Sermon for the First Sunday in Lent
Feburary 25, 2007
Deuteronomy 26:1-11
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16
Romans 10:8b-13
Luke 4:1-13
Year C
I.N.I. (In the name of Jesus)
"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:12-13)
In Max Lucado's children's story that is really a parable, titled You are Special, the world is populated by wooden people called Wemmicks. They were all carved by a woodworker named Eli. In the story it reads
Each Wemmick was different.
Some had big noses, others had large eyes.
Some were tall and others were short.
Some wore hats, others wore coats.
But all were made by the same carver and all lived in the village
And all day, every day,
the Wemmicks did the same thing;
they gave each other stickers.
Each Wemmick had a box of golden star stickers
and a box of gray dot stickers.
Up and down the streets all over the city,
people spent their days sticking stars
or dots on one another.
The pretty ones,
those with smooth wood and fine paint,
always got stars.
But if the wood was rough or the paint chipped,
the Wemmicks gave dots.
Lent is as good as any time to deal with our dots, or better to deal with our human tendency to judge others the same way that most of the rest of society does.
In his forty-day struggle, Jesus turned the demonic on its head by rejecting the very foundation of temptation.
After his baptism in Luke chapter 3, where he was declared God's beloved Son, and after an impressive genealogy that linked that sonship to the first human Adam, in Luke chapter 4 the Spirit (the Spirit!) threw him into the wilderness, a place devoid of scruples and full of the ways or ruin.
Like the stars rewarding the beautiful and talented Wemmicks, the tempter tantalized Jesus with many of the values and messages we ourselves are offered: a life of ease and immediate gratification, a quest for power and wealth, living as if we are in control of our destiny.
As unable as his (and our) ancestors Adam and Eve were to resist the allure of worldly pleasure, Jesus silenced the offering of earthly gain and bought back God's children through suffering and the cross.
This is our freedom, and the basis for our Lenten pilgrimage. Knowing Jesus and his cross, confessing Christ as Lord or our lives, living by grace is part and parcel of what we practice.
Timothy Wengert, professor at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, summarized the heart of Lutheran teaching that we are made right with God through our faith in Christ's saving act as setting us free from the bondage to sin and death as a free gift. We don't have to work at it. We don't have to spend our time giving or receiving stars or dots. They don't run our lives, God is in charge. Our lives are freed in Christ. Professor Wengert says that the Christian walk responds to the question, "so, what are you going to do with all your free time?"
Everything we have is from God. Our lives, our world, our home, our work, our families, our money. We share with others what God has given us. We offer to God a portion of what we have. The Old Testament example is known as "first fruits." In the first reading, living in Israel is recognized as a gift. The exodus from slavery in Egypt is repeatedly told as a freedom story. The patriarch Jacob, who stole his brother's birthright and wheedled his father Esau's blessing under his dim vision was renamed Israel after the wrestling match with God. From that namesake for Israel to the nation under oppression, to the promised land, flowing with milk and honey, the people are to remember that history and to offer to God the first of the their harvest.
This passage is one that Christians use to frame their own monetary offerings as a proportion of what they earn. The tithe, or ten percent of earning is a consistent biblical proportion and what my family uses to guide our regular worship offering. Each time I set out to pay our families' bills, after payday which is every two weeks, I sort through and stack the paper bills. And as I do this I take out two offering envelopes from the box and put them on top of the pile. The first two checks I write payable to Christ the King for eighty-five dollars each as an indication that the first portion, not what's leftover after bills, is dedicated to God who gives me this income through my own gifts for ministry. This has been a blessing to me and to Kari since coming to Christ the King.
We have had to learn to budget our spending for other things according to this first fruit giving. When Kari was in seminary and I was in graduate school, this was not easy. We did not tithe in those early years of our marriage. When we bought our first home in Vermont, it did not get easier. We had many home maintenance items to deal with, babies to tend and feed, and our income was easily eaten by expenses. I don't think we managed our household finances very well, and have learned quite a bit through the advice of a financial planner.
Since coming to Christ the King, we have been blessed with God's continuing care here in Nashua and with your company in this journey of faith and life. It is our joy to be immersed in a community that regularly is engaged in giving of itself in time and money to further the kingdom and to act on our gift of freedom in Christ.
Most of the world is assessed on how much they earn. A Christ-like assessment is how we give, not merely money, but our help, our care for those in need, and our love for one another.
On this First Sunday in Lent, I invite you to consider one of the practices of this penitential season: giving. Throughout these forty days we will learn about and support the work of Heifer Project International. This organization is all about economic development and revitalization. If one family gets a flock of chickens, it now has eggs and meat not only to eat but to share. Each recipient promises to give away the first fruits it receives, giving away the first chicks that are hatched from its chickens.
We will go to the Heifer Project farm in Rutland, Massachusetts on March 24 for a pancake breakfast, and during Spring Break return to share a peasant meal. Our Sunday School children with adults will learn more about the work of Heifer Project throughout Lent, led by our own Heifer cheerleader Steve Hansen. In our weekday offerings during soup supper and prayer, and additional offerings throughout Lent are being designated for Heifer Project.
Let us in joy and humility observe a Holy Lent, forming ourselves after Jesus, praying for those who are preparing for new life in baptism and first communion, and telling stories to one another about our freedom, even as St. Paul preached: "For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. For, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."
I.N.I.
The Rev. Timothy J. Keyl, Pastor
Christ the King Lutheran Church
| CtK Home
| Back to Pastor's Page
|
Christ the King Lutheran Church, 3 Lutheran Drive, Nashua, NH 03063 (603) 882-6142
If you have problems with this web page contact:
webmaster@ctknashua.org