Our Money Story, a sermon series for Stewardship from A Sanctified Art, week 1 of 4, preached Nov 3, 2024
Children’s
A long time ago, Ahab became King over Israel. Ahab knew about God, but loved power and money and fame, so Ahab worshipped the easier idols instead of God. The Bible says, “Ahab did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than had all the kings of Israel… before him.” So a prophet, a preacher, Elijah spoke against Ahab and warned the people, if they follow Ahab as their leader, there would be a drought and a famine, not enough water and not enough food. Elijah was scared he too would run out of water and food. Here’s what happened…
Scripture 1 Kings 17:2-6
(After Elijah did these things) 2 The word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, 3 “Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Cherith Valley, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the (springs), and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord; he went and lived by the Cherith Valley, which is east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the springs (there).
Message
Elijah challenged a leader and suffered the anger of that leader, and the judgment of the people who liked him. But Elijah did what God required, and in the end, God took care of him.
It can be scary… to do the right thing, to tell the truth, to stand against bullies, to correct liars, to make peace instead of fight, to love instead of hate, to trust instead of fear. But this God helps those anyone who does holy things.
Will you pray with me?
Context
Our sermon series this November is called “Our Money Story.” We all have a story. Our money practices, earnings, savings, spending, sharing, those are expressions of our story, who we are and what we believe, what we think is or isn’t important. Often, we try to tell our story without the money. But it’s there. Every big event, wedding, birth, home, vacation, sickness, death… those are critical parts of our story, and behind each is a money aspect.
What if we would talk about the money in our story, with more transparency and vulnerability, and encourage others to do the same? What if we could listen for what money says about us as individuals, a family, a church, or a nation? What would we learn?
Jesus talked about money more than almost anything. Jesus challenged us with parables and lessons about money, pointed out the money in certain situations where the disciples didn’t notice it. One person in our Wednesday Bible study said, Money is a way we communicate. Jesus knew we sometimes pretend money isn’t a factor, and Jesus knew sometimes money is the biggest factor in our story, too big, maybe bigger than God. So Jesus talked honestly and directly about money, because he knew our thoughts and practices around money tell a part of our story.
This series called, “Our Money Story” is thanks to a group called Sanctified Art. They imagined it, and gave us some wonderful graphics, liturgies, texts, and quotes to help us face what story our money is telling.
QUOTE of the Day
This month, instead of starting with a question, we are going to group up in 2s and 3s for a few minutes and discuss a quote from someone smart in the faith. Today’s quote is from one of my Old Testament professors, Dr. Walter Brueggemann, and his 2016 book, Money and Possessions. Dr Brueggemann says…
“Jesus was commending and performing an economy… that was sure to collide with established economic patterns and with those who presided over and benefited from such patterns. His term for the alternative economy was ‘kingdom of God’...”
—Brueggemann, Walter. Money and Possessions. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016). 23.
Have yall ever thought of the Kingdom of God, Jesus’ vision and promise of how God wants community to be, as an economy? What does that mean? Group up in twos or threes and discuss this quote together for just a few moments. Ready, Go!
(Open YouTube livestream, muted, on iPad, and chat with online attendees?)
Great! For anyone wishing to share, in person or online, what did you come up with?
Before we read scripture and preach, let’s pray…
Prayer for Illumination
Holy God, there is something about scripture that stirs us awake. When we hear of a deep love that made room for everyone at (your) table, we remember we’re hungry. When we hear of manna raining down in the desert, we remember, we are lost. There is something about scripture that stirs us awake, and it feels like hunger and it looks like hope. Stir us awake, oh God. Remind us, this story starts and ends with love. We are hungry. we are listening. Amen? Amen.
Scripture Luke 22:1-23
22 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread, which is called the Passover, was near. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put Jesus to death, for they were afraid of the people.
3 Then (ha) satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who was one of the twelve; 4 Judas went away and conferred with the chief priests and officers of the temple police about how he might betray Jesus to them. 5 They were greatly pleased and agreed to give Judas money. 6 So Judas consented and began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus to them, when no crowd would be present.
