Luke 21:9-16
Listen to sermon
Pastor Tom Johnson, November 13, 2016
The Scripture we chose for this Stewardship Sunday is a call for us to live generously. It reminds us that God has given us many diverse gifts. And that we, by his grace, exercise those gifts—we re-gift God’s gifts to those around us. God has given us varied gifts. “…if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully” (Rom 12:8). We are, after all, stewards of God’s gifts. And those gifts include our time, talents, and treasure. God has given us so much. He created us in his image. He gives us all that we need for life and godliness (1 Pet 1:3). The eternal Son of God came to give his life to us—to purchase us—not with gold or silver but with his precious blood (1 Pet 1:19). And the Holy Spirit enables us—by that same grace and gift—to live our lives to bless our neighbor and glorify God. That, in a nut shell, is the message I wanted to share with you this morning.
Then life happens. In the United States of America, more specifically, Election Day happened. Some of us woke up elated on Wednesday. Some of us woke up saddened. Some of us are hopeful. Some of us are frightened. My first thought was that since this would be on so many people's minds, that it would complicate our plans to emphasize stewardship this Sunday. But then I realized that the words of Jesus in our appointed Gospel lesson take us to the heart of the matter:
“They will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify.” “This will give you an opportunity to testify.” Adversity leads to opportunity. Conflict will be an opportunity to glorify God. Suffering purifies us just as a refiner’s fire removes dross from gold and silver. “So make up your minds,” Jesus says, “not to prepare your defense in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict,” Jesus says. In other words, God will make us better stewards. He not only commissions us, he equips us. He not only calls us, he enables us. Like the pillar of fire by night and the pillar of cloud by day that safely led God’s people out of slavery in Egypt, so God goes ahead to make a path before us and protects and defends us from behind.Sadly, it is in our nature to not recognize all the good gifts God has given. We can be so absorbed in our problems and challenges that we are not aware of the generosity of God toward us. And we can be so self-absorbed we do not see the same giftedness in others. The result? We are not vested. We have not bought in fully into the mission God has given us as individuals nor as the people of God. We do not truly believe that God has graced us so richly and diversely as the Body of Christ. We do not fully trust that God is generously vested in us. He believes in you and me. He trusts that we will use our resources—material and spiritual—to advance the Kingdom of God.
Adversity and suffering can help us see what really matters. It will redefine our values. Like the prodigal son who is lost and staring hungrily at the pig fodder, so we, like him, come to our senses. We realize the goodness of the Father. “Nation will rise up against nation,” Jesus says—there will be political battles, wars, trials and tribulation. But, Jesus says, “This will give you an opportunity.” What others have meant for evil, God means for good (Gen 50:20). One window will close and a door will open. God will answer the prayer he taught us to pray: “Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done.” “Do not worry about what you will say,” Jesus says, “I will give you words and wisdom.” “This will give you an opportunity.”
God continues to be generous—our cup runs over with his grace and goodness. And it will spill out of our mouths and lives to bless those around us. This is want it means to be blessed to be a blessing. Just as Jesus said, “It is better to give than to receive” (Acs 20:35). This is what it means to fulfill our mission here at First Saint Paul’s: to proclaim Christ, nurture faith, and serve others. We follow God’s lead in Jesus Christ. We believe in our mission. We believe in one another. And we vest ourselves in one another. We invest our time in one another just as the Eternal Son of God stepped out of eternity into time to become human flesh. We share our talent just as Christ spread the good news and healing in his earthly ministry. We give our treasure just as Jesus gave his all on the cross to give us all in the resurrection and renewed creation. We are saved by grace and the gift of God. And we proceed through life to eternity by that same grace and gift of God. God has given us an opportunity. He gives us a chance to bear witness. To Christ alone be all glory, honor, and praise.
Lord, we pray that we, Your people
Who Your gifts unnumbered claim
Through the sharing of Your blessings
May bring glory to Your name.
(Refrain from "Gracious God You Send Great Blessings," LSB 782)
I am not sure how the election of Donald J. Trump implies adversity and suffering, let alone the end of the world. In making this political analogy Pastor Johnson may be seeking to reassure Hillary Clinton supporters, but he does so at the expense of alienating Donald Trump supporters. Jesus taught that his kingdom was not of this world. Luther held that the greatest error a theologian could make would be to confuse the two kingdoms, the kingdom of this world and God's kingdom. They are as different as law and gospel. God's kingdom will never be perfectly realized in this world, not now, not in 4 years, not in 100 years, not in a million years. We are told to respect and obey civil authority as coming from God. We expect God's kingdom to be realized when Christ returns with the holy angels. Those who expect otherwise are wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill! I prayerfully tried to speak a word of hope to everyone. Jesus is the one who mentions political instability and warfare. I wanted us to see that no matter what our fear is (or adversity), God wants to use it for us to serve each other and glorify God. That being said, I can always learn to better serve our diverse community. Peace!
ReplyDeleteI think it is best to steer clear of politics. I know I stopped listening carefully to the sermon after hearing the election, then the end of days. While it is true the Gospel message reaches us in whatever our condition, the Gospel does not give us hope for political success, whether through adversity or in triumph. As taught both in the Psalms and our hymnody, "trust not in Princes." We should not trust princes for our deliverance because a) we will be disappointed and b) the full realization of our salvation comes not in history but beyond it. Now some Christian traditions hold otherwise, notably the Orthodox and at times Roman Catholics, which are given to Caesaro-Papism, usually with disappointing/disastrous results (where are these empires and kingdoms now?). H. Richard Niebuhr describes the Lutheran ethos as Christ against culture. I do not want clergy endorsing my political views, knowing that political opinion does convey theological truth, but neither do I want them opposed. Honest and sincere Christians can form opposing views on issues of the day. But what unites us is far greater than that which divides us.
ReplyDeleteThe "poison pill" of politics from the pulpit is that if the listener takes exception to a given political view or attitude, that person will be reluctant to trust in what you say about the redemption of the world in Jesus Christ. You do not want to lose your audience.
I appreciate your listening to my feedback and explaining your intentions.