Scripture:

What do we regard as true treasure? Our most valuable possessions? Our fondest memories? Our most cherished loved ones? . . . . Our response to this question may be evolving. It may depend on the mood we are in when we are asked. But scripture tells us that wherever our treasure is, that is where our heart is too. As we prepare to reflect on the connection between God, church and our treasure, I read two brief selections from the Gospel of Matthew. The first is found in chapter 6, verses 19-21; and the second is in chapter 13, verse 44.

[6:19] "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; [20] but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. [21] For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

[13:44] "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which someone found and hid; then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."

Sermon:


Karl Menniger was arguably the greatest psychologist of our time. Not only did he build The Menniger Institute, but his work as a psychotherapist helped thousands, and his books helped many more. Once he was asked what, in his opinion, was the most difficult topic for Americans to discuss openly. It was for him an obvious answer. Not sex. Not lying or cheating. Not even addiction or infidelity. The most difficult topic for Americans to discuss openly, he said, is money.

This is not a recent phenomenon. In 1844 Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, "Money is hardly spoken of in parlors without an apology." 152 years later, has the situation changed very much? Of course we talk about economics all the time. And we are all vaguely (or very precisely!) aware of what "the market" is doing. But personal finances remain, by and large, a private, personal issue.   

As a church -- as a gathering of those who take Christ's name as our own -- it is important for us to examine how we as a community deal with the issue of money. Now some of you may immediately say: "There he goes again. He's moving from preaching to meddling!" But I would suggest that just as we look to the Church and look to our faith to help us sort through a wide array of ethical and moral issues, the Christian community must persistently work on the role of money in our lives, even as we discuss the related issues of gratitude, stewardship, and discipleship.

Why do I say that we are obliged, as a Christian community, to examine the role of money in our lives? Two reasons. First (and this may shock you) of all the various themes which Jesus addressed in his life, he had more to say about our relationship to money and material possessions than he had to say about any other topic except the kingdom of God. He had more to say about money than about prayer, love, and even God in heaven.

The second reason we should focus on this topic from time to time is the same reason why Jesus spoke of it with such frequency. If, in the context of Christian community, we fail to address the topic directly and routinely, then we segregate from God's providence this vastly important part of our lives. God rules all of our life. We deceive ourselves if we think that we can call ourselves Christian, and insist that the very currency of our material lives is to be held "out of bounds" when we gather in Christ's name.

What do we stand to gain by addressing the topic of money? The answer is simple: freedom. Now: who among us does not want freedom? The problem is that most of us go after a very different kind of freedom, and pay little attention to the grace of God which sets us free. Let me explain.

There are at least two distinct types of freedom, both of which are important. The first type has to do with the freedom we gain by increasing our material security. It is a freedom which is rooted in the purse. A person who is able to cover her bills is more free than someone who is constantly fending off creditors and anxious about meeting the next payment deadline. A person who can choose to cook a meal, or go out to eat, has more choices (and, it seems, more freedom) than someone who can't afford to go out to eat. This kind of freedom counts for a lot -- especially for someone who is in desperate straights.

What is the Christian view toward this kind of freedom? The Bible strongly supports the need for material security. Both the Old and New Testament emphasize the responsibility which society has to organize itself in a just and fair fashion -- so that all of God's children will have their basic human needs met. Furthermore, it emphasizes the role which the community of the faithful should play in bringing about circumstances in which everyone's basic human needs are met.

Given the extent to which our culture is dominated by this understanding of freedom, it is difficult to pay attention to the other type of freedom. I speak now of the freedom born of gratitude for the gift of life itself; the freedom which emerges when we realize that our security lies in God, and that no change in our material well-being will in any way alter the infinite love which God has for each and every one of us.

A telling illustration of this second kind of freedom comes from a friend of mine -- a minister who suffered the accidental death of his 23 year old son. A month or so afterwards, he received a call from an insurance company to tell him that his son, unbeknownst to him, had taken out a life insurance policy and named his father as the beneficiary. Now, my friend knew that he didn't want to profit from his son's death, but he was readily able to become an agent of his son's joy.

A few weeks later, a family in Vermont, with no running water, received a memorial well in his son's name; two hard working mothers of many children received round trip tickets to Europe;
a cousin received a memorial rubber inflated dingy; and a tennis buddy a memorial leaning tower of Wilson tennis balls: cans stacked from floor to ceiling.

The point is that the father of the deceased son tells the story with enthusiasm and joy, proclaiming that nothing could have been better for his morale. He thoroughly enjoyed giving away the money from the insurance policy because he understood, from the beginning, that the money was not his own.

