The Sermon of the Amount

“The Sermon of the Amount" The Dover Church
October 16, 2011 –18th Sunday after Pentecost
Scripture: Psalm 96, Matthew 22:15-22

Most people become uncomfortable when the pastor starts talking about money in church. I don't know exactly why, but here are my guesses. First, I think that people expect preachers to be judgmental when it comes to money, as in we have it and many don’t and that makes us guilty, or we have it and spend it but we don’t spend it where we ought to, which makes us guilty, or that we have a lot of it and we don’t share enough of it….you guessed it, guilty again. I don't find guilt very motivational, so don't worry. Second, I think that most people don't equate giving to the church with pleasure compared with taking the family out to a delightful dinner, going on a great vacation, or buying that special something. Just compare the excitement and generosity around our 250th Renovation work. Many of you have been really excited about the tangible results your generosity makes possible and have given abundantly and enthusiastically, whereas stewardship feels more like “oh, it’s that time again.” And third, I'm obviously leading up to an ask, along with every other good cause. Fair enough. I usually am, but I ought to preach money more often because we all have it and Jesus had a lot to say about it.
I am asking this morning, but first I would like to reframe the spirituality of money and giving. I think it is my responsibility as your pastor, the individual charged with the care of your souls, to talk about money because our checkbooks, along with our calendars, are a mirror into our souls. How we use our money is an absolute indicator of what we value. Prayerfully reflecting on our money, where it comes from, how we get it, how much we get, how much we want or feel we need, what we do with it, and what we hope to achieve with it, helps us sort out our lives, adjust our priorities, work out inconsistencies between our stated values and our lived realities, and is a fantastic spiritual discipline for finding harmony and balance in the midst of our chaotic, sometimes confusing, and often stressful lives.
Here’s how I practice this spiritual discipline. As you have probably guessed by now, my relationship with God is at the center of my life. Why? Why is my God relationship so important to me? My God relationship gives me meaning and purpose, a sense of perspective and proportion, a sense of direction, it helps me discern what is important and what is not. And perhaps most importantly in my chaotic life, my faith gives me confidence, hope and assurance. I don’t need to worry. I don’t need to sweat it, knowing that God is God and I am not, that God is on top of things so I don't have to be. Talk about a load off of my shoulders!
Now that's all nice God talk, but how do I translate all of these benefits into a lived reality? Our faith captures the importance of money in our lives in relationship with God with two concepts: tithing and giving from the first fruits. A tithe is 10% of one’s income. First fruits are well, first fruits, the ripe, luscious strawberries on top and not the stray raisins left over in the bottom of the bowl. Eating apples off the tree as opposed to picking up drops. I know it’s sounds obvious, but the parallel with human love is close: if you really love someone you show it and live it. Aiming for a tithe, giving of the first fruits makes the importance of one’s God relationship unambiguous. When you give in that way you notice it. It is intentional. It is significant. It is not an afterthought or just cutting a check.
My tithe, my giving of my first fruits, would be a gift to God through the Dover Church of roughly $6,000. “What are we paying this guy?” you might ask. Or, “Why would he possibly give that much money to the Dover Church?” This institution is not God after all. That’s true, but this church is the place where, and you are the people with whom, I have been called to live out my God in Jesus Christ relationship. I know that if I give that generously and if the many of you who are able to do likewise actually do likewise, together we will have the financial wherewithal, the tools, to meaningfully, concretely, and measurably do God’s will in this very place at this very time. That is something I want to see in my lifetime, a church where that sort of generosity is creating a world of spiritual abundance and overflowing good works. If all of us gave that generously, we would have over $2 million every year. If that’s not unambiguous, I don’t know what is.
But, of course, like you, I have other commitments in life, other things I hope and dream of, other things I have to plan for, other things that draw on the tangible fruits of my labor, my money. Right off the top, I have to save aggressively for three big things: my retirement, a home to live in when I retire, and our sons’ education. I am well compensated by The Dover Church, but I can do the math and I know that I need to save a lot if I want achieve these important goals. That saving does squeeze my ability to give to the church as generously as I would like. Last year I gave $2,600, which was almost half a tithe, not quite half of the first fruits, 4.25% of my income. My giving was progressing towards an accurate reflection of the central importance of my relationship with God. By way of cheerleading, if the 167 pledges to the church last year were at least $2,600, or if those who gave more gave enough more to balance out those who were unable to give that much, then we would be well on our way to being that church I dream of with a giving total of $434,000. If we acted in percentiles and became a half a tithe church, in which everyone aimed for 5% of their income as their annual gift, we would have roughly $1.1 million to do God’s will with every year. Can you say outstanding everything in here and literacy programs, nutritional programs, job training, affordable housing, or schools and medical clinics out there? You name it. You dream it. Every year. Now that would be an exciting church to be part of, wouldn’t you say?
I think I dropped that bomb on you two years ago, so let’s get back to my money for the moment. What am I to do? How am I to get my gift to the church to where I want it to be, to a real first fruits level? A tithe? Where am I going to come up with another $3,500 when I have to live today and save for tomorrow? And what would be really good for my soul, how can I make my giving reflect my primary values, the things that are most important to me?
What are the values I would like my gift to reflect? What do I value the most in life? My relationship with God in Jesus Christ as lived out in this church. My family and our future. The Kingdom of God as preached by Jesus Christ values of peace and justice. The Biblical call to care for the environment and sustainable living. And the “created in the image of God” imperative of physical and emotional well being. Those are the biggies. Many of you probably share them. How can he possibly work that all into his weekly offering envelope? Isn’t this a simple question of affordability?
Well, I have an answer and all of you who drive past 61 Dedham Street have seen it. Last summer I started collecting firewood and last Christmas I bought a wood stove. Just last winter, I saved $1,500 on the oil bill and $600 on the electric bill – the furnace blower takes a lot electricity. That is money that the church can now use for doing God’s will. Those $2,100 of savings plus my $2,600 pledge from last year brings my gift to $4,700, which puts me at 7.8% and closer to my first fruits. As you can judge by the size of my present wood pile, I aim to save at least another $1,000 in energy costs this winter. Add in all the hours I spent cutting, chopping and stacking, or figure the value of 6 cords of wood at $300 a cord, and my gift to the church is over $6,000. I am giving a tithe, real first fruits. And what’s of equal importance to me, I am actually living my primary values. I am putting my God relationship up front while still saving aggressively for my family’s future. I am cutting my dependence on foreign oil and multinational corporations, which I think are the root cause of much of the violence and injustice in our world. I am living locally, these trees came from within 600 yards of my house. I am living within my limits…if I don’t chop it I can’t burn it. I am living sustainably, it only takes about 5 big trees a year. I am caring for the environment by burning less oil and creating less carbon emission. And I am caring for my physical and emotional well being. Those hours I spend out on the woodpile are both my gym membership and my therapist’s couch. And you thought I was just an eccentric who was going round the bend with wood chopping.
My friends, I am asking you to give some of your money. In fact, I am challenging all of us in a big way. But the real challenge is not dollars and cents. I am inviting you to something much deeper and more challenging: to give spiritually so that your annual gift to our church reflects your deepest and most heartfelt values. I am saying that together we can live into our hopes and dreams, God’s hopes and dreams for us, for ourselves and for the world within our effective reach. I am not asking you to go out and start chopping wood or even hijack an oil truck and hide it behind the church. Between today and Agape Sunday, November 20, when our giving ministry wraps up, I invite you to prayerfully consider where you want your God relationship to be in your lives and then imagine what sort of future you would like to be part of here at The Dover Church. And then, let’s give so that we can live it.