Sermon
Text – Isaiah 65: 17-25
“For I am about to create a new heavens and a new earth;
the former things shall not be remembered or come to mind…”
Today the prophet Isaiah speaks to us of transformation.
Transformation is at the core of what it means to be a Christian. We worship a
God who reaches out – time and time again – to transform individual lives,
communities, and the world. We follow a teacher who – time and time again – spoke
of turning the world upside-down….
“Blessed are you who
are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed
are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep
now, for you will laugh.”
And we are heirs. Descendents
of people have professed – time and time again – that there can be no death
without the transformative power of resurrection, that working together with
God we can always “make a way out of no way,”[1]
and that what it means to be Christian is to risk having your life so fully
transformed that you no longer recognize it as your own.
It’s powerful stuff – this
transformation talk.
For a month now, we have been
talking about Mission: POSSIBLE
during worship. I so appreciate that our Stewardship Committee has focused on the
possibilities that we are invited into when we truly consider how we can each
be involved in the life and mission of this congregation. I want to say a big
thank you to all of the people from our Boards and Committees who have helped
educate us about the work we do together and the resources that are necessary
to make those ministries a reality.
A few minutes ago, we took a
little time to think individually about the ways our own lives and the lives of
those around us have been transformed by First United Church. It is my firm
belief that it is the business of the Church to be about transforming lives –
the lives of the people who fill the pews on Sunday morning, the lives of those
in the immediate community that surrounds the church building, and the lives of
people all over the world.
And this morning I want to
talk about a spiritual practice that I have found to be immensely powerful. I
have witnessed, first-hand, the life-transforming power of this spiritual
discipline. I believe this practice has the power to radically reorient every
aspect of our lives. In my own life, it has led to a greater sense of security,
lower levels of stress and anxiety, and a much deeper sense of connection to
God.
It is a powerful force for
good in our world. It is an instrument of healing and transformation. It is a
secret that is too good to be kept.
What is it? It’s tithing.
Oh, yes. I just said the “T”
world. Tithing. Let’s talk a little about what that word means and get on the
same page.
I know some of us grew up in
churches where tithing was emphasized. Others of us may be hearing the word for
the first time today. It’s not one we use a lot here at First United. We tend
to talk about financial support, giving, stewardship of our resources, and
generosity. Those are all good things. I am glad that we talk about them
regularly.
Tithing is a form of giving
and carries with it some additional connotations – or baggage – depending on
how you feel about the word.
Tithing is truly an ancient
concept in our faith. Way back in Genesis, we read about Abram tithing out of a
sense of gratitude after a victory in battle. In its most legalistic sense
tithing in the Bible was about giving away 10% of something. Since our Biblical
ancestors lived in agricultural societies, they were often giving up 10% of a
crop. It is important to note that it was 10% off the top – not the leftover
10% that wasn’t much good but 10% of the good stuff, right at the beginning.
Of course, over time tithing
came to mean many different things. As economic systems changed, it was usually
10% of cash income instead of a crop. In some settings, it was compulsory – and
I am not a fan of compulsory giving because I think the transformative power in
giving is that we can make a choice to participate or not. In some instances it
came to mean amounts other than 10% - sometimes less, sometimes more.
For the sake of being on the
same page this morning, I want to define tithing as I mean it when I use the
word. For me, tithing is a spiritual practice of giving away a substantial
portion of what we have been given in ways that transform the world.
And the amazing thing about
tithing is this: when we tithe we not only help the wider world by giving of
our resources, but we literally transform our own lives through a radical
reordering of our own priorities and attitudes about money. For me, it has been
that second part that has been the most surprising and life-altering.
In 1999, Walter Brueggemann
wrote an article in the Christian Century entitled “The Liturgy of Abundance,
The Myth of Scarcity.” The words are as true now as they were in 1999.
Brueggemann writes of two conflicting narratives in our world: 1) the liturgy
of abundance set unleashed by God in the creation narratives…the declaration
that “we originated in the magnificent inexplicable love of a God who loved the
world into generous being.” And 2) the myth of scarcity…the fear that there
isn’t enough to go around. Brueggemann confesses that he reads the Bible on a
good day, but he watches Nike ads every single day. We live in a world that
tries its best to get us to buy into this myth of scarcity and if we are to
resist the gods of consumerism that wish to consume us, we have to anchor
ourselves in spiritual disciplines that will radically reorient us to the truth
of God’s liturgy of abundance.
I want to share a little
about what this journey has been like for me. And I’m sharing it from my own
perspective because that’s the story I know best. Please notice that this is
meant to be descriptive, not PREscriptive. I recognize that we are all in
different situations and not everyone’s story is going to look like mine.
