NOVEMBER 12, 2017

THE TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

YEAR A, PROPER 27

ST. AUGUSTINE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, MORROW, GEORGIA

THE REV. BARRY GRIFFIN, RECTOR

“YOUR NEED TO GIVE”

For several weeks now we’ve been talking about New Consecration Sunday. Well it’s almost here. Next Sunday, November 19, is New Consecration Sunday. There will be one 10 a.m. service. A special guest from our diocese will preach. And our annual Thanksgiving meal will cap off the day. The meal will be catered. It’s not a potluck, so don’t bring anything. No side dishes. No appetizers. No sweets. Just bring yourself. The only thing we ask of you is this: if you haven’t done so already, fill out an RSVP card so we can give an accurate number to the caterer.

Please be here for New Consecration Sunday. It’s a very important day for St. Augustine’s.

Did I mention that there will only be one service? Did I mention that our one service begins at 10 o’clock? Did I mention that we need to you to fill out an RSVP card?

Just checking.

Two weeks ago Matt and Kim Johnson shared with us their stewardship journey. Last week Chuck Dale did the same. We had asked them to make their presentations personal, and they did. I learned things about Matt and Kim and Chuck that I never knew. What they shared spoke to me because it was personal. Yes, they shared their ideas about stewardship, but mostly they shared their stories. They shared their faith journeys.

I’ve been the priest here for a long time, and I’ve preached umpteen stewardship sermons. Mostly, what I’ve preached about were my convictions about stewardship. Today I’ll offer something different. Like Matt and Kim I’ll share my stewardship journey. I’ll tell you how I got to where I am when it comes to stewardship.

So imagine this: it’s 1959. It’s any given Sunday morning, and the Griffin family is on its way to church. Our Chevrolet is two-toned. It’s one part white and one part light blue; very fifties. (Pastels were big back then. Our formica dining table and matching chairs were pink. If you were around back in the fifties you may remember what I’m talking about. If not, don’t worry about it.)

So four year-old Barry is in the back seat. Sister Gail is on his left. Sister Glenda is on his right. He’s the youngest, so he gets stuck in the middle.

As they pull into the parking lot at Pine Ridge Baptist, Mama reaches into her purse and finds a nickel. She hands it to Barry. “This is for the offering,” she says, and Barry knows exactly what she means.

When the little straw basket is passed around during Sunday School, Barry is glad that he has a nickel to contribute. Barry is learning to give. Giving makes Barry glad. It makes him feel good.

Now, granted, it was Mama’s nickel, not Barry’s. But that’s not the point. Mama was teaching four year-old Barry the importance of giving. Two weeks ago Matt and Kim told us how they were teaching their girls the importance of giving. It’s the same lesson Mama taught me.

Come to think of it, I could have kept that nickel. I could have left it in my pants pocket and put it in my piggy bank when I got home. But I didn’t. My mother gave me that nickel, and I gave it to the church. It was never mine to begin with.

What God gives us is never ours to begin with.

I think I remember when my parents began to tithe. I believe it was in the mid 1960’s. They were in their forties then, and their relationship to God and the church deepened. Now, they were regular church-goers for as long as I remembered. But something changed. They became more committed.

I wonder: what if they had not deepened their commitment to God and the church? Where would I be today? Would I be committed to God and God’s church? Would I even attend church? Their example changed my life. They gave me a good blueprint for Christian living. It wasn’t perfect. Nothing is perfect. But their example has served me well.

During my late teens and early twenties I got away from the church. I didn’t get away from God, but I got away from the church of my youth. I had some important things to sort out. That took a while. In short, I grew up. I began to think for myself.

I’m convinced God brought me to the Episcopal Church. That’s another story for another day. But as my commitment to God and God’s church deepened, it became time for me to make a decision: would I give a significant percentage of my income to the church, or not? Would I give the ten percent tithe? I decided to give it a try.

That was many years ago, and I have never regretted it. I don’t know how to explain it. Tithing just becomes part of your life. It becomes part of who you are. If you didn’t tithe you would miss it. You wouldn’t be yourself. You’d no longer be the person you had become. You would miss the joy of giving.

Mom and Dad knew that. Bishop Frank Allan knew it, too. As Chuck Dale reminded us last Sunday, Bishop Allan once stood right here and said something like this: the church doesn’t need your money. In fact, it’s not about the church. It’s about you. You need to give for your own sake.

Mom and Dad and Bishop Allan got it right. For your own sake, you need to give. You need to know the joy of giving.

I’ve heard some very misguided preaching about tithing. Maybe you have, too. I’ve heard that God demands ten percent, and if you don’t give it voluntarily God will take it from you in some form or fashion. A child will get sick or the car will break down or you’ll lose your job.

Well, that’s not how it works. God doesn’t punish us when we withhold our tithe. What happens is this: we deprive ourselves.

You need to give for your own sake. You will never be the person God intends you to be until you give generously. You will never know the freedom God offers: freedom from accumulating things - things you don’t need; freedom from taking care of too much stuff – stuff that clutters your life and never satisfies; freedom from fear – being afraid that God will not provide for your needs.

In the narthex there’s an easel with a big chart. It shows the distribution of givers at St. Augustine’s: how many members give “X” amount of dollars per week. Take a look at the chart and determine where you are. And next Sunday, New Consecration Sunday, you will be asked to move up at least one step in your stewardship journey of faith.

We can do this. Together, we can continue the work God has given us to do. God bless you, and God bless St. Augustine’s.

Amen.

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