What Should I Desire Most? -- Sermon 6 on the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 6:19-34

In The Christmas Carol, the heart of a young Ebenezer Scrooge grows dark and cold as he enters the world of business. His pursuit of earthly treasure has even shut his heart to the young woman to whom he’s engaged. The story of Ebenezer Scrooge, which I watch every Christmas in as many formats as possible, is a telling portrait of the problem that Jesus addresses in our text this morning.

This brief section of the Sermon on the Mount is framed by two statements. In the opening paragraph Jesus says: “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (vs. 21). That is, wherever you put your treasure, that will be your God, as the story of Mr. Scrooge clearly illustrates. Then we close with these familiar words: “Seek first the kingdom of God.” In both of these statements and the verses that surround them, we hear this important question: In whom will I place my trust?

1. Making a Kingdom Bank Deposit

These words follow Jesus’ gift of a prayer, one that we pray each week, and perhaps even daily. Last year we spent the Lenten season exploring this prayer, which calls for us to pledge our ultimate allegiance to God. And, if we are pledging our allegiance to God, then it’s possible that this faith of ours is calling us to be subversives. We may not seek to be subversive, but if we live according to the Sermon on the Mount, then that’s what we’ll be. Yes, as ethicist Stanley Hauerwas puts it:

“Jesus is very clear. Wealth is a problem. That capitalism is an economic system justified by the production of wealth is therefore not necessarily good news for Christians.” [Hauerwas, Matthew: Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible, (Brazos, 2006), p. 81].

Hauerwas might be right, because when I read the gospels they tend to make me feel very uncomfortable with the way I live in the world. Indeed, if we take Jesus’ sermon seriously, it’s clear that Jesus was not a capitalist.

If this is true then what are the implications of these verses for the way we live in the world? Who is influencing our thinking – Jesus or Adam Smith? As you ponder this question think about the ways in which our thinking is influenced by the media, our friends, and even the games we play. Yes, have you ever played Monopoly or Life? I expect you have, because we’ve played them here at church on game nights, and in fact, some of you are down right ruthless in your attempts at winning the game. There is, of course, a message to these games: The winner is the one who accumulates the most property and money. We may enjoy the games, but if we take these scriptures seriously then we must admit that they reinforce values that run counter to the gospel message.

So, what’s the alternative? Jesus says, “Do not store up treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal.” Instead, store your treasure in heaven. Consider for a moment the story of the young man who came to Jesus seeking to know what it takes to experience eternal life. In the course of the conversation we learn that this young man sincerely wanted to experience oneness with God. He had diligently kept all the commandments, but something still was missing, and so Jesus told him to sell his possessions, give the money to the poor, and then follow him. Then he would experience salvation. As the story goes, the young many walked away with deep sadness, because he had many possessions (Mt. 19:16-22). As I hear this word, I recognize that I too have many possessions, and I wonder how these possessions get in the way of my being a disciple of Jesus.

2. Which Master Should I choose?

This question gets asked in a different way in the verses that follow. Jesus talks about the eye being the lamp of the body. If the eye is healthy, then light enters the body. If it’s unhealthy then there will be darkness. Having said this, Jesus makes one of those memorable but challenging statements. You can’t serve two masters. You’ll end up loving one and hating the other. Therefore, you can’t love both God and mammon. Most modern translations translate mammon as wealth, but there’s something to be said about using the word mammon. You see the word stems from a root that means “to trust or believe in.” That was the pressing question for this young man – in what or in whom would he place his trust – his possessions or God? [Williamson and Allen, Preaching the Gospels without Blaming the Jews, (WJK, 2004), pp. 22-23].

This issue of trust is important, because it says a lot about why we hoard and worry. When we put our trust in God who feeds the birds and clothes the grass with flowers more beautiful than anything that Solomon in his glory might wear, then we need not worry. But to do this, we must put our focus on Christ alone.

I say this knowing full well that we need jobs, stores, government services, and more to sustain our lives. But what Jesus seems to want us to understand is that while we can’t live on bread alone, we do need our daily bread. The question is – how do we draw a line between our daily bread and that treasure which captures our hearts and minds and then leads us away from God? The line may be very thin, but as Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, it may have to do with “what your heart clings to.” [Bonhoeffer, Discipleship, (Fortress, 2001) 4:163]. Yes, whatever your heart clings to, that is your master.

3. First Things First

If our master is that to which our hearts cling, then how should we respond to the message of this morning’s gathering song?

“Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and God’s righteousness,

and all these things shall be added unto you. Alleluia, Alleluia!

