WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT

Mark 8:27-38

What will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? --Mark 8:36

One of the highlights of my study leave time this past summer was to attend a talk given by Huston Smith, the renowned theologian and scholar of world religions--you probably have seen him at some point on PBS, since he was often featured there, speaking on religious topics. And, I wanted to share some insights from that talk, as I begin this morning.

At one point, he told a story about a cab ride. A cab ride that T. S. Eliot took at some point to the London Airport. I'm not sure where the story came from--probably T. S. Eliot's memoirs I'd guess. Anyway, the cab driver, as cab drivers do, strikes up a conversation with T. S. Eliot on the way. And he tells him that earlier that very day, he had given a cab ride to Bertrand Russell. Now, some of you may know that T. S. Eliot and Bertrand Russell, though one-time friends, became rivals of a sort in their time. T. S. Eliot was a renowned poet and writer, and had a conversion to Christianity during his life, which very much influenced his poetry and his writing. Bertrand Russell was perhaps the best-known philosopher of his time, and an ardent atheist.

So the cabbie was telling T. S. Eliot about their conversation; they talked about philosophy, existentialism, literature and so on. "And I asked him what it was all about," said the cabbie.

"And what did he say?" asked Eliot.

"He couldn't tell me."

*****

Today I'm going to tell you what it's all about. That is what Huston Smith said. And that's what I'm going to do too, this morning. And since I think I have less authority than Huston Smith, I won't make such a claim for myself, but I stand alongside of Huston Smith here, who certainly has the credentials to give an authoritative answer....So, I'm going to tell you what it's all about this morning. How many sermons promise that?

What is it all about?

It's about human fulfillment, he said, at least on an individual level. We are here to achieve human fullness....Seems in a way an obvious answer. Wouldn't any of us want that? To live a life of richness and joy and peacefulness?

And how do we achieve that? you might ask. Now, not many sermons claim to give you what it's all about, but also tell you how to get there. I'm going to do that this morning....I think after this sermon, I can retire from my preaching career. Nothing left to do.

Here is Huston Smith's answer, which is my answer. It's a one-word answer. Now, you may want to write this down, at least at some point today or tomorrow. Write it on your day timer. Post it on your refrigerator. Ready?

Generosity.

The secret to human fulfillment can be achieved to the extent that we tilt the ballast of our lives toward others. To the extent that we live generously. That is the key that unlocks a life of fullness.

It also essentially happens to be what the gospel text for today is saying to us. I'm going to put it a little bit differently than our translation, but this is essentially what it says: that those who give away their life will encounter what life really means. Give away yourself and you will find yourself. "For what will it profit you to gain the whole world, and lose your soul?"

Because, see, we need to talk about how we usually live--how the ballast usually is tilted; we usually operate according to that opposite formula: thinking that self-preservation and self-satisfaction are the means toward the so-called Good Life.

It's a message I wish were posted on every billboard in America; it's a message I think America needs to hear right now. "What if we gained the whole world, but lost our soul?"

That notion has particularly been on my mind amidst all the observances in the wake of September 11 this year. So many reflections I happened to read focused on the fact that, yes, 3,000 people made, unwillingly that day, a sacrifice--the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. Immediately afterwards, we all felt that pull--to sacrifice, to give of ourselves, to do something to right that wrong. But what really have we sacrificed? We have gone back to our shopping, back to our normal way of living. Perhaps the only sacrifice we made was higher gas prices.

Sometimes I fear America has gained the whole world and is in danger of losing her soul. We can become so busy protecting what we have, that we can forget why we have it, the cherished ideals upon which our country was founded, "for which our father's died"--ideals rooted in the Christian sensibilities of many of our founders.

"What does it profit us to gain the whole world--"to live a nice, undisturbed middle class existence protecting our assets--"and lose our soul?"

For those who want to save their life--cling to it, try to protect it--will lose it; and those who lose their life--who give away themselves--will find life.

*****

But, here's the thing: Jesus essential message seems to be that the joyful life, the fulfilled life, is a life of generous self-donation.

In the words of Robert McAfee Brown, truly one of my mentors and my theological heroes: "We are here to share our bread." That is what we're here for--not to live satisfied lives. But to live generous lives. To know that abundance that comes from giving, to experience the prosperity that doesn't depend on how much we have, as much as on how generously we live.

Simple as that?

Now, you will say that all this is leading up to money. Yes, it's the time of year when the preacher asks us to give to the church.

