Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Colossians 3:12-17
Gordon E. Ellis
September 19, 2004
WEAVING FAITH INTO EVERYDAY LIVES
Last Sunday, if you recall, I talked about our scripture reading from Deuteronomy. And I said how it’s SURPRISING what we LEARN from this passage: that the TITHE, the giving of the first 10% of each family’s income, was originally NOT meant to be spent on MISSIONS or on typical church projects, as WE often think of OUR tithes TODAY. INSTEAD, it was meant to be spent on a giant PARTY, on a huge CELEBRATION, which would give EVIDENCE to one and all of WHAT kind of KINGDOM God is CREATING. And I talked about the kingdom of God as a PARTY. And THEN, we went ON at Rally Day and HAD ourselves a PARTY! TODAY, however, I’d like to look at that Scripture Lesson AGAIN. And like LAST week, I’m using primarily the thoughts of our friend, Tony Campolo, who preached here and led us in a Spiritual Renewal Day several years AGO. Well, Tony says that if that statement tells us how MUCH we are supposed to spend on partying and CELEBRATION, it ALSO sets LIMITS on how MUCH we should SPEND on such things. And in fact, it’s telling us that we are called to spend the OTHER 90% of our earnings PRAYERFULLY -- in service to GOD, in service to our FAMILY, and in service to those in NEED outside of our family. In OTHER words, the OTHER 90% of our earnings need to be SANCTIFIED, set aside, for the work of God, and helping to establish God’s KINGDOM on earth, which we do by making the REST of our lives a MINISTRY. You see: our FAMILY life can be a MINISTRY, IF it done in a CERTAIN way and from a certain MINDSET. I often talk about of the MINISTRY of marriage, or the MINISTRY of parenting, and it’s about keeping CHRIST, and faithful DISCIPLESHIP, at the CENTER of our FAMILY life. Our CAREER, or VOCATION, can ALSO be a MINISTRY, but that means it needs to be done in certain WAY and from a certain MINDSET. The same is true of our SERVICE to our community, whether we serve on the Town Council or COACH a Little League team. The SAME is true of our work in the CHURCH, whether we’re a DEACON or a Coffee Hour Host or Confirmation Mentor. Yes, we NEED to make every DIMENSION of our lives a MINISTRY, with CHIRST at the CENTER! 90% of our TIME, TALENTS and MONEY need to be SANCTIFIED, set apart, for the work of GOD and creating God’s KINGDOM, which INCLUDES providing the NEEDS of our FAMILY.
HOWEVER, as Tony Campolo says: the PROBLEM is that the VAST majority of Americans today have TURNED these figures around, EVEN those who CLAIM to be people of FAITH. SO, instead of spending 10% on extravagance and luxuries; partying, recreation and entertainment, while we spend 90% on faithful service to God’s WORK in this world; WE, as a whole, are spending 90% on extravagance and luxuries, parties and entertainment, and things that we DON’T need; and only 10% on doing GOD’S work: on meeting the NEEDS of our family, NOT all their wants; on LOVING our neighbors, ESPECIALLY the poor; and on promoting GODLY values, such as justice and peace; goodness, forgiveness and reconciliation – and ALL the values that are mentioned in our SECOND lesson today. It’s using what we have for the things of GOD, rather the things that THIS world tells us we need, which we usually DON’T.
Well, BECAUSE we have turned these figures AROUND in our society, so that we’re only giving 10% where we OUGHT to be giving 90%, MANY of us are having TROUBLE weaving our FAITH into our everyday lives. After all, if we only expect to give 10% of our time, talent and treasure to FAITHFUL living, then we don’t HAVE to remain CONSCIOUS of the faithfulness of our EVERY single choice and decision. BUT, if we expect to give 90% of our lives to faithful living, then we have to THINK and PRAY about it CONSTANTLY. EVERY decision NEEDS to be filtered THROUGH the eyes of our FAITH and the values of GOD. And SO, our faith AUTOMATICALLY gets woven IN to the FABRIC of our daily lives.