This song, and the Scripture upon which it is based, invites us to prioritize our lives around the reign of God. Yes, the message is clear – first things first. The problem is, we’ve been led to believe, that we live in a world of scarcity. We’re constantly being told that there’s not enough land, water, or food, to go around. While I don’t want to instigate class warfare in this sermon, it’s becoming clear that the gap between the haves and the have-nots is increasing at an alarming rate. The wealthy are getting wealthier, while the poor are getting poorer. And, as for the traditional middle class, upon which our society is based, there are signs that it’s in danger of extinction. Why is this?

Although we’ve been told that our nation, our state, and our local governments are broke, we’ve also seen tax breaks get extended for the wealthiest amongst us, even as taxes are increasing for those at the bottom of the economic ladder. Somehow that doesn’t seem right. But, it shouldn’t surprise us, because with wealth comes power, and if our lives are guided by the principle of scarcity, then we will not only worry about tomorrow, we will build as many barns as possible to hoard our treasures. We will build fences and walls to protect our treasures. Yes, that is what we will do, if we believe in the principle of scarcity. In such a world, injustice and violence reign because we think that we can survive only if we increase and protect our treasure on earth.

But, what if we put the kingdom first? What if we put our trust in God -- not the God of scarcity, but the God of abundance, the God who feeds the birds and decorates the fields with glorious flowers? How will we treat our neighbor then? As we seek to answer these questions, I want to offer another word of wisdom from Stanley Hauerwas:

Abundance not scarcity, is the mark of God’s kingdom. But the abundance must be made manifest through the lives of a people who have discovered that they can trust God and one another. Such trust is not an irrational gesture against the chaos of life, but rather a witness to the very character of God’s care of creation. (Hauerwas, Matthew, p. 83)

Yes, we worship and serve a God who pours out upon us the treasures of heaven, so that we might share this abundance with one another. But this requires that we put our trust in God and store up our treasures in heaven. Yes, let us seek first the kingdom of God, and then all that we need will be provided us.

Preached by:
Dr. Robert D. Cornwall
Pastor, Central Woodward Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Troy, Michigan
2nd Sunday of Lent
March 20, 2011

Don't Be Spooked: Stewardship Isn't That Scary

2 Corinthians 9:5-15

Considering that today is Halloween, and because the sermon title has a Halloween flavor, I suggested to Pat that the choir might want to sing “The Monster Mash” as an anthem. And in keeping with the spirit of the day and the sermon’s emphasis, I even thought about dressing up as a “TV evangelist.” After all, what’s more spooky than a TV Evangelist with that slicked back hair and smiling face asking everyone in TV land to fork over the big bucks so that God might bless the giver, while TV Evangelist adds another luxury car to an already crowded garage.

Alas, Pat didn’t think this anthem choice was a great idea, so he sent me an email suggesting that we might want to reconsider the idea, since he still needs employment. And so, as you heard, the choir sang something other than “The Monster Mash!” And without the Halloween anthem, there didn’t seem to be any reason to dress up in a costume.

But, in all seriousness, perhaps it’s fitting that we’re launching our month-long stewardship emphasis on Halloween. After all, stewardship can seem like a rather spooky topic, especially during these difficult financial times. Despite our uneasiness with talking about this topic, stewardship is an important spiritual practice. How we view our money has spiritual implications, as is seen in this week’s lectionary text from the Gospel of Luke. Luke tells the story of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus the Tax Collector. That encounter proved to be life-changing. On that day Zacchaeus essentially gave up everything he owned and either gave it to the poor or paid it back in restitution, and Jesus said of Zacchaeus: Today salvation has come to his house (Luke 19:1-10).

Our reading from 2 Corinthians 9 has a different emphasis, but it also speaks of giving from the heart. In this case, Paul gives the Corinthian church direction, so that they can take up an offering to provide relief to the believers in Judea. He couches this call to give in spiritual terms, terms that remain helpful to this very day. The message is simple. The act of setting aside a portion of our income to give to the church is an act of spiritual discipline and an act of thanksgiving. It may seem like a spooky topic but really it’s not!

1. A God of Abundant Blessings

Every stewardship emphasis seems to have a theme, and this year’s theme isn’t Halloween-related. Instead, the theme is “More Than Enough,” which responds to the question: “How much is enough?” Our culture suggests that whatever we have now, is not enough. In fact, because we have a consumer-based economy, our income depends on people not being satisfied with what they already have. Now, I’ll admit that even though I’m a pretty frugal person, I can’t say that I’m completely satisfied with what I have. If nothing else, my book list continues to grow, and I really want Santa to bring me a Kindle for Christmas. Maybe that’s why we fall victim to what Walter Brueggemann calls the “narrative of scarcity. He writes in his book Journey to the Common Good:

The narrative of scarcity leads us to conclude that if you have something, then it must have come to you at my expense. And if I have something, then I’m going to protect it at all costs. This attitude makes it difficult for us to commit ourselves to the common good, since we’ve been led to believe that there’s never enough to go around. Therefore, since I have mine, I have no interest in helping you get yours.

