Tag Archives: giving

Preaching, Sermons

Trick or Treating – Loving the Littles [OR No tricks, no treats, just hope]

Pastor Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on October 22, 2023

[sermon begins after two Bible readings]

1 Thessalonians 1:1-10 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace.

2We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly 3remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, 5because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of persons we proved to be among you for your sake. 6And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for in spite of persecution you received the word with joy inspired by the Holy Spirit, 7so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it. 9For the people of those regions report about us what kind of welcome we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, 10and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath that is coming.

Matthew 22:15-22 Then the Pharisees went and plotted to entrap [Jesus] in what he said. 16So they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and teach the way of God in accordance with truth, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality. 17Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not?” 18But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why are you putting me to the test, you hypocrites? 19Show me the coin used for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20Then he said to them, “Whose head is this, and whose title?” 21They answered, “The emperor’s.” Then he said to them, “Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22When they heard this, they were amazed; and they left him and went away.

[sermon begins]

I’m going to go out on a limb and confess that Halloween is not my favorite holiday. The ghoulish stuff creeps me out. The gory stuff makes me queasy. And the demonic stuff disturbs me. I close my eyes during trailers for horror movies because those images do NOT belong in my head. I’m a Halloween scaredy cat but I love kids. Kids too small to walk house to house are pulled in wagons by their caring adults, still working on their “Rs,” saying, “Twick or Tweet.” Kids still in elementary school whose parents are hollering manner suggestions from the sidewalk while their kid screams “Trick or Trick,” too strung out on sugar to remember to say, “Thank you.” And kids in their teens who may or may not wear costumes and cart around their candy stockpile in a pillowcase with a barely audible, “Trick or Treat.” I’m the goofy adult at the door just happy to see them, telling them they look great or to have fun or to be safe. We may spend the rest of the year telling kids not to take candy from strangers but the weirdness of the trick-or-treat tradition is irrelevant in the face of that cuteness, excitement, and treats. Tricks are another thing altogether. The 1920s were the worst for tricks when pranks set cities on edge.[1] No one likes to be tricked. Tricksters have a grand time but being tricked ones is no fun.

Tricks were on the minds of the Pharisees, their disciples, and the Herodians, as they treated themselves to a fool-proof test that would cut Jesus down to size. But tricksters were no match for the table-turning Jesus. He turned the tables on them as easily as he overturned the tables of the temple’s moneychangers in the last chapter.[2] Ordinarily, the Pharisees would have had nothing to do with the Herodians who seem to be pro-Roman by virtue of their name.[3] But it was time for this troublemaking Jesus to go, so the rivals joined forces against him.[4]

First, they treated him to flattery, praising his sincerity and his impartiality. Then came the trick – “Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not?” If Jesus answered, yes, he would have angered the people; if Jesus said no, he would have angered Rome. Jesus found third answer, give to God what is God’s and give to the emperor what is the emperors. That test seems straightforward even if tricks were involved.

Here’s the more interesting question to me. Why did the Pharisees’ disciples have that coin inside the temple? It had the head of Emperor Tiberius, son of Caesar Augustus. As Caesar, Augustus was considered divine, so Tiberius was at least the son of a God. Tiberius’ head on that on a coin would have been blasphemous in the temple because it was the image of an idol, a false god.[5] In verse 20, “head” is literally translated “icon” in the Greek. As an icon of a god, that coin was an idol forbidden in the temple and should have been exchanged for a shekel outside the temple door to put in the offering. Jesus had a trick up his own sleeve when he asked them to show him “the coin used for the tax.”

Watching Jesus escape a trick is a real treat especially when it leaves us with tricky questions to play with. Jesus asks about Tiberius’ image in a conversation about loyalty. I confess that I’m not immune to my own fangirl moments with certain public figures. I’m self-aware about them but it makes me wonder about how we’re bombarded with people and brands that demand something of us, our time and attention for sure. But they also demand our dollars and our loyalty. Lyn Goodrum, our Publications Administrator, was working on the worship bulletin and she asked if I wanted to use these assigned verses in Matthew on Commitment Sunday today. They’re not your typical inspiring verses about money. I said, yes, I want to use them because they help us think about what Jesus was up against and what we are too. It’s okay to take a hard path through scripture and let it challenge our assumptions and ask us tough questions. We can also bring other scripture into the conversation, too.

