Just Say Yes! to the Vision

Luke 8:1-3

Rev. Monte Marshall

Well, guess what, folks?  It’s time to talk about giving.  In fact, here at Travis Park United Methodist Church, we usually spend four consecutive Sundays beginning in the month of October on this very topic.  And since we’re well into the month of October, it’s time to get started.  And the emphasis begins today.

Now in case you’re wondering, there’s a practical reason for this annual focus and its timing.  In the fall of each year our church’s finance committee begins to work on developing a budget to support our mission and ministry in the coming year.  It’s extremely helpful in this process to have an idea of how much our congregation plans to give in the new year so we ask for commitments to be made in advance as estimates of giving.  In fact, commitment cards have been mailed to our congregation and are available in the pew racks this morning.  These cards may be submitted at any time, but our hope is to have the vast majority of them collected by the end of the day on Sunday, November 8.  I can assure you that each and every card will be gratefully received no matter how large the gift, or how small.  Interpretative information has also been provided to help us understand how the funds that we contribute are used to support the work of unconditional love and justice at Travis Park United Methodist Church. 

On a deeper level, we devote this extended period of time every year to a focus on giving to create the space for prayer and discernment, so that our financial commitments are as responsive as possible to the promptings of God’s Spirit in our lives.  

And speaking of the Spirit, it’s in the practice of spiritual discernment, that we encounter a deeper motivation for our giving than the practical concerns of funding the mission and ministry of our church in the new year.  For you see, ultimately, giving has to do with God because God is a giver—and a generous giver.  Indeed, everything in this good creation is a gift from God. 

And the truth is that you and I have been created to give.  We’ve been created in the image of God, the giver.  The Spirit of God that dwells within us enables our giving.  We give in response to this Spirit.  Giving, therefore, is an integral and essential component of God’s vision of life for us.   

In this morning’s text, Luke refers to this vision as “the Good News of God’s reign.” Other translations of the text refer to “the good news of the kingdom of God.”  The story says that Jesus proclaimed this vision.  In fact, Marcus Borg tells us that “The phrase the ‘Kingdom of God’ is perhaps the best shorthand summary of the message and passion of Jesus.”  He then quotes another New Testament scholar on the subject:  “‘Ask any hundred New Testament scholars around the world, Protestant, Catholic or non-Christian, what the central message of Jesus of Nazareth was, and the vast majority of them—perhaps every single expert—would agree that this message centered in the Kingdom of God.’”[1]  This also places the vision of the reign of God at the heart of what it means to follow Jesus.

Now it’s important to understand that the reign of God is an expansive and comprehensive vision of life that encompasses love, justice, peace, mercy, compassion, faith, hope, and so much more.  And yes, giving is a prominent theme and an essential element of the vision.  This is reflected in the fact that the gospels portray Jesus talking more about money and possessions than any other topic except the reign of God.[2] 

Even in the three short verses of this morning’s text, Luke takes note of the generosity of women, three of whom are specifically named, whose financial giving supported the missionary work of Jesus and his twelve apostles.  According to one commentator, women giving of their means to support men in this manner “would have been shocking in the first century middle east.”[3]

And according to Luke, this scandalous giving by the women in this story was connected to their experience of God’s reign.  They all had been “healed of evil spirits and sicknesses” by Jesus.  In other words, God’s vision of life—which includes healing and wholeness along with giving—was being realized in them.  So these women said “yes” to God’s reign in their lives, and the giving followed. 

Now on a personal note, I know something of what it is to say “yes” to the vision that is “the Good News of God’s reign”—at least up to a point.   The fact that I’m here doing what I’m doing indicates that I’ve said “yes” in some significant ways to God’s vision of life.  And I suspect that the same could be said for each one of you. 

