Worship > Sermon Archive

The Reverend Beth Fain
September 9, 2007

Pentecost 18c (Luke 14: 25-33) Disciples, a Million Pennies, $10,000, 250 People, $40, $400,000, and Oxytocin

Jesus is traveling towards Jerusalem and a large crowd is coming along with him.
Jesus turns to the crowd, and says, "Whoever does not hate family members cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry her cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not give up all his possessions cannot be my disciple."


Anyone can be part of a crowd walking along with Jesus.
But being a disciple in that crowd.
That's a whole other level.
Today at 10:30, Gregory and Stephen's parents and godparents will make some promises that are, as far as I'm concerned, right up there with what Jesus says to the crowd on the road to Jerusalem--what we must do if we are going to be more than the crowd and be Jesus' disciples.
The only time we ever hear these six statements of discipleship is at a baptism.
Even when these six statements are confirmed by the baptized when they are grown up and are ready for confirmation, that is, to confirm those long ago promises made on their behalf, it's a shortened 2 question form of the promises.
I think that's too bad.
Would you open your Prayer Books, the book with the cross on it in your pew back, to page 302?
For those of Baptist backgrounds, I call this the Episcopal profession of faith.
Listen to the power of these questions:
Three things will be renounced.
Question Do you renounce Satan and all the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God?
Answer I renounce them.


Question Do you renounce the evil powers of this world which corrupt and destroy the creatures of God?
Answer I renounce them.


Question Do you renounce all sinful desires that draw you from the love of God?
Answer I renounce them.


In the place of the three things that are renounced, three relationships will be put in their place:
Question Do you turn to Jesus Christ and accept him as your Savior?
Answer I do.


Question Do you put your whole trust in his grace and love?
Answer I do.


Question Do you promise to follow and obey him as your Lord?
Answer I do.


Whoever does not hate family members cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Whoever does not give up all her possessions cannot be my disciple.


Jesus says to the crowd, it's easy to travel with me.
That's grace.
That's what all of us crowd got at our baptism-an opportunity to travel with Jesus.
But for those who want to do more than travel beside Jesus, who want to walk with Jesus as Jesus' disciple, Jesus tells us what it will cost to have the kind of relationship that goes beyond simply traveling with Jesus.
Our relationship with Jesus has to come first.
More than our relationship with those we hold most dear.
More than our relationship with our own ambitions and desires and wants.
More than our relationship with every thing we possess and own.
Are we willing to pay the price of going beyond being one of the multitudes of the baptized and be Jesus' disciple, too? In the words of our baptismal liturgy:
Are we willing to renounce. Turn. Trust. Follow. Obey.
You may be happy to hear that that's all I'm going to say this morning in the sermon about hating your family or giving your life for Jesus.
But this being the first Sunday of our money stewardship mission, I will say more about the giving up all your possessions part. In order to be Jesus' disciple.
Though the truth is money, our possessions, are only metaphors for all of those things, those relationships we treasure most. Jesus invites us to let him be what we treasure the most.
I have five numbers that I want to tell you about this morning.
1,000,000. 10,000. 250. 40. 400,000.
Our Treasurer tells me that it costs about 1million pennies each week to open the doors of St. Mary's and do the ministry that God has called us to do.
Or $10,000 if you prefer.
St. Mary's averages about 270 people on a Sunday morning-though I'm going to use 250 for the number of people who show up to worship each Sunday as my number because the math is easier.
That means that it "costs" $40 [holding up two twenty dollar bills) per person who worships on Sunday to cover St. Mary's weekly costs.
Except it doesn't work out that way.
Some of those people are babies and children.
Some of those people don't have $40 left after they cover all their bills and expenses to use for incidentals and extras
But there are others who can spend $40 on dinner without even thinking about it.
There are others who choose to give up some pleasure so they can have $40 to give to some good cause.
Mary Duhon, our Children's Christian Formation Director, and I were talking about how important our ministry with children is.
It may not surprise you that the very most important years of a child's spiritual formation are the first 10 or so.
That's when families also seem to have the least extra time and the least extra money.
That means that those of us who have our children through college or are still in our prime earning years have the opportunity to do extra to cover those who have less to give.
I think it's a great thought to think about my pledge making it possible for some young family or some retired couple on fixed income to have all the ministry they need because others of us have the extra money to give.
That's what I pray about when I start thinking about my money personal stewardship.
There's one other number I mentioned. 400,000.
That's roughly the amount of money we have left to pay on our debt for our Holy Family Center.
The main place at St. Mary's that we do that ministry with families and retired folks and all the rest of us.
We are also being asked by our money stewardship ministry to give a second gift, that is make a second pledge, in addition to our week by week share of the $10000 operating cost.
A second pledge to help eliminate that $400,000 debt.
I have some good news for all of us, no matter how much or how little we disciples choose to give to God's work.
There is some research that is coming out that tells us that our brains are wired to receive pleasure when we give.
One of these studies was reported in The Economist, October 2006 (research from National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke in Bethesda, Maryland).
When we give to others, oxytocin (ok'si-to'sin) is released in our brain.
Oxytocin has been nicknamed the hormone of love.
It's the hormone that increases feelings of trust and cooperation.
It's released in the part of the brain that plays a role in the bonding behavior between a mother and child and in romantic love.
Our brains are wired to feel good when we give!
God created us to receive a jolt of love in our brain every time we do for others.
No wonder, Jesus who loved us more than life itself, tells us over and over and over to give to others.
We are wired to feel better when we give.
Today Jesus and I invite you to leave the multitudes of the baptized and join the disciples by making your relationship with Jesus more important than anything else in your life.
Our money stewardship ministry invites you to be a disciple by making a money pledge.
The bonus being from the God of all good and perfect gifts-that we're created to feel better when we do. (Putting the$40 in the offering plate) Oxytocin anyone?

AMEN

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