Readings for Proper
28B:
Daniel 12:1-4a; Psalm 16:5-11; Parishioner's Letter; Mark 13:14-23
November 16, 2003
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Jesus warns his disciples to beware--to watch for the "desolating sacrilege". This is the 5th time we see these words in the Bible-the first 4 are in Daniel and Maccabees. In each case the prophet speaks of desecration of the temple.
Mark's gospel does not tell of the actual destruction of the temple, as other gospels do. Mark simply portrays Jesus having foreknowledge of a devastating event. But, we know that in the year 70 AD Romans swooped down on Jerusalem and completely destroyed the Jewish temple of God, "turning the magnificent holy compound into smoldering uninhabitable ruins." (Anchor Bible Dictionary, v. 6, p. 365.)
"Desolating sacrilege". These are scary words. They do not seem to hold hope. Do they have any meaning for us today? "Desolating" deserted, neglected, laying waste, uninhabited, bare, forlorn, so says my Oxford dictionary. And "sacrilege"-"The crime or sin of stealing or misappropriating what is consecrated to God's service". Is there danger that some forceful party will come swooping down on St. Jude's to steal or misappropriate our goods? I doubt it. We keep these doors open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, as a sign of our belief that this is truly a house of God. Rarely does anyone harm this space. No, I do not see us being destroyed by an external enemy. Sometimes I do wonder-if we are not diligent-will we become negligent and devalue the spiritual significance of our community of faith, of our property? We have been good stewards up to this point, let us remain so, in spite of a world that offers any number of distractions from service to others. Let us remain good stewards, in spite of those voices who would come along and lead us astray. Let us be certain that we not one day find our spiritual oasis deserted, our sacred space misappropriated for purposes beyond what God intended.
How are we to continue to be good stewards of this sacred place? One obvious way is to maintain physical buildings. People have been generous in giving money to pay for maintenance, such as our new roof (notice: we have not had buckets in the sanctuary on rainy days). Others have given time to watch over this property, giving talents to work in gardens, to maintain the beauty of our spiritual oasis.
Jesus says that when the "desolating sacrilege" has come and all have run to the mountains to hide in horror, "watch out." Watch out because false prophets will come along and try to lead people astray. Even more important than the physical maintenance and protection of property, is our investment in keeping the gospel alive in our spiritual oasis. We are to remain focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ, not just for us to keep locked up here, but to equip us to go out into the world and live that gospel.
And just how do we remain focused on the gospel of Jesus Christ here at St. Jude's? How are we to be the place that reminds people that "God stands at the right hand of the needy"? Through our preaching, teaching, pastoral care, youth mentoring, Bible studies, covenant groups, care for senior citizens, care for children with special needs and their families, housing the homeless in the Rotating Shelter, feeding the homeless, clothing the poor through Santa Maria Urban Ministry, sending funds to Africa to educate needy students, supporting a school for homeless children, giving to Canterbury Club for the San Jose State College Chaplain, helping to send seminarians funds for training in the ministry, and the list goes on. These ministries take money; 21% of our income goes to these and other outreach ministries; nearly 50% of our income goes to staff expenses, for clergy, musicians, an administrator and a watchperson. All of whom give their time and talent to promote the good news of Jesus Christ.
We have been good stewards as we have paid ministers to lead us in learning the good news of Jesus Christ. We have been willing to pay the heating bill so that we can come sit here and share the gospel with one another. We have been willing to pay to help the needy feel Christ's healing presence. We have been willing stewards, but these are difficult times. Can we give even as we are challenged by the downturn in the economy? Is your life blessed by the presence of the Holy Spirit in this place? If so, can you share that blessing as you give some of God's treasure entrusted to you?
As Jerry so clearly pointed out in his stewardship letter this morning, the Bible teaches that all we have really belongs to God. We are asked to offer 10% of it back to the service of God. That's a pretty good deal. 100% is God's, but we get to use 90% the way we want!
