"Joyful Generosity" November 11, 2007, Proper 27, Pentecots 24

(First read the text for this sermon: Luke 20:27-38)

A person can practice religion in a way that is deadening to the human spirit. The life of faith then becomes a life of burden. That’s a tragedy, of course, because the Christ was born to embody among us the good news of grace, forgiveness, salvation and resurrection! That good news is the source of deep joy and freedom!

There’s not any joy in this morning’s story from Luke. Look at how the Sadducees confront Jesus in a way that is deadening!

First of all, you need to know that among Jesus’ opponents were two major groups of leaders of the Jewish people: one group called the Pharisees and another group called the Sadducees. You also need to know that the Pharisees and the Sadducees were great opponents of each other. They held different beliefs. A chief difference was that the Pharisees believed that there was a resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees did not. In this morning’s story, the Sadducees confront Jesus with a conundrum. Their intent is not only to trap Jesus into saying something will get him into trouble, but to mock the idea of the resurrection itself. And so they say: Imagine that there is a woman who dies, having been married to seven husbands. All of these marriages are according to the Jewish law, that a brother must marry his dead brother’s widow to raise up children for his dead brother, to keep the line of descendents going. It turns out, though, that all seven of the brothers die, and none of them has produced a child. The Sadducees challenge Jesus: "In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.”

You know what Jesus’ answer is, as the story proceeds. As I enter into this narrative this time, what strikes me is how the Sadducees are using a certain belief – belief in the resurrection – to provoke conflict. They’re wanting to ridicule the Pharisees, and to try to catch Jesus in the cross-fire, and to prove that they’re right, and that those who believe in the resurrection are wrong.

How often, in today’s religious mix, are beliefs used in that way? To judge those whose beliefs are “wrong?” To maintain divisions? How deadening that is to the human spirit! What a joyless burden our beliefs become!

The practices of the faith can become deadly, as well. That happens when they become requirements to be fulfilled. Practices of the faith become deadening when they become a list of “shoulds.” But when they are seen as invitations to live into the good news of Jesus the Christ, these practices bring us into joyfulness!

What do I mean by practices of the faith? They include worship, prayer, keeping sabbath, servanthood to those in need, hospitality, forgiveness, study, generosity, and the list goes on and on. Each one of those are learned disciplines, at first. That is why it is so important for parents and grandparents to model these practices to their children and grandchildren, so that they understand why these practices are important, and to train children to do these things. That formation in the faith doesn’t happen by magic! And as adults, we continue in these faith practices throughout our lives – so that, over the years, the Holy Spirit will form us, through the doing of these practices, in the joyful good news of grace, forgiveness, salvation and resurrection! Now, think about this. This formation is much, much different from how we are molded to be selfish and self-centered and greedy and consumerist, by the hundreds of marketing messages we receive each day. There is certainly no joy in any of that!

With that context, I hold up the spiritual practice of generosity as an invitation into joyfulness!

This is the time of year when congregations do their fall stewardship programs, to fund the budget for next year. And, often, that’s done in a way that is deadening. Many think that the very word, “stewardship” should be discarded – because they associate the word with begging for money in church!

Instead, of course, our call to be stewards means caring for the creation God has given us, and using well the money God has given us and the talents and the time God has given us. The faith practice of generosity becomes a joyful response to these gifts we have first received from God!

The Biblical standard is to give away 10% of your income towards God’s work. That 10% figure is called a tithe. I am proud of how we at St. Stephen are moving towards becoming a tithing congregation! As we do that, we will have hundreds of thousands of dollars more to use in expanding our ministry programs!

I’ve been encouraging everyone to use a tool that helps in growing towards the tithe. It’s the chart that you’ll receive again this year, that shows you what an additional 1% increase will be, of your income. One percent a year, for as many years as it takes, to grow towards the tithe! Many of us already give away 10% (and more!) to the congregation. Others of us are in the six, seven, eight year process of growing towards this, 1% a year.

Of course, it’s not just money. One of the joys of being a part of this congregation is that we are all the time offering each other opportunities to give our time to the work of God among those in need. We are all the time coming up with openings to contribute our talents, what we’re good at, to the work of the kingdom.

And so, our congregation’s members give their time and talent to Faith in Action, and to the FISH food pantry and clothing closet, and to the PORT homeless shelter program, and to tutoring in the schools, and to Senior Center leadership, and to local clinics that bring medical care to the poor, and to non-profits that need computer expertise, and the list goes on and on. Our growing giving of money makes it possible for us to support costs of counseling for those who can’t afford it, and support children at the Grove Christian Outreach Center, and give school scholarships to African children at the Mongai Lutheran Parish, and here’s another list that goes on and on. And our growing giving of money means that we expand our ministries here in this congregation, through staff time: so that our worship and prayer and study and music and pastoral care is richly formative in the faith.

And something more happens to us as individuals. When we are generous with our money, when we give away our time and our talents, we find ourselves being formed by God, in joyfulness! Through joyful generosity, we are freed from the deadening effects of materialism. Through joyful generosity, we are able to resist the culture’s deadly formation in consumerism and selfishness.

What an opportunity for joyful spiritual practice!

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastor Andy Ballentine
St. Stephen Lutheran Church
Williamsburg, Virginia