Sermons for the Month

Our Story: God IS with us
DATE: November 18th, 2007
SERVICE: Thanksgiving/Annual Meeting Sunday
TEXT: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

“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

As I considered today's first reading from Deuteronomy, I found myself reflecting on what a literal interpretation might "look like". I love home grown tomatoes. When I had room for a vegetable garden I would plant that spindly tomato plant in late May and intently monitor its growth. It was a thrill to see the first yellow blossoms, and then the marble-sized green fruit. I'd then keep track of that fruit's expansion, excited to see it grow larger, watching each day for a hint of pink and then red.

What a great day it was to pick that first fruit, a warmed-by-the-sun ripe tomato that I would take into the house, slice carefully, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. I would savor each bite. YUM!

I have to tell you that it would be a considerable sacrifice for me to pick that lovely fruit, put it in a basket and present it to God, who could not possibly enjoy it as much as me! But, if my attitude was right, to do so would be a sign of sincere gratitude and an acknowledgement of God's participation in what I might be tempted to claim as my success.

That's the attitude the writer of Deuteronomy is encouraging in the giving of first fruits. After all, there is reason to be grateful, since those who were first told to do this, the Israelites, did not know anything about agriculture. They had been nomadic people who walked the earth rather than tilling it, but now God has enabled them to grow the fruit of the ground and then to produce grain, wine and oil.

In fact, they would tie a cord on the first ripe fruit that they spotted in the field, vineyard or olive grove to make sure that it became the offering, an acknowledgement that God sustains life and ought to get the first part of it.

We continue to encourage that attitude, if not the exact practice, when we talk about First Fruit giving, which is to give God a portion of our resources first, before we use it for any other purpose. And, as a part of our Capital Campaign we have designated December 2 as First Fruit Sunday, when those who made commitments give their first offering to the Capital Fund.

Just as was true in days of old, our gifts are a way of thanking God for sustaining us, signs of sincere gratitude and an acknowledgement of God's participation in what we might be tempted to claim our my success. But, it's not just the giving of the First Fruit that's important; the telling of the story of how this came to be is vital too.

The ancient people are told that after they have presented the First Fruit to God they are to say, "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor…" and then offer the story of being aliens in a strange land called Egypt, and then slaves who were oppressed and cried out to God for help. They were freed in a display of Divine power and came to a land of their own.

It's interesting that the word we translate as "wandering" is really closer to "perishing", so one commentator says the confession of faith could begin, "an ailing alien was my ancestor," making the point that God's deliverance reached to people who have lost hope and are at the end of their human endurance. (1)

They cried in despair, God heard and acted, bringing them out of bondage, out of the wilderness and to this moment when they actually have First Fruits to bring as an offering of thanks.

Not only do we continue encourage First Fruits giving, but also the retelling of our faith stories. This is an individual and a community activity, which creates this question, "What is our congregation's faith story this year?"

Well, it has many chapters. One could be titled, "2b Transformed" and tell the story of moving from seeing the plans for the proposed church building project for the first time one year ago, to doing a feasibility study for a capital campaign, to assessing a neighboring building for use in ministry, to deciding to pursue the original building project, to voting to hold a Capital Funding Campaign to a flurry of organizing and planning.

It culminated in six weeks of learning, of creativity and of fellowship as the vision was shared and the people of God prayed and listened for God's guidance. And, in the end, we rejoice that more than $1 million dollars has been committed to the proposed building project which will be a tool use for ministry in Jesus' name. Most importantly we acknowledge that in the midst of it all, God was with us.

Or, there is the chapter that could be titled, "Guatemala Bound", in which the story is told of two youth who heard descriptions of an orphanage in Guatemala and wanted to go there to do ministry with others from the church. So, a group was gathered, they cooked and served and auctioned and asked for support until the funds were raised and the agenda was set.

But, since God is a God of surprises, the ending was so different than the initial plan. Not only were children loved and taught about Jesus, but physical and mental resources were stretched to tear down and rebuild a home in the most desperate of situations. And, in the end, a way was opened for ministry in Jesus' name, for which we give thanks. But, most importantly, we acknowledge that in the midst of it all, God was with us.

Another chapter might be titled "Stephen Ministry" and tell the story of one person's belief that this ministry of caring is valuable. So, a leader was trained, and twice as many people as was expected signed up to participate, and the training commenced with lots of prayer, discussion and the dreaded role plays. And, in the end, Stephen Ministers will go forth to provide compassionate support in Jesus' name, which is reason to celebrate. But, more importantly, we acknowledge that in the midst of it all, God was with us.

The chapter titles of Faith's Faith Story are too numerous to list here, they encompass the ministries in which all of you are involved and by which you are touched. And, however that happened, we proclaim loudly that God was with us.

It's a tradition is some homes, on Thanksgiving, for people to name that for which they are thankful. Today, I would like to suggest that we expand that to thinking about our individual faith stories for 2007. In the midst of being an "ailing alien" in this ever-changing world, how was God with you? Write it down or talk with someone about it as a way to remember that you were never alone.

Now, we've covered two steps in this First Fruits "process", first we return a portion of what we have received to God and then we tell our faith stories. There's one more step, which is to celebrate. In the passage we read it's not just the one who brings in the harvest that celebrates, the aliens and Levites are included too. If there is anything we hear over and over again from Jesus it is that we should bring the outsiders in and include them in the celebration. That's certainly the mood many people try for at Thanksgiving, whether or not we ever accomplish it.

I tried to think how we might celebrate as a church, and welcome anyone who wishes to join us. Of course, that should be the point every Sunday, especially as we come forward to receive Holy Communion. But perhaps some of you might come up with a way for us to even more publicly give an offering, tell our story and party, because we are so thankful that always God is with us.

I promise I won't interfere much with the planning … except to say that if it's in the summer, make sure there is an abundance of home-grown tomatoes.

AMEN

(1) Lent I, Feb. 25, 2007, "A Celebration of God's Bounty" by Bill Long, www.textweek.com for Thanksgiving 2007, first lesson

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