Sermons

Sep 9 - The Rev. Christopher McLaren

Listen to audio version of this sermon.

Sunday September 9, 2007 Proper 18C
Text: Luke 14:25-33

Wow! We've got Jesus in one of his more challenging moments in today's Gospel. Jesus shifts from semi-private conversation with his disciples to address the "crowds" who come to him (Lk 14:26). In essence Jesus is putting the screws to those who declare, "I will follow you wherever."

Jesus’ response to unreflective enthusiasm is basically, “Think about what you are doing and decide if you are willing to stay with me all the way. Remember I’m going to Jerusalem and things will probably get a little rough.”

Of course the language of hate for one’s family in the passage has nothing to do with the emotion we would associate with the words, “I hate you.” In the world of Jesus these words meant to “turn away” or to “detach oneself from.” Thus the call to hatred of one’s own life is not a call to self-loathing but to detachment and to revealing one’s loyalties in light of the new relationship found in discipleship with Jesus.

The point of this passage is straightforward, whether you are a farmer building a new barn or a king waging a war you had better sharpen your pencil and do the math. And, if you plan to follow Jesus, I mean really follow this renegade Messiah, you would be wise to count the cost. It is almost as if we should put a sign up over the church doors that reads, “Enter at your own risk.” But I suppose the welcoming committee might not approve and it is not the kind of warm inclusive message we are all so fond of.

Speaking of risk, when I have the privilege of doing pre-marital counseling or preparation for couples I shape our conversations around these five areas: family, future, fighting, finance, and faith. Now wouldn’t that make for a nifty 5-point sermon, and wouldn’t Jimmy Swaggart and my grandfather be proud. I used to call one topic communication but that never really worked since everyone seems to think that they are great communicators, so now I talk about fighting and those conversations are much more interesting. Well, anyway, the point is that these five “f’s” as I call them, are areas of intimacy and because of that they are areas of risk and potential conflict. So couples preparing for life-long commitment need to take a real look at the risks involved in love, loyalty, trust, and commitment.

One way to understand this passage is to see it as an invitation to intimacy with God. Jesus is saying if you want to know me, if you want to experience the joy of following me, then you had also better be willing to risk.

It reminds me of some powerful lines of poetry by T.S. Eliot found in The Four Quartets:

To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,
You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

In order to arrive at what you do not know
You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

In order to possess what you do not possess
You must go by the way of dispossession.

These are words that describe the deep wisdom of conversion. They are words that attempt to pull us into a life of faith, a giving of ourselves in a God-ward direction, just as Jesus’ tough, "so-you-think-you-want-to-follow-me-do-ya-now” speech works as an invitation to costly discipleship.

In the end Jesus says something we are probably not particularly fond of, “none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.” That is the line in this passage upon which rested my thin hope of turning this passage into the annual stewardship sermon.

In consternation this week I told Deacon Jan, this is supposed to be a stewardship sermon but this passage is clearly about the cost of discipleship. Her response was clear, she said, “After you commit yourself to Jesus, it is all stewardship.” And of course she is right. Stewardship is what we do after we say, we believe; that is, after we give our love, loyalty, trust and obedience to God, the God of our faith. Stewardship is about the risk to intimacy with God.

Stewardship is how we decide to live out our faith, how we perceive the world anew in light of what God has done in Jesus Christ. Stewardship is not a program, not an annual fund-raising campaign, not a pledge phon-a-thon (as fun as those actually are). And because stewardship is so much larger than all of that, it is a little embarrassing that we use the term to mean funding the annual budget, keeping the lights on and making sure that St. Michael’s is solvent. It is not that those things are not incredibly important to the members of this faith community but at the same time Stewardship cannot be reduced to such provincial thinking.

What we need is a theology of Stewardship and it is easy to feel some resistance to that. So what I would like to do is to envision a risky conversation between a clergy person, me, and an anonymous member about their discomfort surrounding mixing money and religion.

“Why is the church so interested in money? It seems like that’s all we think and talk about.”

While I don’t believe that is true in the least, I choose not to argue and say, “I suspect it is because that is what people are most interested in. I mean look how many people read the Wall Street Journal, play with stocks on e-trade and check the value of their portfolio daily. Think about how often you worry about finances.”

“So what does it have to do with church,” he presses?

And I reply, “As Anglicans we have always taken seriously the theological doctrine of the Incarnation, namely that God chose to enter into our humanity and live in our social world, thereby forever uniting the material and the nonmaterial, the sacred and the secular, the natural and the supernatural. For this reason the Christian faith will always be deeply materialistic. The test of our relationship with God will always be seen in how we deal with our economic resources. The spiritual challenge is to make our money work for what is really important in God’s eyes, that is discipleship and stewardship combined.”

“So you’re saying that money isn’t evil?” he questions.

I say in answer, “There is a dark side to money in that it can be a threat to our relationship with God to be sure, but there is also a light side to money in that it can enhance our relationship with God.”

“That is an interesting twist, money as a tool for faithfulness. I’ll have to think about that,” the member replies. “But it doesn’t mean I’ll make a pledge,” he mutters as he walks away.

The challenge of this conversation is to begin to understand that all that we have, our jobs, our homes, our garages full of stuff, our economic resources, our inherited wealth...all of these are all gifts from God. They belong to God. The opportunity for spiritual growth is found in seeking to use them for God’s purposes, that is, for the good of all humanity. Stewardship doesn’t imply the complete renunciation of ownership of material possessions, but it does imply that we are held accountable for how these possessions are acquired and how they are used.

All of this reminds me of a seminary professor who used to shock and anger people by saying that he was not interested in their faith biographies but that he would like to hear the story of their life and money. On occasion after hearing someone speak about the stewardship of time and talents and the care of the earth, he said, “Please share with me your checkbook, your credit card records and your tax forms from the past 5 years. Then I’ll really understand your faith and your understanding of stewardship.” Underneath all of those questions is the biblical wisdom that “where your treasure is, there is your heart also” (Matt. 6:21).

All that we are and have – our lives, intelligence, imagination, sensibilities, abilities, potential for growth and inheritance – are gifts from God, given to us to be developed and used for the benefit of all God’s children. In a way our motto could be All for One and One for all to quote those notable swashbucklers. Stewardship begins with the recognition that God is a generous giver and that we are called upon to be grateful, responsive, responsible, and generous in return.

Yes, it is true that in the near future you will be receiving our St. Michael’s Stewardship Brochure for 2008. And yes, we want you to give generously while acknowledging that it is only a small part of what true Christian Stewardship means. At the same time we hope that you will want to give to this faith community because it is a place that encourages you, reminds you, and endeavors to support you in growing in ever deepening and loving relationship with God so that you might become a more faithful steward in all of your life.

When you receive our annual stewardship appeal, we ask you to prayerfully consider your generosity to this faith community as well as to the larger issue of faithful stewardship of all the gifts God has given you.
We hope you will give in support of this faith community: because this is a place where you are likely to encounter the challenging, life-stretching message of Jesus, because you want to see the vitality of this community grow and its impact in Albuquerque expand, because you want the beauty and strength of worship and mission of this community to continue to be available to those who are not yet here as well as for those for whom it is home. St. Michael’s is intended to be a community of hope, a nurturing presence in the lives of children, youth, and adults, a center for spiritual growth, a place of significant outreach to our community and much more. Within our membership is a powerful vision of Christ that makes a difference in this city and beyond. We hope you will give in support of this ministry so that as a community we may endeavor to be good stewards of the many gifts that God has given us. But more importantly we hope that you will give freely and generously of yourself and of your possessions in love, for to do so is to move deeper into loving relationship with God, for that is a risk worth taking.