We are in the second week of our Season of Stewardship. The first part of the post is by board member Cindy Halsey, the second is my sermon. Both writings are being accompanied by the book The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist.
I had a couple of spacey moments yesterday in worship. Not usual for me or my personality type. I did not have the last page to my sermon and had a hard time recovering. It was a really, really human moment. In the Spirit of abundance, thank you for your abundant grace. Marta :)
And all ate and were filled;
and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. Matt. 14:13-21
A Testimony by Cindy Halsey:
It seems like I always have something to say, about pretty much anything, but ask me to pray or as it turns out, give a testimony, and I draw a great big blank. When I was first asked to do this, I thought I had a month to prepare. I was wrong. I had a week to think about it and came up with nothing. Then I listened to Marta’s testimony last week and things began to pop into my mind. But here’s the thing, I couldn’t come up with just one story, and that slowed me down, until I realized, that was the story I wanted to tell.
As I look around this congregation, I see so many people that I know. Many I have known for years, and some I have just met, but there isn’t a single person in this room that I don’t look forward to seeing on Sunday morning. Everyone one of you has a story. Some of those stories I am privileged to know and others I hope to know in the future. But this is supposed to be about my story. And what I realized is that my story is dependent on all of you.
When I came to this church several years ago, I was specifically looking for a church that I could take my kids to, so they could learn about God. I also wanted one that was “open and affirming”, a concept I had heard about on a TV commercial for the United Church of Christ. It was very important to me that any church I attended welcome EVERYONE into the body of Christ. It turns out we weren’t ONA yet (we got there eventually!), but my daughter made friends very quickly, so I was stuck. What I didn’t realize at the time was that although I wanted a church where my children would be happy, I also needed a church that would welcome ME into the body of Christ, without judgement, or expectations. I needed relationship-with God, with the church, with PEOPLE.
You don’t have to go to church to worship God. You can do that in your own living room, by saying grace at a family meal, or during a walk in the woods. However, you do need church if you want to build relationships. And Jesus was all about relationships.
By being part of this church, this family, I have been allowed to make mistakes, be cranky, get angry, be forgiven and do better. I have learned to recognize, at least occasionally, my own failings, and been given the chance to ask for forgiveness (both from above and from those right next to me) and then learn from my mistakes. These kinds of deep relationships, of allowing for imperfections, of looking beneath the surface, they don’t happen when you go to church for an hour on Sunday and go home. They happen when you work side by side, when you share a meal, when you sort clothes for an annual garage sale. When you get tired, and frustrated, and say things you shouldn’t. When you have enough trust in the people you walk beside to share the joys, the sorrows and the everyday messiness of life.
If you want a church where you can show up on Sunday, give God an hour of your time, and then head home, this isn’t it. If you want to be invisible, again, not it. But if you want a church where you will be welcomed and then put to work, join us! Challenged to reimagine what church looks like, or sounds like or feels like, join us!
So, here’s the offer. Join us. Be part of this wonderful, messy, imperfect, God-seeking family. Use your God-given talents. Challenge your beliefs, your biases, your comfort zone. Extend grace to yourself and every other imperfect human that God brings into your life. I believe we are here to learn from each other, challenge each other, support each other. I believe we are here to make space for each other, like God makes space for us.
Together we can make a difference in our own lives, in the lives of people in Black Forest and in the world around us. If you have an interest in joining the Christian movement through Black Forest Community Church, see Pastor Marta.
It is in giving of our time, our talent, and our treasure that we can build God’s kingdom, on earth as it is in heaven. Let us offer all we have and all we are - all ages, all voices, all stories, all hearts - to God this morning.
Marta’s Sermon:
On earth as it is in heaven is the final part of our church theme that we have been learning this past month.
On earth as it is in heaven. Heaven is another realm where there is no war, abuse, oppression or segregation. Where there is an abundance of love and compassion and friendship. In other words, who we are and what we can give is enough- especially in heaven.
What we are trying to create in this place is a little slice of that heaven. All ages, All voices, All stories and All hearts, on earth as it is in heaven.
