union avenue christian church |
|||||||||
 |
|||||||||
|
|||||||||
Endurance Pays Luke 21:5 – 19; Isaiah 65:17 – 25 Martin Rinkart was a Lutheran pastor in Eilenberg, Germany. He served faithfully throughout the Thirty Years War. This ‘religious war’ was between the Roman Catholics and those protesting the rule of that part of the church. Protestants and Roman Catholics were not just in theological disagreement – they were killing each other for control of countries in the 17th century. Germany was the true battleground – though many countries were involved. Eilenberg was a walled city – so the refugee population there grew rapidly during the war. Then the plague of 1636 occurred and Pastor Rinkart had 40 – 50 funerals a day, including that of his own wife. (Adams, Lucy Neeley. 52 Hymn Story Devotions. Nashville: Abingdon, 2000. p. 47) Later, Rinkart would write the words to the beloved hymn, Now Thank We All our God. Is it not curious how – in the midst of such grief, turmoil, and devastation - that ‘thankfulness’ would be the theme?! The foundational attitude of faith is gratefulness. It is easy to be grateful when all is well with us. It is a sign of faith when we are able to give thanks in the midst of turmoil and hurt. But when we know that all of life is a gift from God – and when that is the beginning point of the meaningfulness of our life – then gratitude will be the theme through our days. Jesus never told his disciples they would have an easy time following him. But he did teach them always to be thankful in the endurance. William Willimon, great preacher and chaplain at Duke, (Pulpit Resource. Vol. 32, No. 4. p. 30) sets up the passage this way: “Jesus is born in a dusty, out-of-the-way sort of place. Most of his ministry is spent out in the backwater town of Galilee. But at last he has brought his disciples into Jerusalem, the capital city – the center of national aspiration and pride. Jesus’ rural friends are impressed. Jesus, look at these stones! Stones as big as these, a building as great as this, will last forever.” Then Jesus proceeds with his prophecy…of the destruction of the temple…of wars and insurrections, of rifts between families. And he was right. The temple fell just years after Jesus’ time. Today it is a collection of stones, making up the Wailing Wall – where Jews still go to weep and to pray. But Jesus’ point was not like popular ‘End Times,’ rapture fear tactics. Jesus’ point was through anything we will endure. Through turmoil we will have opportunity to testify. Through calamity we will be able to publicly confirm our gratefulness to God for the very gift of life. That, my dear friends, is the light that has shone through the ages…and will continue to light the next generations. We are here today – as a community of faith - because the people who have lived in the last 100 years as members of this congregation kept the light of gratefulness lit. Through two World Wars, international conflicts, a major depression and a changing culture, our predecessors have forged a light of gratefulness here in this place. How did that happen? How do we create a culture of generosity like the generations before us? It begins when the foundation of our faith is gratefulness. Almost 20 years ago, I suddenly was a single mom, with no financial child support. I was working full time, going to school full time, and raising my son – full time. But I was alive, well and for some reason had a great deal of hope…and was grateful to God for each day rising. Two spiritual disciplines entered my life at that time – that previously had only been occasional flutterings. Both of them were based on thanksgiving – for out of the incredible turmoil I had hope. Those disciplines of gratitude were prayer and percentage giving. They are both offerings of life and expressions of the response to knowing that I was loved by God. I was making $14,000, and thankful that Christopher loved macaroni and cheese. Finding time to pray was every bit as difficult as finding dollars to give in an offering. The church I was serving at the time didn’t make their budget because of my meager gifts. But that was not the point. My need to give – in gratefulness to the God who had protected me, kept me alive and sane, and given me hope – was far greater than any church budget’s need to receive. We all endure many battles of life. Hopefully, we all have more moments of celebration than mere endurance or even ‘mediocre days’…but if as the basis of them all we can claim gratitude to God…our faith will come alive forever. When faith communities are able to converse on the theme of thanksgiving, their life will shine as brightly as any light. Alternatively, once the fear of turmoil, scarcity, and devastation consumes the conversation, there is no need to keep the doors open. Jesus Christ lays a challenge for us. In the midst of whatever life may present, are we able to use it as opportunity to give thanks? Are we able to use it as time to testify about God’s greatness? Are we able to gain our souls through the endurance?! Union Avenue Christian Church was evidently filled with people of generous hearts decades ago. They wanted to make sure real ministry could happen through this congregation for the generations to come. We are sitting on their shoulders of generosity today. The question is whether our heirs will be able to say the same about us. Will they find the evidence of our gratefulness to God…and our thanksgiving for life itself? Will the light of generosity keep shining? In a few moments we will vote on this congregation’s 2005 budget and begin a pledge campaign. Our earnest hope is to have everyone involved. That makes for the best possible relationships within a congregation, because the ministry is then empowered by all of us. But hear me as I repeat what I said earlier: Our personal need to give is greater than the church’s need to receive. Actually, there are 3 needs: 1) to underwrite the budget in order to do the ministry we have chosen; 2) have every member and friend of this congregation involved in that support; and 3) our own need to give out of the groundswell of gratefulness. The last one is the most important. The others will be met through it. Giving from thankfulness is contagious and will spread. When that happens there will be more than enough to meet any budget! There will be no end to our possibilities. There has been no end to God’s graciousness…there should be no end to our growing response. My prayer for us, as a congregation, is that we can begin to talk about giving as ‘joy,’ that stewardship is not closet conversation, or ‘necessary evil’ talk. If you are growing in your own stewardship, I would challenge you to talk to a few others in the congregation about that. It can only provide support, and a spiraling up of faithfulness. May we re-light the flame of generosity in the heart of this community. May we give because of thankfulness. May the soul of this congregation be based on gratefulness through the endurance of life. • SW |
OUR LIFE OUR WORSHIP OUR STUDY OUR HISTORY OUR CHURCH LINKS
|
||||||||
 |
|
|
|||||||
