Atom“What Do We Do with What We’ve Been Given?”
Matthew 25:31-46
"Then the righteous will answer [the Son of Man on his throne], 'When was it we saw you hungry and gave you food...thirsty and gave you drink...naked and gave you clothing...sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answr them, 'As you did it ot he least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.'" Matthew 25:37-40
Most of us don’t learn to give things away unless someone teaches us. Our natural tendency is to gather things around us (notice a baby with toys.) But as we grow we are taught – usually by our parents – to share: to give birthday presents to our siblings or to our friends, and to think not only about Christmas presents for ourselves, but also for Grandma and Grandpa and the cousins and maybe even the dog.
The same is true of giving to God. We usually don’t give unless we are taught. Our nature is to gather things around us and to hold on to them. But as we grow, we are taught to give – usually by our parents, but sometimes by others whom God sends into our lives.
My parents taught me about giving through their example. Week after week when we worshipped and the plate was passed, I watched my parents place money in the plate. Sometimes they handed it to me or one of my brothers to put in. When we were young, it was usually $5. By the time I was in high school, it was usually $20. I also knew that they occasionally wrote checks to the church. When I asked about this, they said, “It’s about doing our share, paying the bills, making sure the heat is on and the pastor gets paid and we have Sunday School. And sometimes we send a little extra for the missionary in New Guinea. So, I learned that giving was about doing our share…how much we gave depended upon the need and as the years went by, prices went up (as did our income) and the giving was larger.
I didn’t learn about giving as tithing – or as giving a percentage of what I had first been given until some years later. It may have been a Bible Study that Pastor Grimstad taught when I was in college. In those years, of course, I didn’t have much, so percentage giving was only about $2 a week. When you make $2 an hour washing dishes, it doesn’t add up too fast. But I learned that giving was a way of expressing thanks for what I did have and a way of trusting that the God who provided today would also provide tomorrow.
Through the years, giving as a response of trust and faith was reinforced by others that God sent my way – usually members of my congregation. In my first congregation were several farmers and small business owners that taught me to give. Wayne VanEngen – who delivered bulk oil and drove school bus – would say, “God has certainly blessed us…what I give is only a small part of what I have received. There are so many needs in the world that God wants me to tend to…and using 90% for my own needs is still a great blessing.” And then when I saw some of the farmers designating one in ten truckloads of their harvest for World Hunger, I was blown away by their thankfulness.
Now mind you, not every farmer or business person tithed. I knew that, too and you know it. A book published in 2008 by Oxford University Press entitled, “Passing the Plate,” studied giving practices among North American Christians and the researchers found that more than one in four followers of Jesus gave away no money at all, not even a token $5 per year. Evangelical Christians (a designation not usually used for us “Mainliners” – Lutheran, Methodist, Roman Catholic) gave the best. But even then, only about one in four tithed – or gave 10%. Another third gave less than 2%. Another measure showed that regular church-goers gave about 6% after taxes, but this number was skewed by a few very generous givers in most congregations. The study found that median annual giving for an American Christian is actually about $200, about half a percent of after tax income and 60% of the money that most churches use to operate is given by about 5% of American Christians. The numbers also indicate that, based on percentages, the larger givers are often those with lesser incomes. Americans earning $10,000 or less per year gave 2.3 percent of income, while those earning $70,000 or more gave 1.2 percent. It reminds me of Jesus pointing to the widow putting her pennies in the offering even as others gave large sacks of money. “I tell you,” Jesus said to those listening, “She has given more than any, for they gave a little of their great wealth; but she gave greatly of her little.”
Now, my intention in telling you this morning is not to make us feel guilty, so much as to remind us that giving is learned. We learn from Jesus and we learn from each other and that we need to focus on these things once in a while because non-believers don’t practice these things and even among followers of Jesus, our natural tendency is to hold on to what we have and to focus on what we don’t have rather than on what we do have.
“Stewardship,” that nasty eleven letter word that often keeps people away from Church in November, first and foremost reminds us of our blessings – and reminds us that giving always comes from what we have received. We gather to worship today because we believe that God has given us life and all we need from day to day. We gather to worship today because we believe that God has given us strength and ability to provide for our needs and the needs of our families. We gather to worship today because we believe that we are blessed by God…and God reminds us that we are blessed for a purpose. Stewardship always begins with the reminder that we give from what we have first received. We give from what God has first entrusted to us. And, to be sure, some have received more than others.