I began tithing when I got
married at the ripe old age of 20. I married into a tithing family. David’s
parents had taught him the value of tithing and, to him, it was a no-brainer. I
had to be convinced. When we got married we were both students – first
undergraduate and then graduate. We had a combined income of something like
$1000 a month. I’m not going to lie (especially from the pulpit) – I really
could not initially wrap my head around the idea of giving away a full tenth of
that small amount of money. It truly seemed impossible. I thought to myself,
“Maybe we could just put this off until we are more financially stable. Someday
in the future.”
But somehow David or the
Bible or the Holy Spirit or all of the above convinced me and we gave it a try.
Again – not going to lie – it wasn’t easy. Giving away 10% of our tiny income
was really hard to do. But you know what else? And this really surprised me -
it was kind of fun. We have always had a practice of giving a big chunk of our
tithe to the church we attend but we also keep a bit of it aside to give to
other nonprofit organizations or directly to people in need. Even though we
were struggling students, we often felt rich because we would sit down every
month and talk about how to give away some money directly to those who really
needed it. We were living off of $1000 a month, but giving away our money made
us feel rich. I don’t fully know how to explain it, but there it is. Each time
we gave away our hard-earned money we worried less about scarcity and became
more aware of the abundance available in our world.
The other thing that happened
was this: starting out when we were struggling students made it so much easier
now that we are giving away a much bigger dollar amount each month. If we had
waited until we were making more money, I think it would have been so very hard
to jump right in to giving away $400 or $500 a month. I am glad we started
small, even though it was difficult at the time. It has made it much easier as
the years have gone by.
Tithing is a spiritual
practice of giving away a substantial portion of what we have been given in
ways that transform the world around us.
In my own life, 10% has felt like
a substantial portion of what I have been given. I don’t think it’s a magic
number. I don’t think it works for everyone. And I think if you’ve never given
away 1% or 2% starting at 10% can feel completely overwhelming. I do think
there is some wisdom to 10%, though, and I don’t think it’s totally arbitrary.
I think 10% is about enough that you really notice it’s gone. 10% is about
enough to make you really question, “Is this sane? Giving away this much money?
Will I really be able to do this?” And I think those two things – noticing it’s
gone and wondering if I could really really do it – are absolutely essential
parts of what make tithing one of the most powerful spiritual practices I have
encountered.
Tithing has a way of
radically reorienting the way we relate to money. We wonder – can I survive
without this? And we discover that we actually can. That, in turn, makes us
wonder what else we can live without and we discover that we live in a world
that consistently tells us we “need” so very much more than we actually need.
Tithing, for me, has been a way of exposing the lie that we can never have
enough. It grounds me. It helps me feel safe. It keeps me focused on what my
true needs are. It has completely transformed me as a human being. And it continues
to transform me, month after month.
It is my job, as one of your
pastors, to invite you to consider taking up spiritual practices that have the
power to transform you life. I know it’s risky. I know it’s hard. And I hope
you can see that I’m not up here asking you to do it in a “we need to make the
budget” kind of way. I’m doing it because it is truly about so much more than
making the budget. It’s about radically reorienting your relationship with
money. It’s about transforming your relationship with the Holy.
And it is about resisting the
forces in this world who clamor for our attention, day after day, begging us to
buy into the myth of scarcity – the lie that there isn’t enough and that we
must all snatch up what we can. It is about listening to the litany of the
world around us, “You aren’t good enough. You need more stuff. You need more
money in the bank to be safe,” and saying back the opening words of God’s great
litany of abundance, “And God saw what God had created and it was good. It was
very good.” It was enough. It is enough. We are enough.
I know that some of you
already tithe. If you do, I hope you can reflect on the ways it is transforming
your life. And I hope you can share what you discover with the rest of us.
I know that some of you are
trying to get there. I encourage you to keep working at it – to ask yourself:
am I experiencing my giving as a spiritual practice? Am I giving in ways that
are truly challenging? And I invite you to be in conversation with each other
and with Jack and me as you explore those questions.
And I know that some of you
have really never considered that you might be able to do this. I recognize
that this is a lot to take in this morning. Take it in. Sit with it. And then
be in conversation with those who nourish your spirit as you continue to ponder
what it might mean to live more fully into God’s promises of abundance.
It’s not a one-size-fits-all
thing. That’s why I don’t think 10% is a magic number. But I do believe
sincerely that there is something powerful about making a commitment to give
away a substantial portion of what we have been given in ways that transform
the world around us. Tithing as a spiritual practice has the power to radically
reorient us and to shape us in ways that will fully transform the world.
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