But in my case, when that vision appears too costly, or it seems to impinge too much upon my own self-will, or my need to be in control, then I get afraid and I become resistant.  It’s then that I say to God:  “No!  I won’t do this.  I won’t follow Jesus this far.  I won’t accept your reign in my life, at least in this particular area.”  When this happens, all of my “yes’s” become hemmed in by my “no’s” and I get stuck in the status quo and I wonder why I seem to have stopped growing as a follower of Jesus.   

But while I’m stuck and my growth is stunted, I know the way forward.  It involves turning my “no’s” into “yes’s.” 

A woman reminded me of this fact a long time ago.  As some of you know, over the last 31 years, I have been on the leadership teams for numerous Walk to Emmaus retreats.  The Walk to Emmaus is a 72-hour, short course in Christianity built around ten talks given by lay people on various topics related to the Christian life, plus five talks given by clergy on grace. 

One of grace talks is called “Obstacles to Grace.”  Frankly, it’s because I’m an expert in this area that I’ve given this talk five or six times through the years and at the heart of my presentation is a recounting of some of the ways in which I’ve said “no” to God.  I admit, for example, that when it comes to giving, I’ve said “no” to living what I consider to be a lifestyle of simplicity and radically reduced consumption so that more of the resources that have been entrusted to me are freed up to give away to the poor as a matter of redistributive justice.  I also tell the story of how I said “no” to participating in an intentional Christian community that holds its goods in common and gives freely and generously to the poor in the manner of the post-Pentecost, Spirit-filled church in Jerusalem that Luke describes in Acts 2 and 4.  So these are just two examples from a longer list of no’s that I included in my talk.

Now before the talks are actually presented on a Walk to Emmaus, they are previewed before the rest of the leadership team and critiqued in writing so that improvements can be made.  The feedback that I most often received on my Obstacles to Grace talk went something like this:  “Monte, you’re being too hard on yourself.  Don’t take this stuff so seriously!” 

But there was one critique sheet that I’ll never forget.  And it’s unique among all ones that I have received.  An African-American woman—whose name I don’t remember—wrote three words on her critique sheet:  “Just say ‘yes!’”  That was it:  “Just say ‘yes!’”    And she was right:  “Just say ‘yes!’”

So I’m working on it, still.  But in the meantime, I realize how impossible it is to lead others to a place I myself am not willing to go.  So I’m before you Sunday after Sunday, preaching faith until I have it in sufficient strength to turn my “no’s” into resounding “yes’s” that embrace all of God’s vision, and not just the parts of it that are easy or that I like. 

But come to think of it, you don’t have to wait for me. So why not follow Jesus?  Why not let the Spirit lead?  Why not “Just say yes to the vision?”

Now I obviously have personal issues to deal with in saying “yes” to the vision, but I’m encouraged nonetheless!  I’m encouraged by all the ways in which this congregation is saying yes to the vision that is “the Good News of God’s reign:  Yes, to unconditional love and justice.  Yes, to the poor and the homeless.  Yes, to women in recovery.  Yes, to LGBTQ persons.  Yes, to worship.  Yes, to learning.  Yes, to transformation.  And on and on it goes!

And I thank God for all of the ways in which each one of you is saying “yes” to the vision.  It’s reflected in your giving. 

Are there still “no’s” to turn to “yes’s”?  Sure there are.  All of us have room to grow.  But we’re on this journey together.  We can learn from one another.  And we all have stories to tell of joyful generosity. 

So over these next Sundays, we’ll be hearing from some of you.  This morning, Steve and Laura Mijangos Rapp are here to share their witness.  WITNESS

So here’s the deal:  On this, the first Sunday of this year’s emphasis on giving, I’m encouraging us to see more than a church budget.  I’m inviting us to see the bigger picture—God’s vision of life for us that is “the Good News of the reign of God.”  And I’m inviting us to “just say to “yes” to the vision in all of its fullness—and to give ourselves to it without reservation.  When this happens—when our no’s turn into yes’s—I’m confident that the giving will follow in increasing abundance through many acts of joyful generosity that will not only sustain our church, but make a difference in the world.  So may God’s will be done.  Amen.