Earlier in Matthew, in the sermon on the mount, Jesus preached to his disciples, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”[6] In that story and in our story today, Jesus pushes his listeners to deeper connection with God, working out for ourselves how we are to live and follow in the way of Jesus.[7] Isn’t that one of the appealing features of faith? That we get to wonder, decide, fail, and try again in the way of Jesus? We engage our conscience and our hearts without tricks to confuse us or treats to persuade us. While Jesus’ way isn’t always clear, it is the way of God who is good. God who loves us first without demanding a performance of our own goodness or tricking us into loving God back.

I think about this kind of stuff a lot when it comes to stewardship and giving money to the church – well before I became a pastor and now that I am one. Over the last few weeks, we’ve heard from a few Augustana people, including from Nick again today, about our faith and financial gifts working together in ministry. Last week, Jordan made a point to mention that we each give what we’re able to give. Some of us can give a little and some of us can give a lot. If you’ve never given regularly, our Stewardship Committee asks you to consider starting to give $5 a week; and if you’ve been giving regularly to increase your giving by up to 5% of that amount. Rob and I have been giving by automatic withdrawal for years to make it one less thing to remember on the to-do list.

All of us giving something works together to make ministry thrive for our congregation. Thriving includes caring for each other, our ministry partners in the community and our staff. Thriving includes our building and grounds through which we welcome people and offer hospitality. We’re not perfect. Ministry is messy simply because there are people involved and people are messy. But Jesus was always on the side of the people and calls us to the same. Our answer to Jesus’ call is a mixed bag but we keep giving financially and doing ministry together because our hearts follow our treasure. Jesus knows us and the human condition all too well.

I’ll close today with these opening words that we heard today from Paul’s beautiful, pastoral letter to the church at Thessalonica. Scholars think that this was his earliest letter to the churches and may be the oldest writing in the New Testament as few as 10 years after Jesus’ died.[8] Paul remembered the Thessalonians before God and then he celebrated their work of faith, labor of love, and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.[9] Our world needs hope right now. Each of us needs hope.

Out of our own need for hope we become messengers of hope for a weary world. Not an illusory hope or perverse optimism in the face of hard things. But a true hope that challenges us to turn away from the sin that hurts ourselves and each other here and around the world. A true hope that deepens our love during suffering. And a true hope that shines light into the darkness of despair. We hold that hope for each other and for the sake of the world. Thanks be to God and amen.

______________________________________

[1] Emily Martin, “The history of trick-or-treating, and how it became a Halloween tradition.” National Geographic, October 23, 2022. The history of trick-or-treating, and how it became a Halloween tradition (nationalgeographic.com)

[2] Matthew 21:12

[3] Matt Skinner, Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN. Sermon Brainwave podcase for Bible readings on October 22, 2023. www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts

[4] Ibid.

[5] Skinner, ibid.

[6] Matthew 6:21

[7] Yung Suk Kim, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, Virginia Union University. Commentary on Matthew 22:15-22 for October 22, 2023. Commentary on Matthew 22:15-22 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary

[8] Lutheran Study Bible, 1 Thessalonians – Background File, (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2009), 1942.

[9] 1 Thessalonians 1:2

Sermons

Where is God’s heart? [Luke 12:32-40, Hebrews 11:1-3 and 8-16, Genesis 15:1-6]

**sermon art: HD photo by Emily Morter.Moreton Hall. Weston Rhyn. United Kingdom https://unsplash.com/photos/8xAA0f9yQnE

Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on August 11, 2019

[sermon begins after the Bible reading; see end of sermon for readings from the books of Hebrews and Genesis after the hymn and reference citations]

Luke 12:32-40  “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

[sermon begins]

 

Where is God’s heart?  Oh, I don’t mean God as an old bearded guy in cartoons.  I don’t even mean God as a guy with an actual blood-pumping heart.  I mean it as an honest question.  Where is God’s heart?  By heart, I mean the will from which God loves us and maybe even longs for us.  As a parent, I’ve often said that having children is like having my heart walking around outside my body.  It’s tough to imagine what having 7 billion human hearts walking around outside God’s heart would be like.  Not to mention all the animal hearts.  It’s a mind-boggling proposition.  One reason I ask about God’s heart is because of the first verse in the Bible reading.  Jesus says to his disciples and the other people listening in, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  This verse connects last Sunday’s gospel reading with ours today.[1]  Last week the challenge was to see our worth beyond our things.  This week we have the opportunity to wonder about treasure and hearts.

