Following Jesus in Sacrifice
Zephyr United Methodist Church
Early First United Methodist Church
September 30, 2007
Rev. Eddie Smart
Lk 18:18 The Rich Ruler
A certain ruler asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 19 Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments: 'You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.' " 21 He replied, "I have kept all these since my youth." 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me." 23 But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God."
26 Those who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?" 27 He replied, "What is impossible for mortals is possible for God."
28 Then Peter said, "Look, we have left our homes and followed you." 29 And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life."
Belinda was a single parent, trying to take care of herself and raise five-year-old Ryan. She was a single parent because when her husband learned that the requisite surgery for her cancer would leave her disfigured, he left. One evening, Belinda tucked Ryan into bed and was reading a book to him. He interrupted her to ask if she had bought that book for him.
“Yes,” she said.
He then inquired if she had also bought the bed in which he slept.
Again, the answer was, “Yes.”
Had she bought the house they called home?
Yes, she had.
And what about that new sweater he like so much?
“Yes,” she said, she had bought that, too.
He thought about how good she had been to him, supplying all his needs, and finally he said, “Mommy, get my piggy bank. There are seven pennies in it. Take them and get something you really want for you.”
Ryan realized that everything he had was a gift from his mother. His
response was to offer her his seven cents, everything he had. Our
relationship to God is just like Ryan’s relationship to his mother.
Everything we have is a gift from God. Ryan offered his mother seven
cents. It was not much, but it was all that he had.
We continue in the series of sermons on Following Jesus. Today we look at Following Jesus in Sacrifice or Following Jesus in Stewardship. Ryan gave all he had. Was it a sacrifice?
Stewardship begins with the understanding that all we have comes from God. As the Psalmist put it, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” Psalm 24:1 Until one understands that very basic idea, stories like the one I just read from Luke’s gospel–comparing Ryan’s relationship to his Mom to our relationship to God...well they just don’t make much sense. To be faithful stewards of what God has entrusted to us begins with accepting that it all belongs to God. Not us.
The second thing about stewardship is understanding that we give because God first gave to us. We as a response to God’s love for us and all that God has done for us. Our giving of our money...our giving out of God’s money placed in our hands is our response to God for all God has shared with us.
Stewardship is about giving to God out of all we have received as a way of responding to God. Stewardship campaigns provide the opportunity for us to ask the question, “Is our giving to God acceptable?” Scripture is full of stories about the way people have responded to the question of giving.
The rich ruler asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus answered, “You know the commandments. Follow them.”
“O, Lord, I have faithfully followed every single one since I was young. What else?”
Jesus told the rich ruler, “Go and sell all you have. Give the money to the poor. Come and follow me.”
The man was rich. I mean really rich. That was the last we ever heard of this young man. Jesus had asked more than he was willing to give.
And then Jesus says something very interesting. He says, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.”
Dr. John Holbert in a sermon he preached to FUMC Fort Worth while serving as the interim pastor of that great church, addresses that question many have asked over the centuries about that camel and that eye of the needle. Surely Jesus didn’t mean a real camel and a real sewing needle. For centuries people have tried to make that ridiculous picture more reasonable.
In the third century one person noted that there was only one letter different in the Greek word for “camel” and the Greek word for “rope.” So he changed the text to use the word rope. Still impossible, but not so ridiculous sounding.
In the ninth century a “creative and enterprising” scholar noted that in the wall around Jerusalem there was a gate called the “eye of the needle.” That’s what Jesus was talking about. It was difficult for a fully loaded camel to go through that gate!
No! Jesus was talking about the impossible. He makes that clear. Jesus says, “What is impossible with mortals is possible with God.” The rich man in Jesus’ story could have found eternal life, but for him it would require giving away all that he had. That is what it would take to follow Jesus. The thing Jesus was calling him to do was to “Follow Me.” The rich man’s treasure could not be number 1. A relationship with Jesus, following Jesus, had to be number 1, and by God’s grace it was possible.
Jesus sat in the temple watching the treasury. All those rich people put in tons of money. The poor widow dropped in a couple of copper coins, and Jesus said she was the one who gave the most. She gave all that she had.
So, does Jesus expect you and me to give him all of our money?
Michael Christensen suggests in an article that there are three models of
Biblical stewardship.
In places the Bible makes it clear that we are to
give it all away. This story about the rich ruler. The story of the widow’s
mite. Saint Francis of Assisi was one who gave away all he had and
followed Jesus. Mother Teresa, the Taize Community in France. How
about Albert Schweitzer? They heard the call to come, leave all, and
follow me? Luke 5:11 Some are called to give all.
Christensen points out that some give up one-half of what they have. This is a model for giving generously. Remember Zacchaeus, the tax collector who cheated all those people those many years. After he met Jesus and chose to follow him, Zacchaeus promised to return four fold all he had cheated from the poor. He then said he would share one-half of his wealth with the poor. Zacchaeus was a model for generous giving. Did you know that C. S. Lewis gave all the royalties to his books to charity. Some are called to give generously.
Some are called to manage their money wisely as they support the ministry of Jesus Christ. The 8th chapter of Luke’s gospel tells us that along with the 12 disciples there were others who followed Jesus. We are told that Mary Magdalene, Joanna and Susanna were among those who provided for them out of their resources.
Jesus made it clear that he did not come to nullify the teachings of the Hebrew Scriptures. Over and over again we are given examples of God’s people returning to God one-tenth of what God had shared with them. In Malachi we are told that the people were to bring the “full tithe” into the storehouse else they were robbing God.
The tithe, one-tenth of what God has given us, has been a Biblical standard since Abraham. There is a church not far from here. They average 39 in worship on a Sunday morning. They recently spent $28,000 in their ministry during one year. That same year their giving came to $63,000. I am told that they finally learned the true meaning of stewardship. They are filled with people who are committed to tithing.
John Huffman, Jr. in a sermon on generosity talks about those who tithe discovering that it is more blessed to give than to receive and the joy of giving far beyond the tithe. He then tells of a couple who came to him with the news that they were moving. They were two of the most active people in their church which children enthusiastically involved in every aspect of the children’s ministry.
They shared that stewardship was very important to them. When they
had gotten married they had committed to the tithe. Now their children
had grown up, and they needed a larger house. They could not buy a
house anywhere close to as large as they needed and continue to tithe. So
as hard as it was, this couple chose to move to a community where they
could have the house they needed and still tithe.
The rich ruler wanted to inherit the kingdom, but he couldn’t give what Jesus asked. He was a good man. He followed all the commandments, but he couldn’t do what he needed to do in order to follow Jesus. The widow gave all she had, and Jesus was pleased. Zacchaeus gave one-half of his wealth, and Jesus was pleased. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and other supported Jesus and the twelve out of their great resources, and Jesus was pleased.
There is a church that posts on a board at the front of the sanctuary the amount of each weeks offering. They do that one month at a time. Also on that board is the amount of money needed monthly to reach their budget. There are some folks that wait to give until the last week of the month. They look at the giving the previous three weeks and decide what they need to give so that the budget is met. Giving to meet the budget is not stewardship.
When it comes to stewardship, when it comes to giving money, the question is not what do we think is adequate. The question is what does God think is adequate.