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed. 8 So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.” 9 They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?” 10 “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters 11 and say to the owner of the house, ‘The Rabbi asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?” ’ 12 He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” 13 So they went and found everything as Jesus had told them, and they prepared the Passover meal.
14 When the hour came, Jesus took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. 15 He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer, 16 for I tell you, I will not eat it (again) until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves, 18 for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
19 Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you all is the new covenant in my blood… 21 But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table. 22 For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!” 23 Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this.
This too is the word of God for the people of God… (Thanks be to God)
Sermon
I hadn’t really thought of it before. I saw the money exchange hands between the religious leaders and Judas. But the poets and artists who imagined this sermon series helped me see, there’s money all over this story.
The festival of the Passover was upon them, and that meant travelers had come to Jerusalem to spend the holiday with friends and family, or to practice the rituals in the great Temple, or to visit the big city at an important time. Trips like that take money in travel, meals, and lodging.
When Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go prepare the Passover meal,” Jesus was saying, go shopping. Spend some money on a lamb, and the herbs, fish, eggs, and vegetables, nd water, bread and wine we need to make the Passover meal. Their response to him was basically asking, “We can buy the stuff, but where will we cook it? Where will we eat it together?” Jesus tells them to follow a male servant carrying a big jug of water. That would likely mean a big house. Then, ask the owner of the house if we can get a big furnished room, with a kitchen. They did, and the owner agreed. I wonder, did they rent the space at holiday rates, or did the owner discount it, or gift it to them? If only we knew the money part of the story, it would really help.
It says the chief priests and the scribes were afraid of the people. But what were they afraid of… that the people of Jesus would hurt them? No, Jesus wasn’t teaching that. Jesus opposed violence. Were they afraid the people would kick them out? No, Jesus wasn’t teaching that and had included those others had excluded. So what were the religious of in Jesus and his people?
They were afraid the people of Jesus would stop using money the way they wanted, and would start using money the way Jesus wanted. They were afraid they would lose the money of their position over the people, and thus the power and status they enjoyed.
It says temptation took over in Judas. That’s what ha satan means, remember… from Job… or from the temptations of Jesus earlier in Luke… ha satan doesn’t have to be a creature but can be any voice even from inside us that tempts us, deceives us. Once those voices grow louder than Jesus’, we all fail.
Artist Lisle Gwynn Garrity painted a portrait of Judas, his face half lit, and half in shadow. In a written reflection on her painting, she says this:
“Many of us quickly condemn Judas’ betrayal as cowardly and weak. But we are privileged to know the end of this story, which makes judgment more enticing than empathy. Judas did not know exactly how this (story) would play out. He knew what Jesus had told them about their fate, painting a vision of doom and terror: the temple demolished, nations at war, food shortages, epidemics, harassment and torture from the authorities, betrayal by loved ones, hatred from strangers, possible execution by the state (Luke 21:5-19)… things were escalating quickly. Judas had to act fast… He wants security, assurance, quick relief. He wants to go back to how things used to be. And so, evil enters into Judas’ story...”
I didn’t catch this before. This scripture doesn’t say Judas asked for money, or set a price. It just says the religious leaders discussed it and agreed, maybe with Judas, or maybe on the side among themselves away from Judas, to give Judas some amount of money in exchange for his loyalty to them, not Jesus. I wonder who set the amount, how they calculated the value of betraying Jesus to protect their own money, power, and status.
See, there is money all over this story, and to think about the money helps us understand the story better. Even if scripture doesn’t tell us, whatever assumption we make about the money changes how we hear the story. The money isn’t the story. But the money changing hands for different things, they help us understand the story more clearly.
I think it’s the same with us. The money in our lives isn’t our story. But if we remember and be honest and vulnerable and talk about the money, it helps us remember and tell our own story more clearly.
Do yall get that thingy from the Social Security Administration that graphs earnings per year? It’s funny to look at it, for me, because of the story it remembers. It looks something like this. This is money, income on the up down axis, and this is age on the side to side.
