Deuteronomy 26:1-11
and Mark 10:17-22
This morning is our final installment
in our stewardship sermon series on joy practices. We have combined lessons from our scriptures
with words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu in “The
Book of Joy” each Sunday for the past month.
We have talked about forgiveness, gratitude, and compassion. This Sunday we finally discuss money (and
more) as we focus on the practice of generosity. Like always, we will be watching video clips
and doing a meditation practice within the sermon time. Let’s start with a video . . .
(Watch “we find a deep, deep
dissatisfaction”)
In this video clip, the Dalai Lama
points out one of the primary flaws of our culture. We seek to make ourselves happy through the
collection, the amassing, of material goods.
We use money to buy more stuff to make ourselves feel good. This is flawed thinking. Throughout this series we have learned that
what actually makes us feel good is on the inside of us, and that is love. When we give love away, through forgiveness,
gratitude, compassion, and generosity is when we will actually be happy. When we practice generosity and good
stewardship, is when we will grow in joy.
Our reading from Deuteronomy is one of
my favorite readings in the Old Testament.
This reading describes an act of worship in the giving of a yearly
offering. The Israelites are called to
offer the first of the harvest in the place of worship. As part of the offering, they tell the story
of their history with God. God has
offered them freedom and the gift of a homeland, the people respond by offering
back to the Lord the first fruits of that homeland’s harvest. They then share that offering with all those
in the community, from neighbors to strangers as they celebrate the
bounty. It’s the first Thanksgiving
really.
I love this story because it tells of
an act of trust. To take the first of
the harvest and give it away, the first apple on the tree, the first tomato on
the vine, the first carrot from the ground; is to assume that there will be
more harvest to come. You give to God
first, trusting that the gifts from God will keep coming. You don’t gather everything all year, make
sure there is enough for you and everything you want to buy, and then give to
God from the leftovers. No! Instead you give to God first, and trust that
there will be enough for you second.
This is an act of generosity that relies on trust in God to continue to
provide.
Our second scripture reading is also
all about trust. We all shudder to think
of the story or the rich young man, or the rich young ruler in other gospels,
who is asked to give everything away. We
are afraid God will ask something similar of us, and no one wants to get rid of
all their possessions.
I think in this reading Jesus is
inviting this young man into a higher level of discipleship. He was clearly a man of deep faith, who had
followed and kept the commandments throughout his life. Yet, he still longed to be closer to
God. Jesus reveals that to be closer to
God is to live in extreme generosity. If
the young man could give everything away, then he would be free to follow Jesus
and become a disciple. He could learn what
it feels like to completely trust in God to provide for everything he might
need.
We read that Jesus looked at him and
loved him, and in that love he offered the one lesson that would make a
profound difference in the young man’s life.
The writer of the gospel of Mark tells us that the young man went away
shocked and grieving. One can only guess
if he is grieving the loss of his possessions, or grieving that he is unable to
trust God enough to follow Jesus in this way.
Lucky for you today, I am not asking
you to give everything away! I just want
you to think a bit about generosity, and how the practice of generosity has the
power to change your life. Generosity is
a natural outgrowth of compassion. It is
our willingness to share the gifts that we have received from God with those
around us. Generosity is a part of every
world religion, and it emphasizes our interdependence and our need for each
other.
In the “Book of Joy”, the Archbishop
jokes that “God doesn’t know very much math, because when you give to others,
it should be that you are subtracting from yourself. But in this incredible kind of way – you give
and it then it seems like in fact you are making space for more to be given to
you.” The more you give, the more you
have, and the happier you are.
Generosity of course is about
money. Money can buy you happiness, if
you choose to give it away. Research
shows that people experience greater happiness when they spend money on others,
or give money away, then when they spend money on themselves. Today we are making our pledges to the future
life of this congregation. Like the Israelites
in our reading from Deuteronomy, we will come forward during the next hymn and
make an offering of our first fruits. We
will make a commitment to give to God a portion of what we hope God will give
to us in the year to come. When we do
this, we are trusting in God to carry us through the year, and we are trusting
in the church, to spend the money wisely, furthering the mission and ministry
of Jesus Christ.
Generosity is not just about money, it
is also about giving of our time and energy.
We all know that to volunteer at the Food Center is a lot harder than
writing a check for $20. That is a real
ministry of giving, and that is a true act of generosity. The same can be said of those who volunteer
their time on committees, singing in the choir, or helping around the
church. These are all acts of
generosity, and these are gifts we will offer shortly with our time and talents
pledge cards.
In the “Book of Joy”, the Dalai Lama
talks about a Buddhist tradition of spiritual generosity. This is the idea that we all have spiritual
gifts to offer. This can be in the form
of teaching about the faith, sharing wisdom or knowledge of the faith with
others, praying for and with others, and offering spiritual comfort. This was a new idea to me and something I
encourage you to consider. How might you
share the spiritual gifts that God has given you with others in the coming
year? How might you share the comfort of
your faith with someone else?
Like everything we have talked about
so far, generosity is good for you. When
we give away the gifts God has given to us, the reward centers in our brain
light up. Researchers have shown that
generosity is one of the four fundamental brain circuits that map our long-term
well-being. Being generous lowers our
blood pressure and just thinking about generosity improves our immune
systems. Not only does generosity feel
good, it is directly connected with better health and a longer life
expectancy.
Let’s spend a few moments now thinking
of all the ways God is inviting us to be generous in our lives through a
generosity meditation . . .
· Sit comfortably in
the pew with the soles of your feet planted firmly on the floor. Place your hands gently on your knees or in
your lap.
· Close your eyes,
relax, and take a few deep breaths.
Center yourself here now, in this place, in this very moment.
· Consider your money
for a few moments. How do you use the
financial gifts that God has given you?
For what purpose do you imagine God has given you this money? How might these resources be used to address
issues of inequality and injustice in our world? How might God be inviting you to share your
money?
· Consider now your
gift of time. Who might need your
presence today? How might God be calling
you to share your compassion with those around you? How might you support the community through
the generous offering of your time?
· Consider now your
spiritual gifts. What lessons from God
might you be able to share with a friend or neighbor? How might you share your faith experience
with those who are looking for answers?
How might your daily interactions be marked by a generosity of spirit?
· Now consider all the
blessings that God has given to you.
Time, talents, and treasure. What
first fruits are you willing to offer to God today? How might you respond to God’s generosity
with generosity of your own?
· Now bring yourself
back to this moment. Sitting in worship
together in the faith community, the community of generosity. You may open your eyes.
Good work friends. I want to close this sermon with some final
words from Archbishop Desmond Tutu in the “Book of Joy”. In the end of the book he is asked to offer a
final word of wisdom to the readers and I want to share that message with you
today, as a final word in this sermon series.
He says . . .
“Dear Child of God,
you are loved with a love that nothing can shake, a love that loved you long
before you were created, a love that will be there long after everything has
disappeared. You are precious, with a
preciousness that is totally quite immeasurable. And God wants you to be like God. Filled with life and goodness and laughter –
and joy."
“God, who is forever
pouring out God’s whole being from all eternity, wants you to flourish. God wants you to be filled with joy and
excitement and ever longing to be able to find what is so beautiful in God’s
creation: the compassion of so many, the caring the sharing. And God says, Please, my child, help me. Help me to spread love and laughter and joy
and compassion. And you know what, my
child? As you do this – hey, presto –
you discover joy. Joy, which you had not
sought, comes as the gift, as almost the reward for this non-self-regarding
caring for others.”
To that I say, “Amen!” Let’s close with a final video . . .
(Watch “Flex your joy muscle” video)
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