Sermon: Being Generous Towards God
The Rev. John Donnelly November 8, 2009
From the Gospel of Mark
Jesus was sitting in the temple, near the offering box. He was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly/ generously what she couldn't afford—she gave her all."
Today we are gong to have a reverse offering. There is money to be given away, and I want each of you to get some. So as the ushers pass around the offering plate, please pick out the monetary gift of your choice, and hold it in it the palm of your hand, if you would.
The coin in your hand is over thousands years old. It’s an exact replica of the one of the pennies described in today’s Gospel, where the Jesus praised the old woman who put 2 of these in the offering plate for the Temple.
Now believe it or not, this tiny little coin is of immeasurable value.
· Maybe not to the world, but to God.
· This coin is worth more than diamonds /it’s worth more than a room this size filled up with silver and gold.
· Now, some of you are now thinking that my words prove that I know absolutely nothing about finance; and that may be true.
· But I do know about God’s economy—because God’s ways are not our ways, and ultimately, God’s ways will prevail in the universe and in the lives of those who trust Him.
You see, God doesn’t look at the monetary value of a donation made by a person. As we heard in today’s Gospel, God looks at the heart.
· God saw that the widow in today’s Gospel was being generous towards Him—more generous than all the fats cats who made much larger donations to support His work.
· And as we learned in Faith in Action, even the smallest acts of faith can have powerful effects through God. So, small acts of generosity towards God can result in His Kingdom being built of earth.
Of course, it’s rather hard to talk about being generous towards God in the middle of such difficult economic times. This recession has been hard on most of us.
On the personal side, some of us have big hits, involving lost jobs;
- others have had hours and/or salary cuts.
- Most of us are not counting on a big Christmas bonus. .
However, as some of you know, we have taken some hits on parish level, too.
· In 2009, our annual budgeted pledge income went down $40,000 from the year before. That decrease in anticipated income resulted in major cuts in program budgets, and cutting the salaries of Pat Vine, the Administrative Pastoral Asst., Jan Sivertsen, the Minister of Music, and both your rectors. Actually, things would have even been worse, had it not been for a one time bequest, which temporarily made up for some of the loss.
But, by the grace of God, and the sacrifices made by rectors and staff, we are making it through this year. I am pleased to report that by and large, most of you are being faithful to your pledge commitments in the year to date, for 2009.
· Of the pledge income that we were expecting to run the church through September, we had received 100% due by the end of September. That is 66.6% of the total you pledged for 2009. That is great. That is remarkable. The Vestry is thrilled.
· We do not have an extra penny to spend, but we are pleased at the faithfulness of many members of this church who are fulfilling their pledge commitments to God and to St. Michael’s.
For those of you who may not know, all Episcopal Churches and most other churches form their budgets in advance, based upon the pledges that people make at the end of the preceding year.
· A Pledge is a promise—a promise made by all members of a particular church …a promise that we make to God, to support His work in the world through our congregation. Each November a blank pledge card is mailed out to all members of this parish, and each person makes a prayerful estimate of their financial giving for the year ahead. These are offered at the altar, as we will do two weeks from today.
· Once these pledges are received, then the Vestry and the Finance Committee plan a budget for the New Year, which is then presented for your endorsement at the Annual Meeting held in the first February of the New Year. (By the way, anyone wishing to see a copy of this year’s budget, may pick up one from the Stewardship Table in the Foyer).
So, this is important for all of us who love St. Michael’s to know, because we are making it through ,financially, in 2009, and we can give thanks to God for that. By the grace of the Holy Spirit our ministry and church life is flourishing.
· The Gospel is being preached.
· The Lord is being worshipped.
· Children, youth, and adults are being discipled, and we are serving one another and the world in the Name of Jesus.
· And we want to keep that going into the 2010.
This is where your prayerful pledge comes in. Now, like in your household, expenses go up in God’s household. But I don’t even want to talk about that, in regards to St. Michael’s. What I want to talk about what I believe that it would be unfair for St. Michael’s to build our 2010 budget on the backs of the rectors and staff.
· That was done in 2009.
· If we try again in 2010, then we may be asking for trouble that we do not want.
