Jon Hauerwas – October 23, 2016 – “Fear and Faith”
Matthew 6:19-21 and Matthew 6:25-34
When I meet with couples who are preparing for marriage, I often read an excerpt from a Newsweek article which poses the following question. “Getting hitched? Don’t even think about it before you’ve had ‘the talk’ with your beloved. No, not that talk. The one about money.” The article goes onto say that “‘Money is never about money. It’s about love, power, security, control, old age, self-esteem, freedom, independence.’ That,” experts say,“is why squabbling over finances tops the list of reasons couples divorce.” [1]
If this is true, then money is always a delicate topic. More than this, there is a constant tension associated with the proper useof financial resources in our personal and communal lives. We already know that money colors our political discourse. From the Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s Unitedregarding the legality of campaign contributions, to the proper levying of taxes, to the budgeting process for the allocation of these shared funds, every step along the way is as important as it is messy.
I imagine that this is the case because, when we feel some ownership over shared resourcesand believe that we and our neighbors will be impacted, then the collection and allocation of these funds quickly becomes personal. Yet, in the church, as in many other arenas in life, we still affirm that it is wise and beneficial to combine our resources. We do this, not because it is required by the law or because we believe that doing so will grant us a one-way ticket to heaven. No. We do this with the understanding that, collectively, we are able to accomplish so much more than we could ever hope to achieve on our own.
In the church, we affirm that God, through the self-giving nature of Christ, provided us with the perfect model of generosity and love. And we, in turn, are called as Christ’s followers to respond to God’s gracious initiative in Christ by serving the church – which is just another word for God’s hope for the world. And so, we serve the church, not out of some nagging sense of guilt, or shame, or coercion,but freely and with great thanks for God’s gracious will and enduring providence in our lives.
Here I want to tell you a story. I was once eating lunch at a deli when a man, perhaps in his 60’s, entered that establishment and began engaging in some rather odd and unusual behavior. I wasn’t the only one to notice him. In fact, it seemed that most people who passed at least glanced in his direction.
On the table in front of him, he had a very large bag. It was one of these torso-sized backpacks that a hiker would use. But, strangely,his bag was all taped together. By this, I don’t mean that he had simply taped together patches of torn cloth here and there. No. This man’s bag was completely taped together. No cloth was visible at all. And while a thick layer of tape was already affixed to whatever cloth remained underneath, he still wasn’t satisfied. So there he was, sitting at that deli table, relentlessly applying more tape to this bag – likely the only container he had for all of his earthly possessions.
I imagine that you’ve seen folks like him before out and about around town. People who are struggling, perhaps, with mental health issues, or addiction of some kind, or homelessness, or all of the above. Pushing everything they own around in shopping carts, or in garbage bags thrownhastily over the shoulder. We’ll revisit that image again in a moment.
But for now, I ask you to consider this second image. Oprah Winfrey once reported that while traveling in Switzerland, she entered an expensive boutique and asked to see a handbag that was visible behind the shopkeeper. According to her account, Winfrey asked to see the bag three times. But, each time, the shopkeeper declined, saying that the bag was too expensive for her. So she finally gave up and moved on, saying, “Yeah, you’re right. I probably can’t afford it.”
In my mind, there are two tragedies in this second story. The first is that Winfrey was judged on account of her appearance and, as a result, she was denied the service that she was seeking. But the other tragedy, I think, is that $40,000 handbags actually exist, whether anyone can afford them or not.
What I’ve described here are the two ends of the spectrum. Sadly, some people carry their belongings around in bags and containers that most of us would call garbage.And at the other extreme, some are so wealthy that they can spend more money on a single, designer purse than the overwhelming majority of the world’s population earns in an entire year.
In the twelfth chapter of Luke’s gospel, Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms. Make pursues for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Without a doubt, we are right to hold the church accountable for the proper use of our shared resources. Westminster Presbyterian has taken a number of steps to be far more transparent in the setting of our budget and the allocation of our shared resources. This is, of course, the good and right thing to do. But, I also wonder if God might challenge each of us to consider how we spend our own, personal treasure. If you are anything like me, then you would rather not have to worry about such things. But as soon as I try to bury my head in the sand, I’m jolted back to reality and reminded that once all of my basic needs are met, no matter how much money is left, those worries simply don’t go away. They only shift and change.
Is this true for you, as well? That most of us are either focused on our own financial security – that is, how to get ahead. Or if we feel that we have reached many of these goals, then weworry about how we will stay ahead. Rational or not, it’s all worry just the same.
And yet, throughout the Bible, we learn that fear and faith have very little in common. They are at opposite ends of the spectrum. For while fear leads to worry and despair, faith is closely akin to love, hope, and joy. And in speaking about our own desire to preserve what we have, Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?... Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we wear?’… But strive first for the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well… So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
These are comforting words, to be sure, but they’re not likely to change our lifestyles until we have heard the message so many times that we allow ourselves to become convinced and convicted in our hearts and in our minds that we truly do have enough. Only then will we loosen our grip on the fear we clutch so tightly and shift our posture from that of owning and possessing to that which is most concerned with giving and with generosity. Jesus said, “store up for ourselves treasures in heaven… For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.”May it be so, even on this challenging Sunday, and all thanks be to God. Amen.
[1] Ordonez, Jennifer, Newsweek. “Tying the Financial Knot.” April 9, 2007. Pg. 47.