Right off the bat, Jesus tells his disciples not to fear.  His endearment is so sweet, calling the disciples “little flock” indirectly referring to himself as their shepherd.  There’s no need to be afraid because the kingdom is given to them by God’s good pleasure.  Neither grumpy, nor capricious, God wills to give.  God desires to give.  God promises to give.  We might even say that God longs to give.  It makes we wonder that in God’s giving, does God’s heart follow?  From God’s treasure of earth, sea, sky, and everything living thing, given freely for God’s good pleasure, we could say that God’s heart is with us.  From God’s treasure of self, given freely through self-sacrifice on a cross, we could say that God’s heart is with us.  For where treasure is, there the heart goes.  Would it not also be true of God’s heart?  And if it’s true of God’s heart, it stands to reason that Jesus would know a thing or two about hearts following treasure.  You know, his being God in human form and all.

It’s not a stretch to see how hearts follow treasure.  Whether you’re a child who’s saved and saved all your pennies for many, many months to buy the Lego Death Star.  Or whether you’re an adult buying your first, new-to-you, used car and now you see that car model everywhere when you never even noticed it before.  What we spend money on raises our awareness of those things and connects us differently to them.  It a process that fits with our experience.  The downside of our experience is that we end up loving things more than we love God or each other.  Like the old saying that we are designed to love God and use things but we end up using God and loving things.  We use God and by extension we use people to gain money and power for ourselves at their expense.  The Bible verses today is a kingdom push that reorders love in the Gospel of Luke by linking treasure and hearts in a specific way.

Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give alms.”[2]  Alms in scripture is money given to people who are poor, people who struggle with the effects of poverty on health, homes, and relationships.  In a direct way, the money and personal items given this morning to Border Servant Corps for people released from ICE detention in El Paso are alms.  There are a many ways to give alms.  Jesus doesn’t describe which people in poverty to help.  There’s nothing there to hang onto if one were inclined to determine worthiness of the recipients.  Simply give alms.  One step further is to work together to create just and compassionate solutions to real world issues of poverty that plague neighbors in our pews, down the street, and far away.  People often ask me how to connect with God in their daily lives.[3]  In these verses, Jesus is inviting us into a very real way to do it.  It’s not complicated.  But it also may not feel easy.  It’s is a real way to connect to God.  God’s heart is with people who need real help. Funny that we’re so inclined to look for other ways.[4]

It’s somehow romantic to think that our hearts define our treasure – that what we love and long for is somehow justified by our love and longing.  Jesus turns that around on us.[5]  That’s kind of his way actually.  Just when we think that we’re all that and a bag of chips on figuring this life thing out, Jesus tells us we have it backwards and reminds us that we’re created in the image of God.  Here’s food for thought – just thinking about being generous “significantly increases the protective antibody salivary immunoglobulin A, a protein used by the immune system.”[6]  Generosity is so hard-wired into us that our brains’ reward centers light up just as strongly around giving AND receiving.  Sometimes the giving centers light up even more strongly.  It’s probably the nurse in me that loves the kind of information that reveals connections across faith and science.  Regardless, our bodies are created to be generous and feel better when we’re giving.

The Archbishop Emeritus of South Africa, Desmond Tutu, describes our need to give this way:

“…there is a very physical example. The Dead Sea in the Middle East receives fresh water, but it has no outlet, so it doesn’t pass the water out. It receives beautiful water from the rivers, and the water goes dank. I mean, it just goes bad. And that’s why it is the Dead Sea. It receives and does not give. And we are made much that way, too. I mean, we receive and we must give. In the end generosity is the best way of becoming more, more, and more joyful.”[7]

Bishop Tutu gives one example.  There are others, to be sure.  The world would be a different place if giving replaced greed – if all business owners responded to the needs of workers with living wages so that government subsidies to working people were unnecessary, if all countries prioritized the flourishing of their residents so that fleeing to a safer country or homelessness caused by soaring costs of living or declaring bankruptcy because of health care was a thing of the past.  Ways to give are as numerable as each one of us in this room.  Sincere giving ranges from 5 cents to 50,000 dollars and beyond.  Some of the most unbelievable gifts given are from people with the least to give.  It’s easy to freeze in the face of our neighbors’ needs. Let’s keep it simple and do what we CAN, when we CAN.[8]  After all, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us: Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.[9]

God knows a thing or two about treasure and hearts, about the interdependence of all 7 billion of us.  We are God’s heart walking with each other on this tiny blue dot. God’s heart is already with us through God’s self-giving of God’s treasure of creation and of the life-death-and-resurrected-life of Jesus.  For this and for all that God is doing for us, in us, and through us, we can say thanks be to God and amen.

