Sermon Series: Leading Adaptive Changes (1) - Stewardship (Feb 9, 2014)

Sermon series: Leading Adaptive Changes (1)  - Stewardship

Good morning.

We opened this part of the service by watching a video, Street Compliments,  filmed by a group called Soul Pancake. (The name of the group reminded me of the pancakes Min Goo often makes my family for Saturday breakfast) Did you feel moved when you watched this video clip? I did. I was moved and my eyes even welled up with tears. It triggers a deep longing in our hearts.

What people in the video clip said to each other, one person in the booth and the other person on the big speaker phone, were not empty, mindless, flattering compliments. It was a “gifting of grace” to one another, recognizing that each one is a true gift – precious and irreplaceable.

We call ourselves by many names. We are children of God. We are disciples of Jesus. We are followers of Jesus. We are the fruits of the Spirit. And we also see our role as stewards.

Think of the first gift you ever received as soon as you were formed in your mother’s womb. What do you think it was?

For me it is Mother Earth,  the physical ground of our beings and of all known living things. It nurtures all the lives on it equally, without discrimination.

The Earth is indeed an amazing planet. It  orbits in the Goldilocks zone – neither too close to the Sun nor too far from it. There are hundreds of billions of stars out there in the universe, and scientists have identified thousands of exoplanets so far, planets outside of our solar system that travel around their own sun. We have not yet found planets that are quite like our own Earth - wet, temperate and friendly to life. Earth and its abundant life exist within the realm of “mathematical improbability.” That means the fact that we, all of us, are here is like a miracle, with the statistical odds of our existence being vanishingly small. We, all of us, are miracles. We are gifted. This is the only place, the only suitable home for us through the whole universe. (Pointing to the power point picture of the Earth) We opened our eyes and saw one another, on this sumptuous planet, sparkling with colour, bountiful with diversity of life. It is the greatest gift we’ve ever been given.

Our role as stewards is to create an atmosphere where we recognize each one as a tremendous, rare, unprecedented gift. We grow spiritually together as a community when we create a culture of celebrating and respecting each other’s true gift – the one-of-a-kind, not-to-be-repeated puzzle piece that each of us contributes to the kingdom of God. No two are the same - every gift is precious and irreplaceable.

How do we learn to recognize and celebrate all of our diverse gifts?

“Gifting grace” is is different from giving compliments to each other; we know that giving compliments is sometimes used as a ‘gratitude tactic’ with which we direct and control the behaviour of others. For example, we compliment a student’s behaviour in order to elicit that praised behaviour more often. We do this with good intention, but it is different from gifting grace. 
“Gifting grace” isn’t used to get something in return.

 

“Gifting grace” is a way to create a community that is open to surprises, willing to be surprised by the joy that others bring. We see the best of each other and have the will to give our best to others. Gifting of grace leads us to be inspired by the generosity of others and we also become generous likewise.

One of the most important steps we need to take for the future of our church and also for our spiritual growth is to learn about stewardship – what stewardship is and why we do it. Stewardship is not a programme to increase the revenue of the church. Stewardship is different from fundraising, although fundraising events are a wonderful experience and opportunity that brings and unites people in a common project. I see the positive role the fundraising does in the work of our church. Working together for a common goal is a powerful experience. Our Chemainus church relies on regular fundraising in order to raise the money needed to help the church thrive. However, our vision now really should be focused on learning about developing congregational stewardship, because we need to focus on people’s talents and gifts and spontaneous volunteerism, rather than telling people what needs to be done. Stewardship is, and must be, a spiritual practice.

As stewards, we save and heal and bless so many people’s lives. We make a difference by recognizing and using our gifts – our talents, our time, our money. We support the Mission and Service Fund and, by giving, we support a lot of great things that make a difference in the world. We help many children in the world grow in a safe place and get an education that helps them change their society, and the world. We care for the people who are now and will, in the future, be most vulnerable to the harsh realities of climate change. We support the work of reconciliation and healing of the aboriginal communities in Canada and in the world. By offering our gifts, we respond to the challenges of the world such as poverty, exclusion and marginalization. 

My dream is that, by what we give, and what we do, we can build a culture of respect, celebrate diversity and make our society be fully inclusive. For we vision, we dream, we love, we engage in stewardship. We engage in stewardship because we so much care for our world as our own home.

As stewards, we ‘gift grace’ for others – for people we may not know and for people we may know. We make a difference in our church home as well, so that whoever comes to us can find a spiritual home here.

The Church still ‘saves’ people’s lives. It is why we are here. We are here to create a place for transformation, to inspire and to be inspired. My vision for us is that we become a courageous and engaging people as we accompany each other’s spiritual and transformative journey.

I encourage you to create more opportunities for conversation. We need to witness more, and we need to hear more often about how our church, our faith community has changed our lives, saved our lives, healed our lives, and nurtured our lives. We need to hear more often and from more people how our church has lifted us up - you can include me in that.  As I shared last Sunday, when you chose to accept me as your minister and intern, you planted a seed of change for my life and for the future. You have gifted me with grace.

Does church still change people’s lives, save people’s lives and make a difference in people’s lives? My answer is YES, and more than that. The positive changes when they are made make ripples that spread outward until they reach an unseeable edge. Think about  the Butterfly Effect. The flapping of a butterfly’s wings on this side of the world can stir up tiny currents that end up as a great wind in far-away places.

 

The start of creating a community of good-will and generosity is to see the best in each other. Say how much we are blessed by the gifts of one another. Be ready to be surprised by the joy that others bring. The power of a sense of blessedness and gratitude is greater than we can understand.

In today’s sacred reading, Jesus says we are the salt of the earth, and the light of the world.

As salt and light, we make a difference. We create a place for transformation with God’s gift of grace. In this community and beyond this community, we save, bless and heal lives. Let us choose to dwell on the positives – what is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, pleasing, and commendable, and deal with challenges wisely. Let us be confident, believing that we are invited to grow as a community of grace, by celebrating the diversity of gifts in people. Let us be open to surprises, growing into a spirit of generosity whenever we give or receive, inspired by God’s abundant love for us all. Amen.