RVCC Pastor's Sermon

Sermon - November 11, 2007

"Inspiring Generosity”

By Rev. Nancy Foran
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21

Today is Stewardship Sunday, and, you may not know this, but the annual stewardship sermon is one of the big three. It is right up there with Christmas and Easter in conveying the major themes of the modern church: “Jesus is born.” “Christ is risen.” “Give us money.”

And the stewardship sermon always starts off with a joke…Once upon a time there was a man who came to his pastor's office and gave her a most generous check. I mean, it was a really big one - much larger than any gift this person had ever given before, so the pastor asked what motivated him to make this most astounding donation.

The man said, "Well, I was out hunting the other day, and I came across a big momma bear and her cubs. The momma bear must have felt threatened because all of a sudden she charged me. I tried to shoot her, but I missed.

I took off running and was praying like crazy as I ran. Just as the bear was gaining on me I saw a hollow log, and I dove inside it. The bear stood outside growling and trying to get at me, but she couldn't.

Then it started to rain. That big old momma bear got sick of waiting for me in the bad weather and lumbered away. The only trouble was the rain caused the log to swell up, and I was stuck in there and couldn't budge!"

The pastor asked, "How did you get out?"

The man replied, "I started thinking about how God had answered my prayers and saved me from that big old bear. And then I started thinking about all the ways that God has blessed me and what a wonderful life God has given me…Then I started thinking about how little I give to the church in return, and that made me feel so small, I was able to crawl right out!"

Every stewardship sermon needs a joke. That is the first thing you learn in seminary about crafting one – get the congregation to relax, let down its collective guard, and then bring it on.

You might include a plaintive plea for funds to keep the doors open and the pastor paid, or a statistical run through of the budget and its impending shortfalls. You might challenge the congregation to dig deeper into its pockets and cough up a bit more. And I am told that a healthy dose of good old fashioned guilt can sometimes work wonders.

Ah, but I promised all of you last week that I would not lay a guilt trip on you, that I would not march out the budget, that I would not implore, beg, and plead with you to dig deeper and come up with more. I told you that today would be a day to rejoice in who we are as a church and to celebrate our dreams and vision for 2008.

And I can do that because I believe that stewardship is ultimately not about the money - and Rodney may be really glad he is stepping down as Treasurer when he hears me say that, when you come right down to it, the money is at best an administrative necessity.

After all, how much you pledge or give in 2008 is not going to change your standing before God. Whether you decide to tithe or not to tithe really makes no difference – though it would be nice if more than a few of you did…..

….but not because as a church we would have more money to work with next year. No – it would be nice because it would make such a strong statement about us as a congregation and about who – with a Capital W – who really makes a difference in our lives. It would say a lot about how much stock we put in those Biblical teachings. First, that we are made in the image of God, and second, that God is inherently generous.

You see, what is important is not how much money we give, but who we serve each day, who we thank for the gifts and blessings of our lives, and how we respond to God’s generosity and abundance.

As DJ Dent reflected, “We have been given every good blessing from God, and we have the freedom to decide what to do with it.” And if we buy into his comment, then today, when we offer our pledges, we are really answering the question, “What do we do with all that God has given us?”

You know, that Kingdom of God which I preach about and that we all reflect upon as we go about living our lives is characterized first and foremost by generosity. And, furthermore, our role in that kingdom depends on how we express our gratitude and to whom we give our utmost thanks.

As Timothy Hart-Andersen wrote, “Giving thanks is the most theologically-sound response to life we can offer. You see, gratitude opens a window in the heart that lets in the mysterious and shimmering presence of God.”

When you come right down to it, "A stewardship campaign is simply an annual gratitude alert, calling us to recommit ourselves to giving thanks in concrete ways."

So, what do we have to be thankful for around here? What inspires us at RVCC to be generous? When do we see that mysterious and shimmering sacred presence of God?

I would submit that our inspiration for generosity stems from more than the building – though the sanctuary is beautiful and the Sunday School classrooms look nice all brightly painted. In fact, it is more than any line item on the budget.

Our inspiration for generosity lies within the heart and soul of each one of in this church family. It lies in the energy within these walls – energy that has measurably increased over the past year. It is in the laughter. It is in the dreaming. It is in the believing that we can be a valuable part of the Raymond community and that we have something to give to the world. It is in the growing pride we have in this church family and in the unique role we play in being part of the Body of Christ.

Now, though I admit to being a wordsmith at times, I also admit that I can not adequately say what it is about RVCC that inspires any one of you to be generous. Maybe none of us can really put it into words.

But we can rejoice –and we can celebrate – as I hope this powerpoint/slide show will encourage us to do.

Sermon - November 11, 2007

"Inspiring Generosity”

By Rev. Nancy Foran Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21

By Rev. Nancy Foran
Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21