Sermons

“A Faith You Can Touch”

Psalm 95:1-7a; Luke 24:36-49 – Rev. Rebecca Littlejohn

Vista La Mesa Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), La Mesa, California – April 26, 2015

Annual Stewardship Campaign #2

Holy God, bless the speaking and the hearing of these words that we might truly open our hearts and our lives to becoming vessels of your grace. We pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.

So did you give your fish away? In case you missed it last week, everyone got a gummy fish, with instructions to share it with someone while telling them a story about a time when your faith was particularly real. So did you give your fish away? There was, of course, the less risky option of eating the fish yourself while praying about your faith journey, and there’s no shame in that. But raise your hand if you gave your fish to someone and told them a story about your faith. I actually didn’t remember to pick up a fish myself, so Brian gave me his and told me a story, and then he gave me another to give back to him when I told him my story. Thanks, Brian!

The point, of course, is not the candy, or even the fish. The fish is a symbol, from the Easter story we just heard. It was a sign, for the gospel writer, of just how very alive and real Jesus really was. He ate fish! And so that fish becomes a symbol of just how real faith can be. It’s something that matters, something that makes a difference in your life. Faith is not just wishful thinking or positivity, but something that actually changes the reality of our lives. And the point is not the symbol, but the story of how that happens – how it happened, how it’s happening right now, how you hope it will happen. The point is the proclamation. ‘Repentance and forgiveness of sins in Jesus’ name is to be proclaimed to all nations,’ the story says. That doesn’t mean you have to walk the streets with a sign exclaiming “REPENT!” That is not generally what our stories look like. The stories we’re looking for are not shouted at strangers. These stories are shared in relationship, with people we’ve known for years or for new friends we’re just getting to know. Maybe it’s giving hope by sharing the story of your journey through cancer with someone who is just beginning theirs. Maybe it’s telling someone trapped in bitterness about how forgiving your brother after a decades-long grudge brought a freedom into your life you’d never imagined having. Maybe it’s about sharing with someone who is lonely about that time in your life when everyone had gone except God, and how God got you through.

Someone in this room has a story about how they decided to start tithing, and how it felt like a risk, because that’s a lot to give, and then they discovered that the more they gave, the more it seemed they had. There are a lot of ways that our faith can become real. And the truth is that stewardship is one of the most effective spiritual disciplines, if done right, precisely because the intersection of our faith and our money is where real happens. The surest way to have what happens in here affect what happens in the rest of your life is to make an intentional decision to give regularly. And the easiest way to do that is to do it together. If we were to wait for the time to feel right in our individual lives, for the moment to arrive when we felt like we had the time to sit down and figure out exactly how and what we want to do with our lives, including how much to give away, most of us would never get it done. Instead, we do this part of it once a year, as a community of faith, welcoming everyone to participate in our efforts to both fund our ministry and to provide each of us as individuals with the structures and tools to make our finances part of our spiritual life. And so here we are, on Consecration Sunday, determining to be intentional about our stewardship choices, to write our commitments down, and to ask God’s blessing that we might faithful to these decisions.

Psalm 95 invites us to “make a joyful noise” to God. It goes on to remind us that everything is God’s. Everything we see, everything we have – all of it belongs to God, because God made it all. And that is exactly why we’re invited to sing – or whatever the joyful noise you make is called. The reason stewardship is such an effective spiritual tool is that it reminds us that we are not our own. It reminds us that everything we have comes from God. It reminds us that we are not self-made creatures. And this is not only humbling; it can also be quite relieving. The pressure of feeling like we have to make it on our own in the world can be incredibly overwhelming. But we don’t. We are not on our own. We are God’s. The relief of that is real. And regular giving is a way to tap into it.

I am fully aware that most likely everyone here has already made a decision about whether you’re going to turn in one of these blue cards or not. The likelihood of anything I say today influencing that decision is not very high. On the other hand, though today is the official day for turning in Estimate of Giving cards, we will, of course, accept them at any time. Perhaps you have not yet come around to the idea that you might need a regular reminder that you’re not on your own, that everything you have comes from God, or that your financial situation does not define you. But that moment could still come, if not on an official schedule, then whenever the Holy Spirit moves. We’re ready when you are.

Perhaps you’ve felt that the amount you can afford to give isn’t worth writing down. That isn’t true. Especially when the gift seems small, it is all the more important to declare it proudly, because it is a proclamation of freedom. This is faith made real. By deciding to give a portion of meager resources, we are expressing our trust in God and our refusal to let a slim bank account determine who we are. The point is not the amount; the point is the practice, the act of refusing to live in a place of scarcity and instead tapping into God’s abundance. What a story that will make!

These are Easter stories, these tales of how we refuse to let money determine our self-worth. They are about claiming God’s gift of new life, of seeing Jesus alive in our midst, of proclaiming the abundant grace of God. They are not easy to tell, because first we have to experience them. And then we have to interpret them and recognize what was happening in our lives. When the disciples first saw Jesus in this story from Luke, it says they were “startled and terrified.” Even as they were starting to understand what was happening and become filled with joy, “they were disbelieving and still wondering.” Sometimes it takes a while for faith to become real.

But here we are, telling their story hundreds of years later. Telling their story, telling our stories, being joyful and disbelieving and wondering and proclaiming God’s abundant grace. And doing it all together. Money can be scary. Money in churches can be downright anxiety-producing. “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” Jesus asks. “Because what if we don’t make the budget?” we reply! And how does he respond? He eats a fish. He invites us to eat a fish. And he promises “power from on high.” If we can stick together, and eat our fish, and await the promised Holy Spirit, church finances don’t have to be frightening. Making a personal commitment doesn’t have to be scary. Our faith is sufficient for real life challenges because we worship a God who is alive. Christ is risen! Alleluia and Amen.