Monday, October 1, 2018

We are an Offering




Isaiah 58:6-14
6Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?
7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
8Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am. If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil,
10if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday.
11The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places,
and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water, whose waters never fail.
12Your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live in.

13If you refrain from trampling the sabbath, from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; if you call the sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, serving your own interests, or pursuing your own affairs;
14then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride upon the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of your ancestor Jacob, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God

Mark 12:41-44
41[Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. 42A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. 43Then he called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. 44For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

This is the Word of the LORD
Thanks be to God.


All of me,
Why not take all of me.
Can’t you see,
I’m no good without you.
Take my lips.
I want to lose them;
Take my arms, I’ll never use them.

Your goodbye
Left me with eyes that cry,
How can I
Go on dear without you?
You took the part that once was my heart
So why not take all of me?

A little over a year ago, I used some vacation time to go to a Pastor’s conference up at Montreat. The speaker at the retreat is Rev. Bill Carter, a Presbyterian Minister and an accomplished Jazz pianist. As a Presbyterian Minister who has been playing jazz trombone for half my life, I couldn’t miss it. Bill wasn’t leading a “double life,” preacher by day, musician by night. He didn’t have a “Duke Silver” style alter ego, he had integrated his love of Jazz music into his leadership of the church. God created him to be a pastor, and God created him to be a Jazz musician, why not honor that, he said, by offering “All of me.”

We’ve spent a month now going through the elements of worship. Gathered and Called, where God gathers us together so we can know Christ better. Confession, where God’s promise of steadfast love enables us to face our own failings. God’s Word Read, where we read the Bible so that we can encounter God in those words, and learn to recognize how God is still at work around us all the time. The Proclamation of God’s Word, where the stories of scripture are interpreted in music and speech so that we can know that our stories are part of God’s ongoing story, a task for all Christians, not just worship leaders. Today, we are an offering.

One day while Jesus was teaching in the temple, towards the end of his ministry, “he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.” This is a couple of days after he chased the moneychangers, out of the temple, so I’m sure the temple assistants and priests were worried what Jesus was going to do with the temple treasury. Jesus has a bit of a reputation for unpredictability, and he’s as likely to condemn the rich for their lack of faith as he is to go to their house for dinner.

But instead, Jesus calls attention to one woman’s act of devotion: “A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’” He didn’t cause a huge scene, or even embarrass her by calling her out, he just pointed her out to his disciples.

“See that poor woman there?”
“Yes Lord, she had nothing to contribute.”
“No, she put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny.”
“Alright, technically that’s not nothing, but it’s a good thing the temple has these wealthy people to pay the bills.”
“Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.”
“Jesus, do you even know how money works?”
“No, listen, they can afford what they’re giving. Their lives barely change based on what they give to the temple treasury. She took a look at God’s kingdom and said, ‘Why not take all of me?’”

What about our offering? A ten percent tithe check, once a pay period? The amount calculated before taxes? Maybe less? Maybe after taxes? Maybe five percent? Maybe when we remember to set it aside every now and then? Maybe not at all? Because we have other responsibilities and sometimes just cannot afford contributing to the maintenance of the church, but we’ll give to a special offering.

That’s all fine, I’ll take it. I’m not going to judge any member of my congregation based on their giving. I love all y’all, no matter what. “The offering of material gifts in worship is an expression of our self-offering, as an act of gratitude for God’s grace.” But our offering is not limited to what comes out of our wallets and checkbooks.

Financial giving is an important piece of our offering, especially in a culture that keeps score based on wealth. We’ve got to remember that “What we are offering is not our own possessions, but a grateful response to God’s own self-giving.” The prophet Isaiah shows us how to give more than just material goods. “Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?” It’s not our ability to sacrifice that makes the difference, it’s our ability to live our lives differently based on the good news of what God has already done. When we change from saying “this is my offering” to “we are an offering,” then we will see God working wonders through us. “hen your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”

Our recently debuted Visitors Guide to Worship describes our offering saying “The money is for the church to use in God’s work, so we say the offering is us giving back to God; because everything we have is a gift from him!” Everything we have, not just our material possessions, but also our family, our church family, our talents and abilities, even our time. The financial giving is an important part, but once we’ve encountered the Word of God, once we begin to recognize his real presence among us, we’ve got to be like the poor widow and offer everything we have.

For Rev. Bill Carter, that meant starting a Jazz Worship service at his church, and singing some psalms as though they were the blues. For me, it means spending time writing, because God has given me gifts as a writer. It also means that from time to time, I dust off my own instrument and pray through the music I play. In life and in death, we belong to God, therefore let us present our whole lives to God as a living sacrifice, singing prayers to God,

All of me.
I offer all of me.
I can see
Your kingdom on earth, Lord
Take my voice
Teach it to praise you
Take my arms,
Use them to serve you.

Empty grave
Shows us that you have saved
How can I
Respond to the gospel
You took our hearts and set us apart

So we are an offering

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