The third sermon in the stewardship series. I felt like I got lost in all the ideas I had for the sermon and never found my focus.
“Included and Involved” Stewardship series; October 25, 2020, SAPC, Denton; Dr. Richard B. Culp; Matthew 25: 31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[g] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Introduction: Continue reflecting on stewardship in a time of pandemic.
Another week with a video. members describing how they feel included and how they get involved here at St. Andrew, and then reflecting on how St. Andrew includes others and has tried to be involved in our community and world during this time of pandemic.
Recognize in that movement the pattern for stewardship. Giving coming in response to God’s blessings; giving going out in our call to follow Christ.
Move 1: Stewardship as a way for us to be involved and included in the life of this community of faith.
a. We ask all members to join us in our stewardship campaign.
1. We do not focus on certain people or groups who we think might be big givers and ignore others.
2. We invite everyone.
4. In fact, even our youngest in church school are given an opportunity to make a pledge each year and give each week because giving is an act of the whole community.
b. As a community of faith, we are tasked with providing opportunities for people to grow in their discipleship.
1. We gather to learn about mission, and then are given opportunities to engage in mission.
2. We invite people to commit to giving back to God, and then we take those gifts and engage others with them.
3. Mission and giving are intertwined. Independent Sector Study: Correlation between average household’s donation to charity and voluntary service—households with one or more volunteers in household give on average $1,193/year. No volunteers give an average $425/year.
c. Not really a surprise, I suppose, for those of us who understand the task of the church to be about including and involving those inside our doors, even as we include and involve those outside our doors.
1. We read Christ’s familiar words today about whom we are called to serve and what we are called to do.
2. Catholic theologian Gary Anderson argues that this parable Jesus told was the most important text for the early church because it shaped their understanding of charitable giving (Kitchen Table Giving: Reimagining How Congregations Connect with Their Donors, William G. Enright, 60).
3. They were called to give because they needed to fund the tasks given to them - to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, care for the sick, clothe the naked, visiting the imprisoned, welcoming the stranger.
3. for those coming out of their Jewish heritage, this would have been a continuation of the historic emphasis on hospitality to strangers and caring for the widows and orphans.
4. For those new to the God whom Christ proclaimed this would shape their understanding of God’s care and concern for all the world and God’s call for followers of the resurrected Christ to join in that care and concern. In many ways, it was a continuation of their Jewish heritage of hospitality.
5. for all of these new Christian, it shaped who they understood themselves to be.
d. I recently read about Jacqueline Fuller leads Google.org, a data-driven, human-focused philanthropy powered by Google. Her team invests more than $200 million yearly to support innovative nonprofits who are using technology to create more opportunities for everyone to learn, succeed, and be heard. Jacqueline joined Google in 2007 and manages a global team overseeing Google’s philanthropic work, employee giving and volunteering, and product donations (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacquelline-fuller-8b79908)
“I remember reading the Bible when I first became a Christian. I came away thinking…God loves the people, and we have a responsibility to ensure that we’re never the oppressor and that we’re taking care of strangers and widows and orphans and the fatherless. That made me think that this is something I should do as a Christian and started me on this journey” (Kitchen Table Giving: Reimagining How Congregations Connect with Their Donors, William G. Enright, 59).
1. a powerful comment. I only wish she had said she had learned all that in a Presbyterian church!
2. She clearly knows what we know - even as we join together in our giving, we extend beyond ourselves to include and involve others.
Move 2: Our stewardship takes us into the world to include others and be involved in their lives.
a. Giving as an act of connecting beyond ourselves.
1. Just as giving currency creates a flow of exchange, so our giving creates a flow of exchanges with others (Holy Currencies, Eric Law, 135-136)
2. Visually - money is given, and something is exchanged. A connection is made. Sharing takes place, although it may seem very business-like.
3. Likewise, when we take the gifts we give and offer them to those in our community through our mission work, through our support of partner agencies, through our direct giving to people in need, we are connecting with people.
b. We sometimes look to the Genesis story of creation for insights into stewardship.
1. When God charges humans with caring for creation, we often see that as a call to care for the environment.
2. But that sense of being stewards should not be limited to thinking about the environment.
3. We are called to join with God in repairing all of creation.
4. In the Hebrew language there is a phrase to describe this - tikkun olam.
5. The most modern and broadly understood notion of tikkun olam is that of "repairing the world" through human actions. Humanity's responsibility to change, improve, and fix its earthly surroundings is powerful. It implies that each person has a hand in working towards the betterment of his or her own existence as well as the lives of future generations. Tikkun olam forces people to take ownership of their world. It is them, not G-d, who will bring the world back to its original state of holiness. https://www.learningtogive.org/resources/tikkun-olam
6. Giving gifts and then using them to repair
7. Our giving connects us and sends us out to be involved with others.
8. To include others as we extend and expand the community of those whose lives have been changed by the presence and power of God.
c. As the pandemic took hold, one of the ministries in which we engaged, in fact, are still engaging, was the Pandemic Relief Fund.
1. Great example of the movement in with giving and then movement out to the community.
2. members cave money to this fund; the mission committee matched the funds - a chance for all of us to be included and involved here at St. Andrew - our internal connectedness at work.
3. Now, money is flowing out of the fund to people who have been adversely impacted by the pandemic - people being included and involved through the ministry of St. Andrew.
Conclusion: One of the first Sunday mornings in my I was not quite used to the sounds of the empty building. it was still dark.
I clearly heard someone outside the office. I went to investigate.
I opened the door and a man jumped back, even as I jumped back.
“Who are you?” I shouted.
“Who are you,” he answered back.
“I’m the minister.”
“i’m Joe.”
he then explained to me that he came by every Sunday morning for coffee, and if I were in fact the new minister, then I needed to know that.
My introduction to Joe. Over the years, I got to know him a bit. The church helped him out financially from time to time. He sometimes lived in government housing. Sometimes, I think he lived on the street.
He would disappear for months on end (usually in the really cold months), and then reappear. We never knew when he disappeared if he had died, or if he would be back.
One day, I received a phone call. A Presbyterian minister serving a church down in TN. I cat remember the town, but it was on I-40.
“I’ve got sort of a strange question to ask you,” he said.
“Okay.”
“Do you know a guy named Joe?”
“What?”
“Well, I know this sounds crazy, but there’s a guy named Joe in my office asking for some financial help. He told me that the Presbyterians in Troy, OH took care of him, so he came to the Presbyterian church in TN for help since he was one of us Presbyterians. In fact, he insisted I call you to prove he was one of us, and we should help him”
“Joe!” I described what he looked like.
“yep. that the Joe who is standing in my office.”
“Well,” I said, “you can do what you want about helping him, but he’s right. he is one of us. we help him out from time to time when he’s in OH.”
I hung up laughing to myself - Joe was down in TN asking another minister for help. not my problem that day.
then I realized he had given us a great compliment by saying he was one of us.
And, indeed, he was.
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