I got my first real jobs in High school at a Wendy’s and my step-fathers sign shop. I did that to buy my first car, a little black Mazda RX-7. I didn’t work much my first two years of college, just a little on-campus job in the mail room, enough for spending money. Mom took my car away because we couldn’t afford the insurance. My last two years, I interned for an engineering group doing research for the military while finishing school. That’s how I afforded a cheaper car, an off-campus apartment, and Jill’s engagement ring. My first job in Alabama, I went from the lab to engineering to marketing. We bought a house, had Adam. I switched companies, trying to travel less and make more, and two more kids and two more houses. Then an old boss from my first company called and asked me to come work for him again, but in technical sales. I did that for two and half years and made the most money I’ve ever made in my life. Then in 2002, I quit and went to seminary, the least I’ve ever made in my adult life. After seminary, my first little church, the second church, and now here. One of our grown kids looked at my graph one day and said, “Dad, you’re an idiot.”
To look at just the money, you might think, Wow, this guy was doing great, then really messed up, got fired or something, and could only get smaller jobs after that. That is, if Money IS the story. But that’s not the story. I set down the money to go to seminary. You also can’t see where I got my last commission check around Christmas that first year of seminary. The company didn’t have to send it to me. I had left months ago. But my Sales manager sent a note with the check, saying he knew how hard I had worked for two years to close that deal before I left, and it only felt right to him to send me some of the commission when it finally shipped. It also doesn’t show on this graph, how our home church in Greenville paid for our health insurance for three years, and a member of that church gave all five of us free dental care while we were in seminary. See, the money can’t tell the story by itself, but remembering the money, seeing and knowing and talking about the money honestly helps us see the real story.
This year, as part of our story as a church, we will be showing yall a line-item budget as always. We will also be showing you a Narrative budget, another way of looking at the way we use money here at this church to grow God’s kingdom. For example, Caitlan and I are not just Personnel. We support all the ministries of this church in varying degrees. The narrative budget divides the cost of Caitlan and me across the ministries we support. The building is not just property. It houses and supports different ministries at different levels. So we are taking the full cost of the building and property and dividing it across various ministries and programs. That way, we can all see the story of this church even better, through our money.
We will be asking everyone to consider the way money tells your story. If you are a family who gives generously to this church, we will ask you to continue doing so. If you occassionaly give something, we will invite you to regularly give. If you give just a little, we will ask you to consider giving a bit more. If you do not give money, we will ask you start giving something, to regularly faithfully give something to support this church. Bland Dickey, the Chair of Stewardship and Planning, and Mark Kamon and Erin Anderson the elders, will tell you more as we go through the month.
People get uncomfortable talking about money, especially in church. But remember this. In the gospels, Jesus talks about money. He makes his disciples notice the money. Money is never supposed to be the story, but if we notice it, remember it, speak of it honestly with transparency, we can better see and remember our story, how and why we are doing life, work, or church… for the money, for what money gives us? Or do we live, work, and church, and use money in those spaces, for a better more beautiful purpose, the economy that Jesus called Kingdom of God?
To God be all glory and honor, now and forever more, Amen? Amen.
Charge
After Judas had agreed to exchange Jesus for money, after the disciples have spent money to buy and prepare Passover ingredients and rent space, they are all gathered together as one community. Jesus doesn’t block any of them from that moment, that table. That same artist I quoted before also says this:
“(Jesus) welcomes (Judas) to that table, a table where fear and doubt and difference have a place too. He offers him a meal where brokenness just makes more to pass around. He pours into a common cup that promises a new way forward. Scarcity and fear and conflict will always threaten to dis-member our story. But can we re-member that God has a greater story to tell—a story that re-members us and makes us whole.”
Benediction
Now blessing, laughter, and loving be yours, and may the love of a great God who names you and holds you as the earth turns and the flowers grow be with you this day, this night, this moment, and forever more. Amen? Amen.
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