When I think of the phrase On Earth As It Is In heaven, I think of a place that has dismantled systems of injustice. By saying ALL people are welcome exactly they way they are is a protest against our culture of dehumanization.
To say we are unfolding the kin-dom of God in our midst or that we are engaging ministry On Earth As It Is In Heaven is like being at a protest and holding signs of love --you know the kind---cut up cardboard boxes with large sharpie pens that say things like:
we should all care, or
stand up for all- stop the separation,
Another sign might read: the world is so bad, even introverts are here
or maybe a sign that says: now you have pissed off grandma.
more lovinging... there might be signs that say
--we can do it,
#familiestogether
or we shall overcome.
I bet you didn’t know this was a mini protest against the hate of the world- right here in this sanctuary every Sunday.
We have abundance in this place. And, to say we have abundance, is a form of disruption to our western individualistic culture. Our world tells us everyday, all the time through the media, malls, newspapers, catalogues and billboards, that we are not enough and we don’t have enough. And, money is scarce. When this happens we hold on to what we have or we find ways to create personal gains. The message is that you are on your own. Neither way is unfolding the kin-dom of God, neither way is spreading the good news, neither way is On Earth As It Is In Heaven.
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The Soul of Money by Lynne Twist is accompanying our journey through the Season of Stewardship. Twist is a global activist and philanthropist/fundraiser for large global organizations. She is especially passionate about food insecurity- particularly in third world countries. She partnered with an organization called the Hunger Project. The Hunger Project is an organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. She tells her stories about what she learned from third-world communities and indigenous people.
Last week we touch on the first section of the book, this week we will touch on the second section. She talks about money as a social construct created by humans. Meaning that greed and fear of scarcity are programmed “they do not exist in nature, not even in human nature.” Scarcity in our culture is a perception we have inherited. She says “They are built into the money system in which we swim, and we’ve been swimming in it so long that these shadows have become almost completely transparent to us.”
After reading these two sections, I have thought more intensely about my own situation. And been aware of how I am stuck in a culture of greed, fear and scarcity around resources.
Do I have enough for healthy groceries for me and my family each week? Yep!
Do I have a safe and warm home to gather with those that I love? Yep!
Do I really need anything else? I mean really? Nope!
Can I model my world off of indigenous communities? What would it look like for me to do that more? To rely on community.
This shift of heart is a disruption to the messages I hear about not being enough or you don’t have enough- for me, this creates more fear and anxiety. Claiming abundance is a disruption and perhaps a protest to the messages of scarcity. To say and acknowledge abundance is: heaven on earth. It is also a deep and abiding faith claim. God will provide.
Just to be clear, even just writing and preaching about money in this way is really hard and even scares me. If I am to lead all of you to share your resources in a radical-Jesus-like-way, then that means that I need to share mine too. That means that I need to talk about my inheritance and how I will steward the money that my hard-working father made- in the way of Jesus.
That means I will talk about how your resources enable me to be in this pulpit. That means exposing myself and inviting you all to expose yourself in perhaps the way indigenous people expose themselves because that is the only way to survive in the jungle.
I am not going to pretend that I am not scared there will not be enough. I too feel completely trapped by our capitalistic, consumer, individualistic western culture- mostly run by white men. Though, I am also open to embrace a posture of the mystery and to be transformed by God, to deepen in my faith and to work on dismantling systems of scarcity and to create systems of abundance. I am here to create a place On Earth As It Is In Heaven.
When Mandy asked me what I was going to talk about- as she does every Tuesday, this week I told a story: a few years ago, when my kids were quite a bit younger they would be free range around our safe little neighborhood. They would literally be gone for hours. There was an abundance that could not be described. One of our neighbors was not practicing the religious tradition of her upbringing, Mormonism, but was definitely culturally and ethnically Morman (as she described her self). Food is a big deal for Mormans- so I have heard. Not only do they have personal pantries of food that could last months or even years, they have community pantries. Both ideal just in case the rapture or more practically, if a family is in serious need- for example, the father loses his job- in cases like this, the faith community will rally and provide groceries each week for the family in need until they are on their feet again. The Morman faith is steeped in a culture of generosity, loyalty and community. There is always enough. On one afternoon, there was close to ten children hanging in her basement when I arrived to check in on my own kids. She invited us for dinner and when she did this, on more than one occasion, I would always ask “is there enough?” with wide eyes--because we all had big families and she would always respond with “loaves and fishes.” And, we both knew what that meant. The dinner would be sufficient. And, not only sufficient but abundant. We would adopt a neighborhood culture as Twist would say by “making creative, efficient use of resources, and combining social responsibility with a deep commitment to service and quality.” And, this is how our children grew up. It was sometimes not easy and had its quirks, for sure, but our model was one of “loaves and fishes.”
