing left to buy food ----

                                                but I'm pretty sure that's not how the story ended.

 

            My guess is that all her needs were met with way extra to spare

                through the abundance and grace of God's blessings…

                        … that her needs were met,  for our God can surely be trusted.

 

Stewardship is not just putting money into an offering plate,

            but more critically   it includes how we live out our Christian lives;

                        it's our involvement in the life and ministry of the church

                it's everything about us,   who we are,  what we do and the attitudes we live.

 

So at issue,  is our spiritual welfare and development,

            that is,   the health and vigor of our faith-journey with God…

 

                        by making total stewardship decisions that deepen our faith

                            which involves not just our money, but our whole person,

                                               far beyond anything you can measure with dollar signs…

 

… and it's about re-examining and refreshing our commitments,

            the kind of trust and sacrifice that can  re-shape a human life.

 

As we consider our own trust, our commitment and stewardship today

            our own situation   in terms of our money, time and talents;

 

                  … I remind you of seven goals that I've mentioned before,

                          that I think represent faithful & sacrificial stewardship.

 

 

1- worship weekly
            either here,  or wherever we happen to be when we travel.

 

2- pray daily

            set aside some quiet time every day, to talk and listen to God,

                        and we really don't need a lot of special equipment for that.

 

3- study and meditate regularly

            get into Scripture, read some theology, or about lives of other Christians

                                    turn off your TV or I-pod, turn off the computer

                                                study and learn --- delve into our Christian faith.

 

4- live faithfully

            wherever we are, whatever our situation or role in life,

                                    let our faith, our relationship through Christ         

                                                let that determine behavior, all that we say & do.

 

5- give generously

            don't be stingy with our time, our talents, or our money,

                        but find joyful ways to reflect God's abundance toward us.

 

6- serve creatively

            what are your passions in life, the things you care about most?

                        Make them your faithful service and offering to God.

 

7- witness boldly

            If we have to use words, that's fine,                

                        but mostly, live unmistakably as a  Christian,

                         in ways that do reflect our faith & relationship with Jesus.

 

Today, as we present our stewardship pledge cards 

            and put them into the basket during the last hymn,

                        it's really not about   just the amount of money,

                         but our whole selves – our trust, commitment and sacrifice.

 

*          worship weekly                     *          pray daily

                                    *          study and meditate regularly

            *          live faithfully                               *          give generously

                                                *          serve creatively                 *          and witness boldly