Sermon # 6: Upside Living in a Downsized Economy
All Saints Sunday: Acts 2:41-47
Delivered on: November 1, 2009

"So those people who were in Jerusalem on Pentecost and accepted Simon Peter's message about Jesus Christ were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added to the apostles' number and became followers of Jesus Christ.

"All of these followers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day those first believers continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord increased to their number daily those who were being saved."

Acts 2:41-47 (author's paraphrase)

All Saints Sunday is a day to celebrate the saints. The saints who were transformed by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. The saints through whose blood the Church was created. The saints who 171 years ago created a small congregation that today has become Central United Methodist Church. The saints from this congregation who have died in the past twelve months. And the saints among us this day. We are surrounded, in this sanctuary, by saints both visible and invisible.
In the midst of this Great Recession, sometimes we focus too much on the bad people - Bernie Madoff, investment bankers, politicians, and others -- who failed to do the right things. We can easily name the scoundrels who destroyed the finances and lives of people around the world. And we can become angry and belligerent at their actions.

Instead, as we look for upsized living in a downsized economy, let us focus on the saints. These are the people past and present who did the right things. The saints are those folk who trusted God and practiced basic habits of the Christian life: simplicity, service, and generosity. If we can follow in the footsteps of the saints, we can move from fear to trust, from being downsized to being upsized.

We can be encouraged by the saints who established the first congregation in Jerusalem. On the forty-ninth day after Jesus' resurrection, the disciples were absolutely lost. They had experienced Jesus' resurrection. Yet, when Jesus' ascended into heaven, the disciples were devastated. Their world had collapsed. The master was gone. The students were left by themselves. More fearful than any of us during this economic crisis, the followers hid out in a closed room. What would they do? Would they drift away back to their old lives? Would they forget what they had been taught? Was the dream of a new reign of God over?

On the fiftieth day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus' followers. God created the Church full of saints. When we hear the word Church, we often think of a building or organizational structure. When we think of our congregation, we may believe that these beautiful facilities are Central United Methodist Church. We may think that our staff, or our budget, or our endowments, or our committees are the heart of the church. Not true.

In those first days after Pentecost, the Church was a living organism full of saints without facilities, without organizational guidelines, without staff, without policies and procedures, without budget, and without any financial reserves Those first followers simply focused on baptizing new Christians, studying together the Scriptures, fellowshipping with one another, sharing Holy Communion, praying together, and producing miracles.

The Church at its best, from the beleaguered disciples in Jerusalem, to the martyrs throughout the Roman Empire, to the founders of this congregation, always exhibited those same characteristics. To come out of this Great Recession, we should follow the example of those saints.

This morning, let us simply remember just one of saintly qualities: their willingness to share their lives with one another. Those Pentecostal saints understood that their gifts and talents and possessions were held in sacred trust. Those saints understood that God expected them to use their property and possessions for the common good.

As the Bible said, "All the believers were together and had everything in common They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need" (Acts 2:44-45). When persons among them were suffering hardships, their response was straightforward generosity. The early saints were no longer solitary individuals, but a transformed community willing to share.

In later years, Christian acts of sharing became even more organized. Their generosity became the most noticeable characteristic of those early saints. Christians throughout the Roman world created storehouses of donated money and food to care for people who were sick or poor. By the year 250, the Christians in Rome, still a small community of probably only a few hundred folk, supported 1500 needy persons. Sharing their possessions was not a requirement for being a saint but a free expression of their love and concern.

Based on the example of those saints, the saints at Central continue sharing. This year, our Missions Allocations Team will distribute about $175,000 to people beyond ourselves. Instead of giving $175,000 to our staff or our facilities, we will give money to missionaries in Bolivia, older adults in Concord, and hungry people around the world. Lucy Shinn, who raised $11,000 at the CROP Walk, would have been quite at home in that Pentecost congregation.

