Sermons for the Month
Be Strong and Act (and Don't Mess It Up!)
DATE: September 23rd, 2007
SERVICE: 17th Sunday After Pentecost / Vision Awareness Sunday
TEXT: 1 Chronicles 28:9-12a, 20 and 29:6, 9-16“To all of you Saints here this morning, grace and peace to you from God our Father, from His Son, Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. AMEN
I was reading between the lines of today's Old Testament text and saw a father concerned for his son. He's doing his best to encourage, but I imagine him biting his tongue to keep from adding, "and don't mess it up", to his admonition to "Be strong and act." The father is King David, and if he had his way, the temple would have borne his name, not that of his son, Solomon. He longed to build it; he had stored up enough materials to make a good start and then God said, "No". He was a solider; people had died at his hands, therefore he would not be credited with creating that sacred place. Instead, Solomon would do it. What a disappointment! Can't you see him secretly wondering if this son of his is up to the task? Was he bitter at the unfairness of it all, or worried that his dream would be unfulfilled? Perhaps, but that's not what we see in today's reading from 1 Chronicles. In the first eight verses of Chapter 28 David gives thanks for all the good that God has done in his life, for choosing him as King, and that God has chosen Solomon to succeed him. Then, he speaks to his son, reminding him to honor and to develop an intimate relationship with God. He proclaims the faithfulness of God saying, "Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished." No matter what the future holds Solomon can count on the Lord's presence, power and promises. King David then hands over the temple plans. No once does he say, "and don't mess it up". Our situation is not as dramatic as David's and Solomon's, but we too have been given the responsibility to build the witness to Jesus Christ through this Christian community. One way to think about it is this: King David had been acquiring all that was needed to begin the Temple's construction. Well, the building that already exists here, and the ministry that occurs now, are our "stored up materials." The plans have been provided through the Vision Statement and the work on the Building Team. Now the time has come for us to move forward, and we too need to claim as our own King David's words of encouragement to his son. "Be strong and of good courage, and act. Do not be afraid or dismayed; for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished." We need to be reminded of God's presence, power and promises because, to be honest, what we are about to embark on makes us nervous. The idea of raising money - that can only come through the sacrificial giving of us all - and then stepping into the unknown as we add to and renovate our building to provide more effective space for ministry - is a bit unnerving. It may even be viewed by some as grandiose. Besides the fact that each one of us is being asked to financially support the project, our fear may be based in the fact that we do not want to mess it up. And, in this case, the "it", is a sense of stability that Faith Lutheran Church has enjoyed for years. And if you do not want to jeopardize that, then just imagine how I feel as your pastor! BUT, think about this: what if the way we could "mess it up" is by not moving forward, not doing what is needed to participate in God's transformation of the world? What if we are too afraid to make the sacrifices and the changes that are necessary if we are to gather and grow disciples for mission; wouldn't that constitute a bigger "mess up"? Some members of Faith recently attended an evangelism workshop and came back with some valuable insights. Did you know that in the United States only one in five people attends worship on a weekend? It's for the four who either have no church affiliation, or are unconnected with the church in which they claim membership, that we take risks. It is for the sake of transformation in their lives, and by osmosis our own, that we act. There are four characteristics of growing congregations; it does not have to do with location or style of worship or finances. Christian communities grow when they have a sense of purpose, are willing to change, have strong lay leadership who work with the clergy and see themselves as "priests" in the world. With transforming lives in mind we view our building as a tool for ministry. This morning there was the potential for 21 7th and 8th graders to be crammed into what we call the youth room - although it's used for many other purposes. That's not a good tool for ministry; in the 20 years that I have been affiliated with this congregation the youth have never had a space to call their own. And that's just one of the ways we need to retool for the sake of mission. We have the opportunity, the privilege, to be of a single mind, like the leaders described in today's reading, who offered freely to the Lord, causing the people and the King to rejoice. Just think, the often-told stewardship story could be true here, rather than a joke. You've heard it, I'm sure. A pastor told his congregation, "Friends, I have wonderful news about next year's budget and the building project." He paused for a moment and then said, "We already have the money." A happy buzz went through the congregation until the pastor held up his hands for quiet. "Yes," he said, "we have all the money we need. Now all we have to do is give it." How simple, yet challenging, "…now all we have to do is give it." Yet, doing so should not be all that difficult IF we acknowledged the truth of the closing words of King David in today's text. After the leaders' gifts for the building of the temple had been received, he blessed the Lord in the presence of the Assembly, "…in your hand are power and might; and it is in your hand to make great and to give strength to all." But then he goes on to make this profound statement, "But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of YOUR OWN have we given you." That's a difficult concept for people in such an individualistic - pull yourself up by your boot straps - I did it my way - culture to grasp. We tend to hold on tight to "mine". But the witness of scripture again and again is that it's much easier to let go of that which we never considered to be ours in the first place. The abundance that built the Temple, and that built and continues to build Faith Lutheran Church, came from God's hand to us. We have the opportunity to give it back as a tool in the divine building project of transformation. As long as that's our frame of reference, as long as we remember the presence, power and promises of God who will not leave us, we will be strong and act. And…we won't mess it up.
AMEN