Every day, sometimes many times in a day, God gives us opportunities to loosen our grip on whatever we hold as treasure -- be it time, talent, money, or material possessions. We are given opportunities to resist the seductive pull of consumerism and the media, and choose to locate our treasure where our heart is. The choices we make in these moments speak volumes about who we are, and who we are becoming.

Once each year, the church gives us this same opportunity. And let's be clear about the meaning of our individual decisions concerning our pledges for 1997. Our Stewardship Campaign represents a referendum -- not on the budget, not on the staff and other church leaders, and not even a referendum on Cleveland's economic climate. Stewardship is a referendum on the spiritual health of the congregation. Our free-will pledging is an outward sign of our inward freedom.

Now, having said that, I must add that some people need to give less than they do now if they are to be faithful to God. You may need to care for your children or your parents or your spouse -- or even for yourself -- more adequately. This is especially true for people who are exceedingly generous with the time they give to others.

That being said, I would urge each of you, as a matter of spiritual discipline, to review your Form 1040 from last year, or project your income figures for the current year. Then, as the Stewardship Committee suggests, look at your current pledge to the church as a percentage of your Adjusted Gross Income -- line 31. For Cindy and me, our current pledge is 5% of our family's AGI. For 1997, we plan to increase our pledge from $3,000 to $4,000. Additionally, we will give another 2-5% to other worthy organizations.

Does this mean that I think the proposed Church budget perfectly expresses my preferences? By no means. My pledge is not a vote for or against the budget.

Does this mean that my family is flush with cash and free from the burden of large expenses? Absolutely not. Have you seen our new roof, or our son's braces?

What it means is that we recognize that God has given us everything we have. The question for me, and for you, is not how much of my money and time I give to the church and other worthy organizations. The question is how much of God's blessings of money and time do I keep for myself!

To accept that point of view shifts the focus of stewardship. Most church members I have known associate stewardship with fundraising. They assume that when a sermon is entitled The Financial Consequences of Faith -- that it is going to focus on asking them to give more money to the church. Such an approach prompts a variety of reactions. For example:

When stewardship is reduced to fundraising, some people become defensive. You can see them bracing themselves in the pews!

Or it can make people feel guilty, and they simply don't show up when the stewardship sermon is being preached.

Linking stewardship to fundraising makes us think that we have the power to influence by what we choose to give or by what we decide to withhold.

Finally, linking stewardship to fundraising makes us think that it is we who build this church, when in fact God builds it.

I don't want to make the mistake of focusing on the need to give more money to the church (which isn't to say I don't think we should--and hope that we do!). That focus misses what I think is the key point.

Instead of talking about giving more, I want to focus on receiving better! Think about what it means to be a gracious receiver of a gift -- because as Christians, this is what we believe ourselves to be. All that we are, and all of what we have, is a gift that we have received from God:

• all of creation;
  
  
• all our successes;
  
  
• all the love and friendship we will ever experience.
  
  
• In all ways we are recipients of God's grace and God's gifts.

Let me invite you to undertake a little exercise: think about a time when you gave a gift to a child, and the child received it well. What did the child do that led you to the conclusion that she or he had received it well? I suspect that:

• the child expressed and showed his or her gratitude to you;
  
  
• and he or she went on to use the gift properly--and not abuse it.
  
  

Now it doesn't make a positive impression if the mother or father has to elbow the child to prod him or her to say thanks. The child's expression of gratitude cannot be an afterthought. Gratitude which is an afterthought, or compelled, is very unsatisfying. Gratitude must be freely expressed.

Now you and I are children of God. And God has given each of us wonderful gifts. How can we best show God that we receive these gifts well?

The answer is simple: by pausing from all that occupies us day in and day out -- pausing to show thanks to God. And just as we saw with the child -- this is to be done, not as an after-thought, as is the case when we determine our pledge to the church by reviewing what's left over after we've taken care of ourselves first. This is to be done by facing up to what we said a moment ago: that all that we are and all that we have flows from God's generous hand. And once we recognize that, we immediately -- not as an afterthought, but immediately -- determine an appropriate expression of gratitude.

Never forget, God does not confer upon us blessings which dead-end with the self. Every gift, talent, and ability has a "so that" clause attached to it. The gift is given "so that" something greater can happen; something larger than the self that will be of benefit to the whole of creation.

When our stewardship has this as its motivation, we don't give because we see a need. We give because deep within us, we have a need to give because we feel so grateful. Remember: we are able to love -- we are able to give -- because God first loved us. That is our true treasure. By remembering that reality, we will discover that the gifts which God has poured out upon this congregation will be multiplied ten-fold, as our ministry and mission expands to the horizon of God's call. Amen.