October 20, 2002 - Twenty Second Sunday after Pentecost
1 Thessalonians 1: 1-10
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Matthew 22: 15-22
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“A Question of Commitment”

Jim Taylor writes for a journal called Currents.  I have come across his work from time-to-time and have enjoyed what he has to say.  Recently I ran across something he wrote in which he reflected on an experience he had when he and his wife were building a new home.

One morning in late winter, the architect, the builder, and I gathered on the lot. The architect stood me about where the house would go.

“Now,” he said, “point at the view you want with both hands, fingertips together.”  While I did it, he and the builder lined up their stakes with my shoulders.

If you point with just one hand, he explained, you’ll always twist your body to one side.  If you point with both hands – assuming your arms are the same length – you have to face your subject squarely.

When the Dalai Lama visited Canada some years ago, I noticed that when he shook hands, he reached forward with both hands.  I tried it.  It’s a very vulnerable position.  You have to face the person you’re greeting squarely.  You can’t defend yourself with the other arm or with a shoulder.

Perhaps there’s only one more vulnerable position – facing someone squarely, with your arms wide open.  As if you were going to hug them. Or as if you were on a cross.

We spend so much of our lives sidling up to people, as well as to difficult situations and issues.  It feels different to face them squarely . . .

I agree with what Taylor says, so I am going to face this issue squarely.  I don’t like to talk about money.  I wish I never had to give a sermon on stewardship, because it seems to me that if we’re living our faith the issue of stewardship ought to be self-evident.  However, I know that it’s important to talk about stewardship because it reflects the reality of how we’re expressing our faith.  Jesus said, “You have not because you ask not.”  I believe that.  We don’t ask God for nearly enough and we don’t ask ourselves for nearly enough.  So, I am facing this issue squarely and coming to you with this question of commitment.

What do you expect of your church?  What sort of mission and image do you want your church to present to the community and to the larger community of Congregationalism?  All of these are questions of commitment.  The word ‘commitment’ is derived from the Latin word mittere, to send.  It’s the word from which we also get ‘mission’ and ‘dismiss.’  In fact, and here’s a point of trivia to share with Roman Catholic friends, the word ‘mass’ comes from the end of the liturgy when, following the blessing, the people were told, “Go, you are sent.”  You see, we are missioned, we are sent into our world to make God’s presence real.  So, when we talk about commitment we are talking about being entrusted with something.  As Christians, we are entrusted with continuing God’s work in our world.

When the Pharisees went to talk with Jesus they had no idea that what they were asking was a question of commitment.  Jesus’ response to them laid out very clearly how we are to commit ourselves in everyday life.  We’re to give to God what is God’s.  It seems simple enough, but God made everything and, thus, everything belongs to God.  Even to render Caesar his due is to give honor and glory to God, because God is praised in every act that builds up the common good.  The question of commitment is not “how much?” but “how?”

Our Congregational forebears were spiritually astute people.  They understood that belief is only as good as the actions which flow from it.  That understanding led them to emphasize covenant over creed.  Anyone can stand and recite a statement of faith, but not everyone can make what is in his or her heart into everyday actions.  Our church covenant is made up of actions to which we commit as “followers of Jesus Christ.  These action points answer for us the “how” of the question of commitment.  Indulge me for a moment, please, as I read the church covenant: “As followers of Jesus Christ, we commit ourselves to share in the worship and service of God, to grow in the knowledge and expression of our faith, to reach out with compassion to those in need, to treat each other with love and understanding, and to return to God a portion of God’s gifts.”

If we are going to be “followers of Jesus Christ” we are simply going to live out our commitment.  To “own” a covenant is to enter into a relationship of stewardship, we have an obligation to act appropriately – not only for ourselves, but on behalf of others.  If I say that I value my faith and am committed to the worship and service of God then I am going to be regularly present in worship.  If I say that I am committed to grow in the knowledge and expression of my faith then I am going to be involved in some sort of regular adult education or spiritual development program beyond simply coming to Sunday worship.  If I say that I am going to reach out with compassion to those in need, then I am going to be actively involved in some sort of community service.  Here I would be quick to add that our church budget is more than a financial statement, but one that speaks to our faith and values.  Benevolences simply cannot be an add-on item if we are going to be true to our covenant.  If I say that I am going to treat my fellow church members with love and understanding, then I am going to take the time to get to know them, to spend time with them, and to behave in a loving, tolerant, Christ-like manner.  Finally, if I say I will return to God a portion of God’s gifts, am I going to give the smallest amount I possibly can?  Think about it, beloved, God gives us life and all of creation and I give . . .

Look at the issue squarely.  We have made a commitment, but it is in response to a commitment God first made to us.  God has demonstrated constant love and care for us.  How, then, are we going to respond?  It’s all a question of commitment.  How do we want our church to be seen?  I would hope that Wauwatosa and beyond would look at us and say what Paul said of the church at Thessalonica, “you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.  For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place your faith in God has become known, so that we have no need to speak about it.”  The Thessalonians were known for their faith, their generosity, and their hospitality, there’s no reason in the world that we cannot also have the same reputation, for the glory of God.  Look at the issue squarely, see where we need to grow in our stewardship and answer the question of commitment in the most positive way we can, with arms wide open.

I have asked you to look at the issue of stewardship, in all of its facets, squarely.  There is no question that First Congregational Church of Wauwatosa is a good church, but the truth is that it could be a great church.  We’re experiencing health and some growth, but there could be so much more.  I believe that it will come as we open ourselves to God, taking risks and responding to the challenge of commitment to grow as a community of faith.  For that to happen means that all of us need to be involved – in short that we begin to break down the 80/20 rule, no longer having eighty per cent of the work done by twenty per cent of the people.

So, I’m challenging all of us, and when I say ‘us’ I include me, to grow.  Grow in our love of God and of God’s worship.  Grow intellectually and spiritually.  Grow in love and service to others.  Grow in the way we give our time, our talent, and our treasure.  Yesterday forty-one people spent the better part of the day making this place shine.  It’s remarkable what can happen when we work together.  One dear soul said to me, “I give my time at things like this because I don’t have a great deal of money to give.”  God bless that generous heart!  I know that times are hard – I don’t even look at the statements that come from my retirement annuity – but I am convinced that God will provide for his people.  I remember something Clarence Schmeltzer a member of this church, now deceased, once told me.  He said, “Dr. Peay on the day I got my very first paycheck I gave God ten per cent and have done so, off the top, ever since.  I’ve never wanted for anything and have always known contentment.  I figure that God’s got a bigger shovel.”