SO, that’s the FIRST thing that we need to do, IF we want to WEAVE our faith into our everyday lives – and THAT’S becoming a bigger and bigger IF for MOST people in our culture these days. But IF we WANT to weave our faith into our everyday lives, then we NEED to LISTEN to the Word of God in scripture, LIKE our 2 scripture lessons TODAY, because God’s WORD in scripture will CHANGE our perception of things, and we will make our FAITH our PRIORITY, and give God the 90% of our lives that GOD requires. In OTHER words, we need to PUT ON the garments that St. Paul talks about in our SECOND reading from scripture today.
But HOW do we DO this, especially living in such a consumeristic, self-centered society? Well, I don’t think it’s EASY at all. I think it’s VERY, very difficult. But THAT’S where we can LEARN something from the WEAVER. Do you know that by changing ONE little THREAD… or by changing WHICH handle the weaver pulls down, and WHEN; a weaver can change the ENTIRE design of a weaving. A weaver can change an ENTIRE piece of work by just changing the INPUT a TINY little bit.
And if that’s true for a WEAVING, then that CERTAINLY must be true in OUR lives. And while I don’t believe that everything that HAPPENS to us happens to us for a REASON, as SOME people believe, I DO believe that everything that HAPPENS to us gets woven INTO the fabric of our lives, woven into OUR particular design in some BEAUTIFUL, creative way, BY our ETERNAL Weaver. FURTHERMORE, I believe that, BECAUSE God has given us the gift of free will, EACH of us has the power to change the design of our OWN fabric. You can ask those who CHOSE to be part of the Companions in Christ program last year just how MUCH that ONE little choice has made a DIFFERENCE in their lives. OR, when Diane and I CHOSE to go on our first MISSION trip to
MOREOVER, because God has made us INTERDEPENDENT people, who RELY on one another, we ALSO have the power to change the design of each OTHER’S fabrics. When my children were growing up, for example, Diane and I consciously CHOSE to make their SPIRITUAL nurturing a PRIORITY. Our kids RARELY missed Church School, and it WASN’T because their father was a MINISTER. It’s because THAT was our VALUE. In fact, I remember having arguments with my kids’ COACHES about their attendance at Sunday morning GAMES. And I remember having my kids get BENCHED for 1 or 2 games because they MISSED a Sunday MORNING game. BUT, seeing what loving, mature, compassionate, CHRISTIAN adults my kids have BECOME makes ALL of those DIFFICULT choices WELL worth it. OR, on a PERSONAL level, years ago when my teacher and mentor, Henri Nouwen, required me to go and spend some time at Weston Priory, a monastery in Vermont, I complained and had a hissy-fit. BUT, that monastery has become part of the very FABRIC of my life. I even celebrated the 25th Anniversary of my ordination there a couple years ago. WHAT an incredible difference it’s made in my LIFE, as well as in my MINISTRY, thanks to Henri Nouwen.
Yes, the choices that we make for OURSELVES, and for OTHERS, are absolutely CRITICAL, IF we want to WEAVE our faith into our everyday lives. And I TRUST that THAT’S why you’re HERE, and NOT out on a golf course today, or a BOAT. You WANT faith to be a part of your LIFE! You WANT faith to inform your LIVING! Well, it’s simple, and yet, oh so difficult. We NEED to set apart, we need to SANCTIFY 90% of our TIME, TALENT and TREASURE for the work of GOD -- to HELP establish God’s Kingdom on earth, through our family life, through our WORK life, through the way we SPEND and INVEST our MONEY, through our service to our community, and EVEN through the way we VOTE in the voting booth. Yes, it means making some VERY serious choices, BASED on our faith and our Lord! BUT, the CHOICES we make EACH and every day DO have the POWER to CHANGE, and sometimes very dramatically, the TEXTURE, the COLOR, the BEAUTY and the DURABILITY of not only our OWN life’s TAPESTRY, but the life tapestries of others as well -- and indeed, EVEN the life tapestry of our NATION and our world, because it doesn’t take MUCH to change an ENTIRE tapestry. SO, make GOOD choices, my friends, the choices GOD would have you make, and WEAVE your faith into your everyday lives. It WILL be WORTH it! That’s GOD’S promise! Amen.
(I am indebted to Dr. Tony Campolo: The Kingdom of God Is a Party. Dallas, TX: Word Publishing, 1990)