Now, I, like Jerry, did not always understand or accept the idea that 100% of what I have is really God's. My family did not teach me to tithe. My parents were inconsistent about their giving. My dad sometimes seemed to give money away for no apparent reason, and other times he held on to all he had. My mom said we had the "sugar bowl" method of handling money-whoever had money put it in the "bowl", who ever needed money took what they needed. When we went to Church my parents set coins on the counter for the kids to take and place in the offering plate. No one explained anything, no one said this money would be used to pay the minister or feed the poor. I just took the nickel or the dime and plunked it in the plate. (I happen to know my brother kept his once and bought a candy bar!) There was no rhyme or reason to any of our spending. It wasn't until I was 21 years old, living on my own for the first time, out of college, making my own money, not being dependent on parents, that I began to truly give money for God's work. Sadly, I still did not have any idea about tithing. But I do remember how proud I was to offer my yearly pledge to spread the gospel of Jesus. I was living on my own in Berkeley, working across the street at the UC Berkeley library. I had a cheap studio apartment, no car, just a bicycle. My pledge was a whole $15. I don't even remember if that was per month or year, but it seemed a real sacrifice at the time. It was a sacrifice because it was the first time I had actually earned the money I was giving. As far as I was concerned, this was my money, not God's, I was giving to "spread the gospel." The amazing thing was, just as Jerry shared, once I began giving to the work of spreading the gospel, my life began to prosper beyond anything I had ever imagined possible.
Later, when Jim and I were early in our marriage, we were asked for the first time to consider giving 10% of our income to God. At that time, the Episcopal church taught that you could give 5% to your local Church and 5% to other causes, not church related, but that you should give away 10%. We were not able suddenly to give even 5%, but we agreed to do percentage giving, and over time increased our pledge to 5% to the church, and 5% to other causes. Years later, somewhere toward the end of seminary, I began to hear a shift in the church's teaching. People were challenged to look at the importance of giving 10% of our earnings to God's work in the church. I distinctly remember when it dawned on me that what really mattered was to offer 10% of my income to God's work that promoted the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jim was in the middle of talking to me about his frustration teaching 4th-5th grade Sunday school-yes, you heard me right, Jim was the teacher! He was frustrated because other parents wanted to have kids paint butterflies on coffee mugs. They wanted to talk about nature without mentioning God, without focusing on the good news of Jesus Christ. Jim said he didn't want to just be a babysitter and craft maker to these children-they could do those activities anywhere, at school, in day-care, in scouts. Jim wanted this Sunday school time to be spiritually significant--a time where these kids would get some specific time to learn the Bible, to learn Jesus' story of love, reconciliation, sacrifice, and new life in the resurrection. As he spoke I realized, this is what I want my free-will offering to do--to support the work of those who teach the gospel. Other people, who are not necessarily God-oriented people, will give money to save the whales, to keep the Peninsula open space green, to support Native Americans rights, to keep Zero Population Growth going, etc. etc. Now, I am not saying these other causes are devoid of God's work. But I am saying that it finally occurred to me that my giving power would be increased for God's work by focusing my giving on supporting the church that promotes the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Having said all this, I also want to say that giving at St. Jude's is quite healthy. I am told we are 2nd or 3rd in average pledge size for our diocese. I am also told that the almost $3,800 a year average pledge offered here is almost twice the average Episcopal church pledge nationwide. However, I also checked what the average Silicon Valley salary is these days--and even with the downturn in the economy, the average salary is calculated at $62,500. Just move the decimal point over one space, and a 10% pledge would be $6,250. Unless our households are significantly lower than the rest of Silicon Valley, our giving is, on average, half of what it could be. If by some amazing grace our pledging members were moved to pledge 10%, our pledge income would be about $875,000, more than enough to cover our current expenses, and add more wonderful ministries that share the gospel.
Now, trust me, it is very awkward to be here at the pulpit asking you to give to the church, because as you know, your giving makes it possible for me to be here. But, if you neglect to give to the work of the gospel, you just might find this spiritual oasis turned into a desolate sacrilege, where false prophets lead people astray.
AMEN.
| Updated 11/16/03 |
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