Grace-full Living

Deuteronomy 14: 22-29 & 2 Corinthians 9: 6-10

Roger Lynn

November 4, 2018

Stewardship Emphasis

(click here for the audio for this sermon)
(click here for the video for this sermon)

“She is such an amazing athlete. Her moves are so graceful.” “His graceful dancing is a delight to watch.” “The lines of that building are so graceful and elegant.” Graceful is a word we use on a fairly regular basis, in a number of different settings, and yet we mostly fail to recognize the potential of its meaning. We associate it with elegance and poise and beauty. But we don’t always remember the theological roots of the word. That’s why, in case you hadn’t noticed, I took the liberty of modifying the spelling when I used it for the stewardship theme this year. To experience graceful living is to experience a life which is full of grace. When defining grace, the dictionary has this to say: “a) Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people. b) The state of being protected or sanctified by the favor of God.” A life full of God’s love is grace-full living. And the good news is that everyone everywhere has the possibility for such a life because God is fully present in every time and every place and every person. The question then is not whether our living is full of grace, but whether we pay enough attention to allow such grace to become manifest in our lives and make a difference.

This is a stewardship sermon. It is, in fact, the first in a two-part series. I hope that by the time I’m finished preaching both sermons we will have explored some of what it means to be a giving people. So, towards that end, it was a very deliberate decision to begin by focusing not on giving but on receiving. I am convinced that in all matters of faith, and that includes stewardship, our actions are in response to the primary action of God. We are encouraged and empowered to give because we have first received. That is, by the way, the theological rationale for placing the offering after the Lord’s Supper in our order of worship. As the bulletin reminds us each week, “Having received the gift of God’s grace, we are invited to respond by sharing our time, our talents and our treasures.” We are able to give because we are truly wealthy people – in more than merely a financial sense. It is appropriate, then, that we begin our consideration of stewardship by reminding ourselves of the many countless ways in which we have been abundantly blessed by God.

As the Hebrew people prepared to leave their wilderness wandering and enter into the promised land, Moses reminds them to always remember the source of their blessings. The “law of the tithe” establishes an annual ritual whereby the people might gather together to reflect on God’s presence in their lives. They were instructed to bring the first fruits of their harvest (the first and the best of what they have – this is too important to leave until last and take care of with second-rate leftovers), and give thanks for another year which has been filled with God’s grace. They were to do this by having a party. “Spend the money for whatever you wish – oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together.” (Deuteronomy 14:26) With God in their lives they experience abundant living and it is out of that abundance that they give. Indeed one of the purposes of their giving is to remember their abundance and its source.

The apostle Paul makes much the same point to the church at Corinth. In writing to them about giving, he reminds them that “God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8) When we trust that God will continue to be actively and lovingly present in our lives, we are free to build on that foundation by giving ourselves away. And the more we give ourselves away for others, the more we discover that God can indeed be trusted. Stewardship begins and ends with faith.

How have you been blessed? What do you do to remember your blessings? Does your life reflect a basic attitude of gratitude? There are certainly lots of ways to do this, but it is incredibly important that we begin to put at least a few of them into practice in our lives. Expand your awareness of your own grace-full living. When you sit down to a meal, whether by yourself or with family and friends, take a moment to truly reflect on the abundance of your living – from the food you have to eat and those with whom you are sharing the meal, to the air you are breathing and the sunlight which illuminates and heats our world. When we share together in worship, be intentional about looking beyond the routine and experience anew the ongoing love of God. As the offering plates are passed (and it is no accident that we include offering as an integral part of our worship), regardless of whether or not you make a financial contribution, use the opportunity to thank God for the overwhelming grace which fills your life even when you aren’t paying attention. This week when you receive the stewardship packet, including the commitment card, take time to make it a worship moment. Do more than just examine your budget to see how much you can afford to give to the church. Spend some time pondering what God is doing in your life. I am absolutely certain that your life is grace-full – it is full of God. Are you paying attention to the particular ways in which that is true? Don’t let another moment go by without making an effort to notice, and give thanks.