Pastor Dave reminded us of that last week. Life is not always fair. In the story that Jesus told, all the workers in the vineyard were paid the same wage, regardless of effort. To those who received equal pay for less work, it seemed wonderful. For those who worked longer for the same wage it seemed unfair. For those of us who live in the United States of America, unfair is usually to our advantage. 90% of the world’s population would love to have our income and opportunities – even that of the lowest economic rung in this community.
We remembered that Envy is a Prison, and that Gratitude sets us Free. Free to make a difference with what we have, not with what we don’t have. I told you the story of Bill and Melinda Gates and Rotary Club International and of the half a billion dollars they gave to eradicate polio and of Bill Gate’s own faith statement, echoing the words of Jesus: “To whom much is given, of them much is required.” It’s tempting to be envious of the Gates’ but that is a prison. God asks of us only to consider what we have been given. It may be small, but in the life of another, it becomes a lot. Our gift becomes food for another day of living for a starving family in Africa; it becomes a year of school and the possibility of a bright future for a young student in Haiti. It becomes faith learning for the child in our midst; or care for the homebound resident of our community. Our gift becomes a place of worship and teaching and of comfort for the grieving. It becomes a place where community groups gather to encourage one another toward healthy living – AA, OA. Our gifts impact the lives of this community in countless, untold ways without our even knowing it – which leads us to the story of Jesus this morning.
Jesus is approaching the end of his earthly ministry as he tells this story, a story about the ending of the present age and the beginning of God’s New Age. On that day, says Jesus, all the nations will be gathered before the throne of God for the great judgment and the king wills say to the sheep, those on his right, “I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, in prison and you visited me. Enter into the joy of the kingdom. In as much as you did it to the least of these, you have done it unto me.
And then the king will turn to those on his left and say, “I was hungry and you gave me no food, thirsty and you ignored me, housebound and you failed to every visit me. Depart from me.” It’s a parable we know all too well, reminding us of a final judging based not on the quality of our church attendance or our knowledge of certain church beliefs, but on our outreach to those in need. To be sure it is a parable the often causes us some discomfort, because even those in the story don’t seem to be conscious of what they did or didn’t do to deserve God’s welcome. And most of us can read the parable and recognize that we have not always been faithful in responding to the needs of others.
William Willimon tells of studying this gospel with a group of students when he was a college chaplain. There was uncomfortable silence after reading the parable until one of the students blurted out, “I can do that.” And Willimon thought, “What? What did you say?” “I can do that. I thought you had to volunteer to be a missionary to Africa or something – that you had to be some kind a martyr for the faith, but a cup of cold water? No problem. I can’t preach a sermon or start a church, but I sure can go to the nursing home. I can do that.”
Giving is kind of like that. We can all do it. Because giving comes out of what we have first received. God blesses us. We in turn bless others. That’s what it is to live each day as a child of God. That’s what it is to practice the stewardship of God’s blessings. We are, as we have oft repeated, “Blessed to be a blessing.”
There are many ways to be such a blessing…time shared in teaching children or visiting the sick, talent shared in helping to administer our church life or in playing a gorgeous hymn on the bells…but the particular way of blessing upon which we focus on today is the sharing of our treasure. So, we’ve distributed some resources, some cards, as ways of remembering our blessings and of planning our giving. I tend to see my blessings more clearly and my ability to give more clearly when I plan for it…so…reminders of ministries we share and a card to reflect our intention to support them together.
Some of you saw this coming and are already prepared. Some already sent them to the office this week. What we are going to do today, however, is present them as worship. And we are going to do this as we commune. But we’re not going to place our cards in the basket on our way to communion. That is troublesome to me because I will always remember Lizzie Buss saying to me one morning when she didn’t come for communion, “I didn’t come up Pastor, because I forgot my offering at home, so I didn’t think I should commune.” We don’t pay for God’s gift; we give as a result of the gift, as thanksgiving. So…the baskets are placed at the end of the pew, as you return to your seats.
Place your communion cups in the bowl and your intentions of thankful giving in the basket. Hopefully you’ve talked a bit in your family about your giving…and are ready for this…if not, bring it next week…just put a blank card in the basket today and fill in the blanks soon. Remember, your intention is always between you and God and your ability to give may change during the coming year. It may increase or decrease. This is not a legally binding contract. It is only an intention that helps those of us God has given the calling of leading to be good caretakers of the ministries and the ministry building that God has entrusted to us! Thank you and thank God that we all have the ability to give! Let’s pray…
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