October 26, 2008 Sermon
This page is offered for those unable to attend the service or who would like more time to study the message.
Proper 25 - A
October 26, 2008 Allan Conkling
In the Bible the religious leaders of the Temple are most often portrayed as bad, insensitive or opposed to the teachings of Jesus. To me that is always interesting because historians tell us that they were in fact very religious, very pious men, who cared deeply for their nation, for their people, their temple, and God. In some ways they were not that different from Jesus. In other ways however, they seemed at complete odds.
I must admit that I am always a bit sensitive to the stories about Jesus and the religious leaders. After all I am one, and I don't consider myself at odds with Jesus. But if I am at all honest I would have to say that I am very aware of how easy it could be to lose sight of the mission of the church; especially at budget and finance time.
As you know we are winding up our Fall Stewardship and Pledge drive. Today we will bless the pledge cards and very soon we will begin preparing the operating budget for the coming year, based on the pledges received. We are being challenged to set our goals high in these tough economic times. Your pledge in whatever amount or proportion is an investment in the future of Emmanuel. It releases this place to become all that God would have us be.
The temptation of course would be to confuse Stewardship time with the business of running the church. We are a non-profit organization and we do run on sound business practices but when the church sees itself mainly as a business, then the business becomes the church. Many of you have known places like that--where the church seems more focused on money than people. That is a dangerous trap for when the church becomes solely focused on itself as a business the objective becomes how to protect investments, preserve assets, and maintain buildings. The emphasis becomes how to operate according to the bottom line. But as tempting as that may be, that is not the business of the church. The business of the church is to bring people to Jesus Christ. Investments, assets, buildings, and "stuff" are all the means to that end rather than the end itself. As such and I always say this with fear and trembling, the material things are expendable. That was the main rub with the religious leaders of Jesus day. Religion had become a business. Maintaining of status quo at all costs was what drove the leaders. This has haunted the church through the ages. But in the end the church is not about buildings or organization. As noble as it is, our end does not lie in Emmanuel Church, the Diocese, or the Episcopal Church. The end of the story is Jesus Christ. The same can be said about our families, in our jobs, with our children, even this country. The end of the story is not "Things"--it is God.
Our job description is clearly stated in our Gospel this morning
(said every Sunday at the 8 o'clock service):
"'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."
One helpful image I have used before is to imagine life as a bicycle wheel, round and with spokes going into, and radiating out from the center. The center axis is God. The wheel is the world. The spokes are the people of the world. As we move closer to our center, drawing nearer to God in prayer, worship, our spiritual journey at the same time we also draw closer to one another as we meet at the center, in God. You can't get closer to God without at the same time drawing closer others. Everything we do is dependent upon all of the spokes being in place and supporting one another. A one or two spoke wheel doesn't work!
This is a challenge and not always easy to accomplish.
The end of our story, the end of all that we do in this life as members of the Body of Christ is directed to our love of God and the love our neighbors as ourselves.
God's Holy Spirit is forever with us, to comfort us, challenge, heal and change us, and make us new creatures--who will accept God's call to serve the world in God's name.
Copyright © 2003 Emmanuel Episcopal Church. All rights reserved.
Revised: 11/02/08