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“THE RIGHT ANSWER!” Readings:
Deuteronomy 6:1-9, Psalm 146, Hebrews 9:11-14, Mark 12:28-34 Preached at Baldwin
Presbyterian Church, November 1st 2009 In matters of faith and life we don’t always get the answers right. But
sometimes we do. Sometimes we hit the nail right on the head! In our bible
passage today a man described as a scribe comes to Jesus with a question
regarding what the bottom line was when it came to religious life and
practice. Jesus gives him an answer and the
Scribe responds; "You
are right, Teacher; you have truly said that 'He is one, and besides Him
there is no other'; and 'To love Him with all the heart, and with all the
understanding, and with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as
oneself,' --this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and
sacrifices." (Mark 12:32-32) Jesus suggests commends the scribe for answering rightly and tells him
that he is not far from the Kingdom of God! What is it about this scribes
answer that makes it the right answer? Number One - God is number One. He gives God the
rightful place. Numero Uno! Number Two - It’s about what we believe and
do. He
recognizes that religious life is about both the heart and the mind, a matter
for our emotions and our devotions. Number Three - It’s not about me! He recognizes that
true religion is not about bringing offerings and making sacrifices, but
about loving God and serving others. I am aware that we are in our stewardship season. I find it fascinating
to see how the scribes right answers relate so well to what it means for us,
as folk associated with First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin, to be faithful
stewards of all the good things that God has entrusted our lives with. Number One - God is number One. Faithful stewardship is about demonstrating to the world that
everything we are and everything we have belongs to God. We live in an age defined by the power of
greed and rampant consumerism. We live in a time where many people have made
idols out of stuff and far from being free have become possessed by their
possessions. Biblical Stewardship is siding with the Psalmist who wrote, “The
earth is the Lords and all that is in it” (Psalm 24:1).
Biblical stewardship is about giving God God’s rightful place in the
order of things… number One… and challenging our selves with another
Psalmists words, “What shall I render unto the Lord for all His
bounty to me?” (Psalm 116:12) Biblical stewardship invites us to celebrate God’s abundance through
sharing our time, talents and treasures with one another in ways that glorify
God and bless our neighbors. This conveniently leads us to the second reason
why the scribes answer was the right answer. Number Two - It’s about what we believe and do. The Christians model for faithful stewardship is Jesus Christ. The life,
death, resurrection and promised coming of His Kingdom are the standard and
measure of faithful stewardship. Paul wrote to the Phillipian church: “Let
the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who emptied Himself… ”(Phillipians 2:5) In Matthews gospel Jesus tells a parable about faithful and
unfaithful servants that makes it quite clear that we are accountable to God
for how we use the resources that God has blessed our lives with. What we do
with what we have is a true and clear test of our Christian commitment. The
parable finishes up “After a long time the master of those servants
came and settled accounts with them.” To the faithful servant he declares, “Well done, good and
trustworthy servant, enter into the joy of your master”. To the unfaithful
one, well you can check that out for yourself in Matthew Chapter 25. All I’ll
say is that it’s not a happy ending for the one who didn’t get with the
program! In Luke’s gospel Jesus encourages His disciples to understand that it was
only as they gave of themselves generously and purposefully that they would
discover just how rich they truly were. “For the measure you give will
be the measure you get back" (Luke 6:38). St Francis of Assisi had a famous
prayer in which he echoed this idea with the words “It is in giving that we receive”. The thing about stewardship is that we come at it from the wrong angle.
We think of it as some kind of annual program to underwrite the budget. When
we do that we undersell both our church and ourselves. Biblically speaking
stewardship is all about spiritual growth. It is about discovering and
uncovering and releasing the gifts and resources that God has blessed us
with. It’s about ourselves moving into a place of freedom where Christ has Lord
over all aspects of our lives, our time, the way we serve and the way we
spend. It is all about responding to
the graciousness of God. About losing
ourselves in order to truly find ourselves. In Luke 9:24 Jesus tells us “For
those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who want to lose
their life for my sake will find it” Because stewardship is about spiritual growth it is the most basic and
challenging work that God calls a congregation to embrace. It is the most
basic because the gifts we bring through our stewardship, the time we devote,
the talents we share, and the treasures we bring, determine the nature and
extent of the ministry of our church. It is the most challenging because it confronts sharply the spirit of our
consumer driven, hedonistic, self-serving age that makes idols of money and
the things money can buy, and indeed , as is revealed to us during a time of
recession, builds all of its hopes,
not on the security of relationships and community, not on God, but on
financial stability and the strength of the dollar. We complain about the way
things are yet remain deaf to the challenge of Christ’s words, “You
cannot serve God and wealth” (Matthew 6:24) . Number One - God is number One . Number Two - It’s about what we believe and do. Number Three - It’s not about me! In
the final part of his answer the Scribe, after speaking of loving God and
neighbor, adds ‘This is much more important than all whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ People
bought offerings and offered sacrifices mostly for their own benefit. They
had offended their God and wanted to be back in His good books. A way of
buying God’s good favor!
Through His teaching Jesus invites us to embrace a broader vision of
religion. That it is not just about us and our standing with God, but about
helping others to discover that the God they once thought was far off, wanted
to be as a Father to them. That love could be a defining principle in all
relationships, not only with God but with each other. Stewardship is not about fund raising. It’s about how we express our love
to God, about how much value we place on what our church community is trying
to do in making this community a better place, it’s about challenging the
spirit of an age that assumes everything depends on the dollar. So I invite you to play your part. Maybe a question you could consider,
in terms of financial stewardship is simply to ask yourself ‘What portion of
my income is God calling me to give?” God knows better than we do what we
really need to live prosperous and generous lives. An important part of our
spiritual journey is demonstrating that the faith we confess with our words
really is something that we place value in and are willing to invest in. A Scribe came to Jesus with an important question. What’s really
important in religious life? Jesus praises him for recognizing the right
things. Putting God first. Loving God with heart, mind and soul. Loving our
neighbor. This was the bottom line. It’s not about sacrifices and offerings.
But it is about being good stewards who respond in tangible ways to the grace
and blessings that God has showered down upon them. One place to consider that… is here around this table laid with bread and
wine. Jesus Christ gave Himself to us…body, soul and spirit. Such a
demonstration of love seeks for our response. As we share these elements may
His Holy Spirit minister to our needs and and inspire us for His service. May
His love guide us towards being faithful stewards of all that God has given
us. Amen. Rev
Adrian J Pratt
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