It is our propensity, in society and church, to trust the narrative of scarcity. That is what makes us greedy, and exclusive, and selfish, and coercive. Even the Eucharist can be made into an occasion of scarcity, as though there were not enough for all. Such scarcity leads to exclusion at the table, even as scarcity leads to exclusion from economic life (Walter Brueggemann, Journey to the Common Good, WJK, 2010, p. 34).

There is, however, another narrative – the narrative of abundance. This narrative is deeply embedded in Scripture, including this passage from Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. As I suggested earlier, Paul is heading toward Judea, but has planned to stop in Corinth, because he would like the Corinthians to make an offering to the believers in Judea. In part this gift will provide relief to people in need, but it will also cement a relationship between two very different congregations.

To get an idea of what Paul is up to, think in terms of getting a letter from Amy Gopp, which informs us that she’ll be in the neighborhood in the next week or so and that she’s taking up a collection for the people of Indonesia, who’ve suffered again from the combined effects of an earthquake and a tsunami. Her word of advice is that she’d really like it if we would have the offering ready when she arrived so that she doesn’t have to cajole us into giving. She wouldn’t want to turn to extortion to get some money out of us.

One of the key points in this passage is Paul’s appeal to the abundant blessings that God has poured out on this church. It’s not that this was a wealthy congregation, but he writes to remind them that “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance” (v. 8) This statement is echoed in Ephesians 1, where the author of that letter says that the “God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” . . . “has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” (Eph. 1:3) In fact, we’ve not only been blessed with God’s abundance, but we are heirs of God in Christ (Eph. 1:11). Yes, our God is a God of abundance and not scarcity, and we are the inheritors of that abundance.

2. Therefore: Share the Abundance and Be Enriched

So, what should be done? It’s telling that Paul doesn’t say anything about how much the Corinthians should give. There are no formulas here, just words of encouragement that they should “give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” What you decide to give is between you and God, but it’s important to God that this gift is an expression of our love for God and God’s people. Although he doesn’t give a formula, he does suggest that if we sow sparingly, we’ll reap sparingly, but if we sow bountifully, then we’ll reap bountifully.

What does this mean for us? I think it’s an invitation to move from the narrative of scarcity to the narrative of abundance. It’s a reminder that there really is “more than enough” if God is involved with our lives. Therefore, if we’re willing to let go of the abundance that God has entrusted to our care, our lives will change for the better. For instance, we’ll probably become more aware of others around us. We’ll begin to see ourselves as part of a community and not as isolated individuals. When that happens, we’ll begin to let go of our fears and begin to live lives of faith and trust. Giving to the ministries of the church won’t make you rich financially, no matter what the TV evangelists tell you. But your lives will be enriched because you’ll begin to make connections with others and experience the blessings of working toward the common good. Yes, God has given us the seed and the bread to share, so that we might be a blessing, and as a result, as Paul makes very clear, we’ll be enriched by our generosity. As I said, it might not be financial riches that come our way, but we will be enriched.

3. Thanks Be to God!

Our text this morning ends with the words: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” This sentence serves as a reminder that whatever we give, whether in terms of time, talent, or finances, when done cheerfully, and not reluctantly or under compulsion, it is an act of thanksgiving. Therefore, it’s appropriate that when we end this Stewardship season a month from now, it will be on Thanksgiving Sunday. At that time, we’ll bring into the storehouse the commitments that we’ve made. Hopefully these commitments will be made in the context of prayer. Now, between this Sunday and Thanksgiving Sunday you’ll hear testimonies from members of the church about what stewardship means to them. You’ll receive a letter with an estimate of giving card from the Stewardship Ministry Group. You’ll likely read some articles about stewardship in the newsletter. And then, at the appropriate time we will bless these signs of our commitment to the common good with prayers and songs of Thanksgiving.

Stewardship is a spiritual discipline, but it is also a practical one. When we give of our finances to the church, we expect that these offerings of thanksgiving will be used wisely. These gifts may come out of God’s abundance, but that doesn’t mean the church should be wasteful. That’s why we have a budgeting process, and we have church leaders who are entrusted with keeping watch over their part of the budget. Let us then, commit ourselves to prayerfully considering the manner in which God is calling us to give to the ministry of the church. You may want to use as a goal the principle of the tithe. A tithe is traditionally understood to be the first 10% of one’s income. In ancient Israel, this tithe was brought to the Temple as an offering of thanksgiving. This is a good goal to pursue, but whatever you decide to give, remember that ours is a God of great abundance, and that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavens (Eph. 1:3ff). Therefore, whatever we give comes out of God’s largesse.

So, is that spooky or what?

 

Preached by:

Dr. Robert D. Cornwall

Pastor, Central Woodward (Christian Church)

Troy, Michigan

23rd Sunday after Pentecost

October 31, 2010