Yet, such practices of sharing are difficult. We often develop unhealthy attachments to our possessions. The word "attachment" means "staked" or "nailed to." This definition suggests that sometimes what makes us feel secure may also tie us down. If we stay at home glued to the Home Shopping Network, or spend every weekend searching for bargains at the mall, or our hearts race when our investment reports arrive in the mail, we remain attached to our possessions rather than the love of God and others. Our possessions may distract us from the life God created us to live. Yet, if we see possessions as blessings to be received with gratitude and shared in joy, we will enjoy our things more than ever. The question is not about what we own, but about what owns us.

In the past two months, I have reminded us of saints who followed in those footsteps: my grandmother and all those people who grew up in the Great Depression who understood godly priorities, children and their love of the immediate moment, the Shakers and their commitment to simplicity, Jeff Hampton caring for his family, and many others who put first things first and keep God first in their lives.

How are we to be saints and share? Our children share when they come to worship and place a gift in the small church box. We share when we fill a plastic box with toys for children. We share when we take food to a neighbor's house. We share when we give up our vacation for a mission trip. We share when we put food in shopping carts. All of these efforts, and many other acts of sharing, are real experiences in generosity. And when we are generous, we enter a new, saintly reality.

This saintly spirit of sharing is expressed in one of my favorite stories, "Stone Soup." This story truly fits these days of the Great Recession.

Once upon a time, a great famine swept all across the land. The people became so frightened about their future that they hoarded their possessions. They even hid their food from persons who used to be their dearest friends.

One day a stranger wandered into the village. The stranger asked if he could stay. The villagers replied, "Oh no! Don't stay here. There is not a bite to eat in the area. You better keep moving on."

The stranger replied, "That's OK. I have everything I need. In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you." The stranger pulled out an iron cauldron, filled it with water, and built a fire under the cauldron. Then, with great ceremony, the stranger drew an ordinary-looking stone from a burlap bag and dropped the stone into the water.

Hearing the rumor of food, the villagers came out to watch. The stranger said loudly to himself, "Ah, I do like a tasty stone soup. Of course, stone soup with cabbage -- that's hard to beat."

Soon a villager approached hesitantly, holding a cabbage she had retrieved from a hiding place. The stranger added her cabbage to the pot.

The stranger cried, "Wonderful! You know, I once had stone soup with cabbage and a bit of salt beef as well. That soup was fit for a king." The village butcher managed to find some salt beef. And so it went. People brought out potatoes, onions, carrots, and mushrooms until everyone had shared.

And then everyone had received the gift of wonderful soup from the entire community. As the stranger left town the villagers begged him to leave the magic stone behind. The stranger then explained that all the magic they needed was their openness to give and to receive.

Today, all of us have an opportunity to share just like those saintly, pentecostal Christians. In previous years, we have encouraged everyone at the same time to turn in their cards. I thought about placing an iron cauldron up front with a fire and a stone. You could just drop your card in that pot. But soggy pledge cards are hard to read.

This year, I simply have encouraged you to turn in your cards when you can. Instead of cabbage, salt beef, and vegetables, I invite you saints to share your talents and financial resources. Some of you will offer talents of praying, teaching, building, cooking, administering, and singing to the table. Some of you will share large financial commitments, and others can offer just a few dollars.

This stone soup, which we call Central United Methodist church, requires every talent and every dollar offered to make it a rich blessing and glorious feast. Without your gift, this soup will not be as tasty, or filling, or complete.

On one level, I fear that 2010 may be more difficult for this congregation than has been 2009. People may be too fearful to commit their lives, their time, and their resources to continue this congregation's ministries. Yet, when I remember the saints who went before us and who are here today, I truly trust that we will do all that God expects of us.

Today, all of us are invited to the feast. Christ has set the table. Jesus Christ will feed us all we need. Trusting in God's love, those first saints at Pentecost received God's blessings and then shared what they had. Saints throughout the ages have also trusted in God and have already dropped in their contributions. Even if you cannot see them, all those saints are seated among us.

Come, join the feast, and share.