Reflections on "A Celebration" 2 Corinthians 9: 6-15; Psalm 145: 1-9

I didn't find this sermon particularly compelling.  The Psalm 145 play with "celebrate" had potential, but I probably should have focused more on that.  Of course, Paul's words are so rich and full of meaning, I could have spent the whole sermon on them.  In my initial brainstorming about the sermon (when I laid out the capital campaign sermons) the idea of celebration seemed fitting; by the time we got to this sermon, I'm not sure being tied to that theme was as helpful as another sermon might have been.

I have noticed that I have been using quite a few personal stories.  This trend began earlier in the fall when I was preaching sermons based on my experiences during the Clergy Renewal time.  I'm going to try and be more varied in my illustrations, although I already know that next week has a story from clergy renewal time.  I have never liked using generic illustrations, but I do not want to be telling personal stories all the time either.   

“A Celebration” Commitment Sunday; November 13, 2011; 2 Corinthians 9: 6-15; Psalm 145

Introduction: Today is November 13^th, which happens to be my Father's birthday. It's Dick C.'s birthday and his son came in from Chicago to be in worship with him on his birthday. I'm not doing quite as well in the son department – my father's birthday card was not mailed until yesterday and the present has yet to be mailed. Hopefully, we'll remember to call him and wish him happy birthday this afternoon (At least when he reads my preaching blog he'll know that I thought about his today).

Somewhere in TX, a celebration will take place with assorted siblings of mine and nieces and nephews gathering with my father to celebrate his birthday.

We know about celebrations. Times we gather to acknowledge that something special has happened, or to remember something special.

Today we have a celebration here at church. Part of the celebration involves making our commitments to our “shining Our Light” capital campaign and to the operating budget of 2012.

But after the Sanctuary service, let the Fiesta begin as we gather in the Social Hall for Mexican food and fellowship – a chance to celebrate together.

Move 1: We are celebrating because we have made our commitments.

a. It's done.

1.Okay, we know there will be some follow-up.

2. Thank you notes for your commitments or reminders if you have not committed.
3. Figuring out what projects to do based on what our commitments are.
4. Then watching as the projects take place.
   
   
   b. Our work is not really done, but we take this moment to stop and mark this time when we have made our commitments.

1. Acknowledge that we are part of this ongoing endeavor to be the body of Christ in downtown Troy.

2. to celebrate that that we have completed a capital campaign

A celebration to mark our commitment.

Move 2: We also celebrate because we have a chance to be the “cheerful giver” that Paul describes.

a. WE read in this portion of Paul's letter OT the Corinthians some of Paul's theology of giving.

1. We do not give out of compulsion, but we give cheerfully.

2. I remember a good friend sharing with me their stewardship story. They had decided on what they were going to pledge. It was a reluctant decision. Whatever had happened in their church's stewardship campaign, they felt pressured and the amount they were going to give was really a guilt offering.
They showed up at worship and the minister preached on this text. The friend told me that they heard “cheerful giver” as one more way to guilt them into giving, so the couple decided to reduce their pledge on the spot As she told me the she said, “The minister wanted me to be cheerful, so I lowered my pledge until I could be cheerful.”
Not exactly Paul's plan, I suspect. I might also add that this couple went on to become some of the biggest givers in the church. In retrospect, I think they needed to feel the freedom to give less so that they could be freed to actually give a quite a bit more each subsequent year.
b. I had the opposite experience during the first capital campaign I ever participated in at the church I served in KY. I had made a pledge, but the guest preacher was so inspiring that I upped our pledge by a $1,000 dollars (without telling my wife, mind you).
1. It really got me excited about giving and put a smile on my face.

2. It made me want to celebrate.

c. I hope that we celebrate today that we have made commitments that make us “cheerful givers.”
1. Givers who have know the rich bounty with which God has given to us.
2. Givers who respond by giving back abundantly.
We celebrate the opportunity to be cheerful givers.

Move 2: Celebration announces God's gifts

a. Typically, I think of celebration as having a inward/personal connotation for the person or group celebrating.

1. A birthday party celebrates the person who is a year older.

B. I find it fascinating that the Hebrew word for "Celebrate" used in Psalm 145 literally means to "pour forth." 

 1. The verse literally reads, "they shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness."

2. That context suggests that "celebrate" has an outward focus to it.
   
   
3. the story of God's abundant goodness gets shared with others.

4. In other words, when we celebrate our commitment to our place where people can gather to worship God, that is not just about us.

5. It is about the God whom we worship and sharing the good news we know about God's love with a world that needs to hear and experience that love.
   
   
6. WE are called to “pour forth;” to proclaim to the world the God to whom we make our commitment this day.
   
   
   Our celebration needs to announce to the world God's presence in our midst.

Move 4: Celebrate that we have this place to worship and serve God.

a. We have talked about the importance of place several times, so I won't belabor the point this morning.

1. But I would note that on Monday morning I experienced the power of place when I was back in Austin at the seminary I attended years ago.

2. We gathered in the chapel for worship to begin our Board meeting.

3. The chapel feels like a medieval place of worship. Really, it feels more like an Episcopal sanctuary than what I would think of as a Presbyterian sanctuary.
   
   
   4. there I sat, surrounded by students I did not know, some professors and board members that I knew, and many I did not know.

5. But in that place my mind wandered to the people with whom I had worshiped for three years of seminary; in that place I was reminded of professors who no longer were there, but whose imprint on me remains; in that place, I was reminded of how my sense of call was shaped by that worshiping community. In that place, I was challenged to look forward to how the God I discovered there in years past is still alive now.

b. It reminded me of the stories of I have heard from ya'll about this place.

1. I hear new members who talk about visiting and walking into our sanctuary or chapel and feeling this is the place I should be.

2. I hear members who have had to move away about how much they miss this place. And how when they think of church, the sanctuary or chapel, the place where they have gathered to worship God, comes to mind and comforts them.
   
   
   WE celebrate that we have this place to worship God.

Move 5: Some of us may not feel like celebrating today.

a. I'm thinking about those among us who are in the midst of struggles and uncertainties and can't find much to celebrate.

1. Issue at work.

2. Friends or family are serving in harm's way.

3. The uncertainties in life make it hard to celebrate.

b. If you are one of those people, I hope you know that when we celebrate today, we are doing so as a community of faith.

1. A community of faith made up of people who are at different stages in their lives.

2. A community of faith that invites all to share in its fellowship, even if you do not feel like celebrating.

3. In part, because we know that at some other time we may be the one who is unable to celebrate and will need others to do so for us.

4. But mostly because we know that we are in this together. That God has put each of us in this place to be together.
   
   
   So we celebrate together.
   
   
   Conclusion: Grandfather's birthday – did not know his actual date of birth; great flexibility - celebration could be whenever

What mattered was not the particular day of his birth, but the people who gathered to celebrate and the reason they gathered.

What matters today when we celebrate is the people who gather with us and the God to whom we make our commitments this day.