You see, the rectors and staff of this parish comprise the best parish leadership team that I have ever experienced, and that includes many years where I served in churches that were 4 times as big as this parish. Together, working with you, we are able to be a strong voice for Jesus Christ in our town, in our diocese, and beyond. Frankly, I do not know the consequences of continued and further cuts to salaries, but I do fear that such cuts would soften our voice for Jesus. I do not want to risk losing what God has given us.
So, how can we go forward in the Spirit, preserving and nurturing all that God has given to us?
· The answer, I believe, is in doing something little—be generous with God, just a little more.
· As we heard in the Gospel, reading, our Big God responds to generous faith, even if it appears to be small…as small as the coin in your hand.
In order to cover the one time donation from last year, which we will not have next year, and to cover the salary cuts , we need to raise 8% of our total budget, or $27,000.
If we could see the sermon slide, this can be done is one of two ways----
- If you can, raise your own pledge for 2010 by 8%. So, if you give $100 to St. Michael’s per month or per week, then you would simply add $8 to that. Some of us may be in a place where we choose to do that.
- Or, if each family and/or pledging unit, all 100 of us, decided to raise our pledges by $5.50 per week---it would be covered. Can you find $5.50 to keep St. Michael’s going strong for you and for those sitting in their pew, next to you?
Now, our Stewardship Chair, Warden DJ Posey, has asked me to tell you that this solution results in “absolutely no fat, and increases in costs we have no control over; and this will erode our over all budget situation even further.” And, this may well be an over simplification. But, this is one example of how we can choose to be generous towards God. It’s a small thing, which won’t break the bank for many of us.
For those of us who have lost our jobs, we need to remember the widow in today’s Gospel. Jesus was not concerned about the bottom line of her gift to the temple. Jesus was concerned about her heart-felt generosity, which He could see, even if not one else could. When we are generous towards God, he promises to be generous towards us…especially when we are poor.
We, at St. Michael’s, need to choose to be generous towards God. You see, many of you have experienced spiritual wonders, healing, forgiveness, joy, and prosperity that most of the world can only dream of. I do not know why you and I have had the good fortune of being chosen by God to be a part of St. Michael’s at this particular time in its history. The other night the Vestry was celebrating all that God has given us.
- In this church, many of us experience a freedom of worship, in this place, where we are accepted as we are by God Himself, and even by the others of this church, who may not see things the way that we do. Do you know how rare that is? Do you know how valuable that is?
- In this church, our worship includes the best of the traditions of the ancient church, is centered upon the power of Gods word, the abundant power and joy of the Holy Spirit, and the wonder and the mystery of the Holy Eucharist? Do you know how rare that is? Do you know how valuable that is?
- In this church, our fellowship embraces people of different backgrounds and ethnic and racial origins, different educational levels, different ages, and sharply different political opinions, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can lay that all aside to become one single Body under the Headship of Jesus. Do you know how rare that is? Do you know how valuable that is?
- In this church, we have taken bold steps to reach our beyond our walls through the Light House Project, and we are now being talked about all over Wayne and all over the diocese. Do you know how rare that is? Do you know how valuable that is?
To be honest, you and I are no more worthy than millions of people, wandering around, who have not got a clue about the height, and depth, and breadth, and wonder of God’s love for us. But here we are, rescued from the darkness and singing aloud, “My redeemer lives.” I do not believe that most of us appreciate what we have been given.
So, at St. Michael’s, our annual monetary pledges say, “Thank you, Jesus.” There is a special place in Jesus’ heart for our gifts of money, because Jesus has said, “where your money is, your heart will be also.”
· So, he wants us to love Him generously, just as he loves us generously.
· And not only that, but Jesus also promises us more. God’s Word says that as we sow, so shall we reap. That’s an image, as we heard in today’s reading from Paul, which means this: As you give your money to God, God will repay you with much more than you have ever given, because you see, it’s a contest with God. He refuses to be outdone in the generosity department. He will continue giving and encouraging us to become more generous like His son, who gave up everything.
· So, in God’s divine economy, God is asking us, I believe, to be more generous. If we make an effort to be more generous towards God, then he will be more generous towards us. Friends, we can do this. We can choose to keep the voice of St. Michael’s strong by coming together, in his Holy Spirit, in this way.
So, take home your biblical penny. Remember the generous widow, and pray that when you place your pledge card on the altar. Perhaps you will hear from Jesus the words that many have heard, “My child, I appreciate your gift far more than that of any billionaire, because you have generously given to me. Receive the blessings and gratitude of your master.”