I want to say that it's not about that. Living the generous life is not just about giving money. It's about how we live. I care more about your spiritual life than what you give to the church. Let me say that again--I care more about your spiritual life--that you experience this kind of abundant life, this generous life--than your giving to the church. I said last year, I think: don't give just because you have to. Out of guilt. Don't give because the church needs it (which it does by the way). Give as a way to live the generous life, to signify your faith in God's blessing for you, out of deep thanks. That's what I care about.

And, in light of that, giving of our money is not the only way we live this kind of life. There are many ways we can live in this abundance. Listening, for example...listening for example can be a way of giving. Recently, I watched again the movie Pulp Fiction, and there's a scene in there with John Travolta, and, Oh...what's her name...? Yes, with Uma Thurman. And one of the questions she asks him in the conversation is: when you're listening to someone, are you really listening, or are you thinking about what you're going to say? That's actually a good test, right in the moment, as to how generously you are living. Am I listening?

Service--using our gifts and time to serve others--is another way to live generously. The people going to Gulfport--they are going not just because people need their houses rebuilt (they do). But, having been there, there is nothing more joyful than to have helped someone; the knowledge that you've given of yourself, and it's been received with gratitude by the universe. It's one of the most joyful experiences one can have.

But, it's important to say that living a life of generosity is a lifelong practice. It takes time, and practice.

And as we approach that, I do need to say that there are indicators that give us a tangible, visible "report card" on how generously we're living. We can't say we're living the generous life, and not see it reflected in two very tangible things. You know there are indexes for the stock market, the S&P 500, the Dow Jones. We could construct the "generosity index" using these two items and how they stack up in one's life:

1) How you use your time

2) How you use your money

*****

It would be an interesting challenge for us, for the congregation, to do an audit sometime--to look at those, to track where they are going, your time and money.

As I was preparing for this sermon, I read a story about another pastor who was invited to speak as a guest preacher to a congregation, which was in the midst of battling about the issue of to role of Gay and Lesbian persons in the church. And so they said to him, "talk about anything but sex." So the guy said, OK, I'm going to do an exercise in which you'll need to bring your checkbooks to church, so we can look at where your money is going, in light of the Gospel's demands. And the exercise was met with such resistance, they finally said, "OK, why don't you go ahead and talk about sex then."

So it is about money. After these sermons, I get these mixed reviews. "I love it when the preacher talks about money." And "I hate it when the preacher talks about money."

Money--we've got to be able to talk about it as a congregation.

The other day in a committee meeting, we were talking about how private we are about money, and the fact that only 2 people in church know what people give--I don't know what you give. And there are some really good reasons for that. But on the other hand--I know more about the intimate aspects of people I counsel with, their sexual lives, intimate secrets, etc.--than about what they give to the church. I know zip about that. It's more taboo indeed than sex. We need to be able to challenge each other in our giving--not because the church needs it. It does indeed--most have no idea how expensive it is to run a church. Not because of that. But because we want to encourage one another to live this kind of life--a fulfilled life of self-donation. A life of generosity.

One tangible indicator of our generosity is this--our giving to the church. The health of this organism. We need to say that. If our congregation is struggling to meet the bills, something is wrong. Your giving to this church is an indicator of whether you're living generously. If you're making over $90,000 and giving $50 a week--your intent may not match with the reality. There's something wrong with that picture.

*****

There will be times in community life together when we have to talk to one another about our money--not bashfully, but joyfully.

This year--we have a very distinct goal for our stewardship. Our stewardship committee has called it our "10X10" goal. We want to increase the number of people pledging--making a promise to give--by 10%. And, we want to increase our total giving by 10%. It's a challenging goal, and yet--considering that there's a lot more potential giving out there--we think it's do-able.

*****

We begin to meet that challenge this morning, then, first with our values and our vision. We begin with the question, "What is God imagining through us?" The Stewardship Committee is using the story of Noah to focus on this season: the fact that Noah heard the call from God, and it caused him to do something crazy: to build an ark before there was a cloud in the sky. Heeding God's call for us can give us the strength and power to do BIG things. And so in a moment, you'll be asked to take the piece of paper in your bulletin, and write down, what BIG things might God be dreaming through this congregation, calling us to, in the way we are using our resources?

*****

To live a fulfilled life. To live a life of generous self-donation. Those who lose their life for my sake and for the sake of the gospel will find LIFE--abundant, flowing over LIFE. May it be so. Amen.

 

September 17, 2006