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There is an addiction to an abundance of material goods in our American lifestyle. That is not the abundance I am talking about. I am talking about an abundance of resources not measured by wealth in dollars but measured by wealth in the expression of generosity and spirit. So that, if you have a lot of money to give you will prayerfully discern your gift, though if you don’t have a lot to give, you might still give out of a spirit of generosity. Both of these ways are so important. It is the spirit of generosity at whatever level you can give that will ultimately sustain this church for generations to come in Black Forest and beyond.
Jesus was creating a culture of generosity, rather than scarcity.. This is what Jesus was doing that day in the wilderness- away from all the chaos of first century Roman Empire that was marked by significant inequalities - particularly concerning food access, not to mention the horrific death of his cousin John. Jesus needed a break. What’s interesting is that he went to the wilderness. A harsh environment- not friendly to communities of people. It was remote, lacking food and water. A barren land. How would thousands of people survive? And, not only survive in community but have the spirit to be generous with each other? And, yet, the people followed him out of town- five thousand of them. They too were seeking to disrupt a society of injustice, cruelty and systems of oppression and they wanted to do it by way of abundance. Abundance in spirit, compassion and love. They too, where looking for a place that was On Earth As It Is In Heaven. I can imagine that when Jesus got off the boat and his disciples where perplexed- of all places, in the wilderness with no access to modern amenities, yet there was community. In fact there was an exuberant, brimming with vitality and aliveness, community. The disciples wanted to send them on their way- dinner was approaching and there was no way to make a meal. Especially for such a large crowd.
But rather Jesus said, we are here to create a safe and sacred space for all.
We will do this. We can do this. It seemed that this incredible scene had risen from nothing and it was a sense of belonging like know other. Jesus was moved by compassion and used the little resources; baskets of loaves and fishes, that he had on hand….and everyone was nourished.
Is there enough, a mother might have asked? And the response was “loaves and fishes,” loaves and fishes.
Jesus’ compassion and generosity was contagious and it inspired all of them. Most importantly Jesus had a vision that was beyond anyone’s imagination, including his disciples. A vision of On Earth As It Is In Heaven.
We are in this season of Stewardship. It is often not an easy time for churches. Nobody likes to talk about money and whether we will have enough or not. Mostly because our culture is telling us that we are not enough and we don’t have enough,
but we do so let’s protest that message.
That culture can be stronger than our faith in God. But, Jesus was a disruptor to this prevailing culture and he used this idea of abundance to disrupt a system that held people down. Jesus called us to faith. Rather, he said, let’s talk about this. Let’s talk about how we can be good and creative stewards of our resources because we are going to make this movement work. He modeled and told stories of abundance over and over again. These stories of loaves and fishes sent messages that there is enough, you are enough, we are going to do this and we can do this together. It gave those people the strength and faith to walk back into Roman occupied land and disrupt the system that dehumanizes them with an abundant spirit.
A story like this is really hard to explain.
Who knows how they fed that many people, though we are invited to embrace a posture of the mystery-when we hear stories like this, because when we take a posture of the mystery we are embracing the generosity of God. And, scarcity, will be no more.
My hope is that you will prayerfully consider your giving for 2020. That you will consider a faithful pledge out of abundant spirit. That you will lean into the mystery of God. That you might wonder what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the next year. That together, you will commit to creating a little slice of heaven in this place, every Sunday. Because we have work to do! Loaves and Fishes, my friends, Loaves and Fishes. Amen.
Amen