___________________________________________________________________

Hymn of the Day sung after the sermon

ELW 678 God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending[10]

1 God, whose giving knows no ending,
from your rich and endless store:
nature’s wonder, Jesus’ wisdom,
costly cross, grave’s shattered door,
gifted by you, we turn to you,
off’ring up ourselves in praise;
thankful song shall rise forever,
gracious donor of our days.

2 Skills and time are ours for pressing
toward the goals of Christ, your Son:
all at peace in health and freedom,
races joined, the church made one.
Now direct our daily labor,
lest we strive for self alone;
born with talents, make us servants
fit to answer at your throne.

3 Treasure, too, you have entrusted,
gain through pow’rs your grace conferred;
ours to use for home and kindred,
and to spread the gospel word.
Open wide our hands in sharing,
as we heed Christ’s ageless call,
healing, teaching, and reclaiming,
serving you by loving all.

____________________________________________________________

[1] Luke 12:13-21

[2] Luke 12:33a

[3] Matthew L. Skinner, Professor of New Testament, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN.  Commentary on Luke 12:32-40 for August 11, 2019. https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4142

[4] Skinner’s commentary in the footnote above is more of this kind of thinking.  Give it a read.

[5] Girardian Lectionary, Proper 14 (August 7-13), Year C.  http://girardianlectionary.net/reflections/year-c/proper14c/

[6] Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Douglas Abrams. The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World (Avery: New York, 2016), 264-265.

[7] Tutu, The Book of Joy, ibid. (See footnote above for full citation – better yet, read the book.)

[8] The new name for the now combined Augustana Social/Global/LEAPP/Advocacy ministries is CAN Ministry: Compassion & Action with our Neighbors.

[9] Hebrews 11:1

[10] Robert L. Edwards (1915-2006). “God, Whose Giving Knows No Ending” – Published originally in 1961. Re-published in Evangelical Lutheran Worship (Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, 2006).

_________________________________________________________________

Hebrews 11:1-3 and 8-16  Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval. 3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was made from things that are not visible.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he stayed for a time in the land he had been promised, as in a foreign land, living in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he looked forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. 11 By faith he received power of procreation, even though he was too old—and Sarah herself was barren—because he considered him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead, descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.” 13 All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth, 14 for people who speak in this way make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had been thinking of the land that they had left behind, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

Genesis 15:1-6  After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Sermons

Money in Motion, So Goes the Heart – Luke 12:32-40 and Genesis 15:1-6

Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on August 7, 2016

[sermon begins after two Bible readings]

Luke 12:32-40 “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35 “Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit; 36 be like those who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38 If he comes during the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those slaves. 39 “But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. 40 You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.”

Genesis 15:1-6 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

[sermon begins]

Right after Jesus’ lovely speech we just heard, Peter says, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for everyone?”[1]  It’s a classic question.  Is Jesus’ speech a general kind of “all y’all” or is Jesus talking to me?  As if I’ll fly under the radar just as long as I don’t make eye contact with Jesus on this one.

We don’t get to hear Peter’s reply to Jesus in the Bible reading today although it comes as the very next verse in Luke.  Jesus is still talking to the crowd of thousands.  In the verses just before ours today, he warns the crowds.  “Be on guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” He wraps up those verses telling them not to worry about their lives but to strive for the kingdom.

Right away, though, Jesus says:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

This is one of the challenges in the way we read the Bible Sunday-to-Sunday.  If left with the striving of last week’s verses, we could assume wrongly that striving is the whole plan.  It’s an easy move from striving to earning.  Earning God’s pleasure.  Earning God’s salvation.  And with earning comes deserving.  I deserve God’s pleasure.  I deserve God’s salvation.  Until, suddenly, I’m left wondering if I’ve strived enough, earned enough, and am deserving enough.

Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”   In scripture, “do not be afraid” is the clue that we’re going to hear about God’s power and promise; God’s mighty deeds.[2]  We hear it multiple times in Luke.  Abram hears it in the Genesis reading.  These promises come from God to Abram, to Luke, and to us – unconditional promise.

