Pentecost

May 27, 2007

Power:  Gift and Responsibility

            The Spirit set the world on fire with a passion that claimed and formed the church, and the Spirit did not stop there.  The Spirit was the promised one, just as the prophets of old promised the Messiah, the Messiah promised the Spirit, the Advocate, the teacher, the encourager.  And the promise Jesus made was "Because of the Spirit, you, my followers, will do even greater things than I."  That is a promise that we have sometimes relegated to the fine print.  We have forgotten that not only do we worship God and believe in a risen Christ, but we have POWER.  Power to do great things.  But like any power, if we don't use it, we see no outcome.

          Maybe you aren't ready today to hear about Stewardship, maybe that is something that you think only belongs to one Sunday in November, but I am telling you that this is the perfect day to talk about stewardship, because on this day of Pentecost, we acknowledge that we have been given an amazing gift, and any time you get a gift, the decision then is what to do with that gift.  How to spend it, how to enjoy it, how to take care of it.  Whatever the gift is, it comes with some sort of responsibility. And of course, like power, any gift can go unused; can simply be put on a shelf in the closet and left to gather dust.  God's people, you and I were not given gifts for the purpose of having them gather dust!!!  Stewardship has gotten to be one of those words that congregational members dread hearing.  It's a groaner, a subject that makes people grab for their wallets or their checkbooks just to make sure they're in a safe place.  But I want us to think about that a little differently.  I want us to think about the power that we have been given, the gifts that we have been given, and how we are going to use that power, use those gifts. Too many times the thinking about stewardship goes like this-- the church needs money, we belong to the church, therefore, we need to give money so that we can pay our bills and keep the lights on.  Now, that has about as much excitement as a kid listening to his mom tell him day after day to clean his room.  It just doesn't go anywhere.

          This gospel lesson puts it a different way ---- "You," Jesus said, "The ones who I am leaving here, you will do great things because I am sending the Spirit to work in you, to teach you everything, to remind you of all that I have said."  The Spirit is not some wallflower; the Spirit is at work in our lives to make it possible for us to do great things, to carry out a mission that is ours.  Our question is not, "What do I have to part with in order to help out the church?"  Our question is, "Of all that God has given me, what will I return so that this body of which I am a part, this church can do great things?"

          Did you ever notice that one of the first words kids learn is "MINE!"?  That tends to stay with us.  But the truth is, everything we have is on loan.  EVERYTHING!  There is not one thing any of us have that cannot be taken away in a minute.  Not one thing in your home or your driveway.  Not one thing in your bank account or investment portfolio that cannot be gone overnight or sooner.  And as people of God, we realize that all that we have is from God, and that it is for us to take care of while we are here. As they say, you never see a U-Haul being pulled behind a hearse.

          In many ways, it really doesn't matter what the need of the church is, what programs need funding, what bills have to be paid.  What matters is your relationship with the one who has given you these gifts, and what you are doing to be a good steward of those gifts.  We don't give because Lake of the Isles has a budget to meet; we give because God created us to be givers, because the health of our own spirits depends on us being who God made us to be.  When we think small, when we think that we don't have enough, we are ignoring the power and promise of the Spirit --- with God's power, there is always enough, but not if we keep it on a shelf in the closet.

 I don't think the Christian church has begun to make full use of the power that was given to us on that day of Pentecost. Even church people are often accused of being functional atheists.  In other words, we don't honestly believe that the power of God can change this world, or make a difference in our lives.  We think of God as some ancient grandfather who is a bit out of touch with the reality of the day.  We have forgotten that the Spirit is present every where - sometimes like a roaring wind, sometimes like a still, small voice - but always with power.  We celebrated the Sacrament of Holy Baptism a few minutes ago, and while we haven't quite gotten to the 3,000 who were reportedly baptized on that first Pentecost we have had quite a few of them lately.  At each one, we pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit.  We pray that each one baptized would be given the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in God's presence and then, when we welcome the newly baptized, we welcome them into the body of Christ, into the mission we share, and we ask them to join us in bearing God's creative and redeeming word to all the world.

          That is an amazing calling, and it belongs to each one of us.  WE live that out in a variety of ways as individuals, and we live it out corporately as the church.  When you give to this church, you are giving to the work of ministry; you are helping to bear God's creative and redeeming word to all the world.  Maybe that sounds like liturgical jargon to you.  Put another way, this congregation has contributed to the Neighborhood Involvement Program with money and volunteers; to Our Saviour's Housing with money and volunteers; to Community Emergency Services with food and money; Lutheran Social Services; Joyce-Uptown Food Shelf with food and money; the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery; ELCA World Hunger Appeal; MICAH, which works with affordable housing; the Minneapolis Area Synod which starts new churches and provides programs and resources to 169 congregations; Adults Saving Kids; and the Minneapolis Council of Churches.

This is an exciting time in the life of this congregation.  Transitions and change are difficult, but they are also exciting opportunities to re-evaluate - to think again about how we can most effectively do our ministry.  We have a vibrant community, strong lay leadership, committed people who serve in a variety of ways.  By fall we plan to have a youth and family intern.  We have a strong commitment to quality music and worship and that tradition will continue.  We want to strengthen our educational opportunities for children, youth and adults.  We want to continue our tradition of supporting a variety of ministries throughout this city and beyond.  And we want to think of new and creative ways to expand that outreach.  We want opportunities for fellowship and strengthening our sense of community.  We want to be good stewards of this beautiful facility.

          When you consider your financial commitments to this congregation, don't think, how much do I have to give?  Think, how much do I need to keep, and what is God calling me to do to share in this ministry?  So, I ask you again on this day of Pentecost, to trust that the Spirit still blows through our lives; still pushes and challenges us; comforts and inspires us.  Pray for the work of this congregation; make a special financial gift if you are able to do so.  If you have not made a pledge of your money, your time, or your talents, this is a good time to start -- remember that God is at work through YOU, and everyone has something they can offer.  Stewardship is not a fall program of the church.  It is a mark of our life of discipleship.  It defines us as creatures who have been entrusted with gifts.  We aren't out here on our own.  It is the Spirit of God who gathers us and sends us out.  It is God who has given us all that we have, and has put this mission in our hands - frail hands like yours and mine.  What an amazing responsibility and gift!

 And it is a responsibility and gift for each one of us.  Not for a few.  Not for only the extremely talented or the extremely wealthy.  No, the Spirit blows over the whole church and gives power to the whole church.  Go home and read the book of Acts.  Think about what is possible when the church is using the power it has been given.

          How will we know when the Holy Spirit is speaking to us? We will know just as those who gathered on that day of Pentecost knew -- the Spirit speaks in our language, blows through our lives, whispers, "Remember who you are."  The Spirit will guide, direct, call, create - in ways that we can understand and ways that we have not yet imagined.  And then we act, or not.

The choice is ours.

AMEN