Last week, I challenged us to keep our fingers pointing at ourselves to confess our own greed rather than pointing away from ourselves to someone else.  This week, Jesus is offering another way to be on guard against the greed he warns about in the earlier verses.  Jesus says:

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”[3]

It is God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom!  This means that through this promise, disciples can guard against all kinds of greed and resist the urge to worry 24/7.  Jesus tells us to love our neighbor and then directs us to be generous with money.[4]  Telling us that where our treasure, our money, goes then our hearts will follow.

For Rob and I, this kind of giving starts with our family’s congregations and moves beyond it.  10% of my income comes to Augustana and 5% of his income goes to Lutheran Church of the Master with more going to other non-profits and NGOs.  At this point, we know our money goes to the work of the church impacting not only congregational ministry but also passing through to local, national, and global efforts like Metro Caring in Denver and Lutheran World Relief worldwide.  This has long been important to us although we started off low and slow – well before I began working toward becoming a pastor.  Our giving was about 2.5% when we started into it.

Why does any of that detail matter?  It matters because there’s a tendency to be private about money in a way that becomes unhelpful to anyone.  Money impacts everyone on the planet and we talk gingerly around the topic.  Funny how hesitant we can be as Jesus followers because Jesus didn’t mess around talking about money:

16 out of the 38 parables told by Jesus dealt with money and possessions.

1 out of 10 Gospel verses, 228 verses in all, talk about money directly.[5]

I get it.  The church across denominations worldwide gets into problems with money. Sinners, the lot of us.

As a group of Jesus followers who make up this congregation, we have ongoing opportunities to talk about money and its impact.  Certainly we do in our own households as we grapple with Bible verses like today’s story on our way home after worship.  The opportunities to talk about money also exist congregationally – Stewardship Committee, Congregational Council or Council’s appointed Finance Support Committee.  Recently, in fact, the Finance Support Committee put forward a recommendation to consolidate and track funds differently.  They did a ton of work.  They talked to many people in the congregation.  Council voted unanimously to adopt the recommendation.  Leadership in this congregation is aware of the accountability and works hard on it.

Jesus’ words give us pause to talk about giving and generosity – each of us in our households as well as disciples together congregationally.  This could mean that our assumptions get tossed about a bit.  Jesus is especially good at flipping over assumptions and messing with the way we think things are true.  Being the church, the body of Christ in this place together means that we span pretty much the entire socio-economic spectrum among our households.  It’s a good opportunity to have our assumptions flipped.

As with many things Jesus has to say, there are a couple of ways to hear them.  In regards to generosity, people can easily hear law.  We can hear it as “we must,” or in commandment language, “you shall.”  The other way to hear Jesus words is as “gospel.”  When we hear things as gospel promise we can hear it as “we get to.”

“Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”  Jesus gives faith along with the promise of God’s kingdom.  From his gift of faith to us – Jesus frees us to live generously, less anxiously, and into a future of God’s mercy not based on human merit.[6]  A future toward which the watchfulness commanded by Jesus is not one of uneasy anticipation but rather an secure confidence.[7]

God calls you through your baptism back to God and to neighbor.  God also knows that where your money goes, so goes your hearts.  A heart that is real, beating inside of you, and oxygenating your body is the heart through which God draws us towards each other and into the kingdom life that God gives in the here and now.

To answer Peter’s question, yes, Jesus is talking to you.  This is good news, indeed – for you, for your neighbor, and for the world.  Thanks be to God.

___________________________________________

Link: Lutheran World Relief

Link: Metro Caring

[1] Luke 12:41

[2] David Lose, President of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Commentary on Luke 12:32-40 for WorkingPreacher.org, August 8, 2010.  http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=729

[3] Luke 12:33-34

[4] Luke 10:25-37 Parable of the Good Samaritan: Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.

[5] Howard L. Dayton, Jr.  Sermon Illustration: Statistic: Jesus’ Teaching on Money.  (Preaching Today, 1996). http://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Economic_LifeSS.pdf?_ga=1.79714647.1553381420.1424715443

[6] David Lose, President of Lutheran Theological Seminary in Philadelphia. Commentary on Luke 12:32-40 for WorkingPreacher.org, August 8, 2010.  http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=729

[7] Ibid.