11/12/67

Scripture: Matthew 6: 5-15 (Authorized or King James version).

Text: Matthew 6: 10b ... “Thy will be done in earth” --

One of the basic tenets of our Christian faith in God is that we are stewards of everything that is given to us. Life itself is a gift of the Creator and every one of us is the recipient of this grace. As history goes, we possess life for only a brief span of time, and then we have its mortal manifestation no more. We are therefore accountable to the Creator for the way we use it.

Time is given to us in measurable units of 24 hours in each night-and-day cycle; 7 days a week; 52 weeks in a year. We can not make it nor change it; we can only use it. And we are accountable for its use.

Abilities are given to us in varying measure. These forms of ability are ours to use and spend for a life time. We are accountable to the Giver for their use.

The money which we accumulate, and spend, is only to be administered by us during a life time. We do not take with us any money, materials, objects or things when we have finished our mortal existence. We are wise to regard the things of which we become, for a time, possessed, as temporarily entrusted to us by God. As such, it is to be administered with all of the wise purpose and understanding we can muster.

Part of our possessions are to be used for maintaining ourselves and our families in fitness to live and serve. Part are to be used for service beyond self, dedicated to the purposes of God, which become evident to us beyond our own small circle of needs and desires and purposes. What amount of our life, our time, our abilities, our money we shall allocate to self and what portion to service beyond self, is for us to determine. But the sense of Christian stewardship offers the opportunity, and imposes the obligation, to make it a worthy proportion of what we have.

Those who appear to be most happily conscious of their Christian stewardship, are the people who definitely plan to give systematically of their talents and time and money.

Some time ago, I sat briefly in a meeting of lay people who came from several church affiliations. One of those people, quite spontaneously, spoke of an acquaintance of his in another city who systematically tithes 20% of his time, and 20% of all moneys received by him, for what he considered to be Christian causes. This “tither” was a business man, supervising the insurance work of his company over a wide area. That was his vocation, and he pursued it energetically, successfully, profitably. But, in the midst of his “busy-ness” with it, he kept approximately 20% of his time reserved for, and spent in, Christian service of several kinds. He was active in the life of his own church at home. He had an entertainment hobby which was in some demand. When he was paid for performances, he asked donors to make the check to a pet project of his. And his “pet projects” were no idle amusements! For he literally provided the food for a total of something like fifteen mouths -- most of them not of his own family. He supplied the support for, not one, but several missionaries of his denomination and acquaintance, who serve with their lives, full time, while he supplies the means for their serving.

Well, I was fascinated by the simple telling of that man’s stewardship! And I recalled the testimony of a theological seminary professor whose preaching and teaching I admired very much. Dean Charles R. Brown had said that, during World War I, he and his wife began the practice of giving 20% of their income. They found it so satisfying that they never reduced that proportion during the rest of their lives. The dean had no children, had a respectable salary, and some royalties from books which did rather well. But even so, his dedication to this tithe was commendable.

There are some people who are blessed by, entrusted with, and responsible for, so much of the worlds goods that they want to give more than 20% of their income to religious, educational and other philanthropic enterprises --- and do so gladly!.

Now, before you and I think of that and then shrug it off as just “too steep” for our situation and purse, let us consider earnestly, what kind of proportion we, each of us, considers fair and workable for our giving! What do we consider a standard of giving that we can honestly and joyfully lay before God in prayer and dedication as a worthy proportion of the time, talent and money with which we are entrusted?

I submit to you the thoughtful proposition that there is not too much joy, or comfort, or inner satisfaction, in just giving what we think somebody else expects us to contribute to church and to education and community enterprises, or what will just “get us by” as names on a contributor list. It may sound substantial to write a check for $20, $35, 50 or $100 to one’s church. But if one’s income is $150 per week, more or less, is a gift to God’s service through his church of a dollar per week, so much of a gift? There’s a lot more fun in giving more!

There are 168 hours in a week. Probably 112 of them are needed for vocational effort and for rest. Of the remaining 56, is one hour a week on Sunday morning at church, even if spent there regularly, all that a good steward need spend at Christian enterprise? In the face of the great need for Christian teaching, for serving in Christian study and organization and service on boards, committees, youth leadership, music, promotion of knowledge, helpful fellowship --- does not our own Christian satisfaction demand a more adequate proportion of our time in Christian service through our church?

These considerations are part of the whole area of stewardship which is part of our Christian faith.

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Once a year, in this church, we “talk money.” All year long we live money. Some of the organizations are busy with modest efforts to “raise money,” as we say. Most of us contribute weekly offerings to the church. And this is not just a “collection.” It is the contribution of our substance in what is, or should be, dedicated giving. As such it is a definite part of worship. And it is most meaningful if it represents, in our thinking and attitude, a worthy proportion of our income and possessions as our freely-offered gift to the service of God.

Once a year, on Stewardship Sunday, we do “talk money.” Each year, before November, a committee considers the items to be proposed by the various departments of the church as a working budget for the fair operation of this church in the following year. This year’s proposed, or “tentative” budget, was reviewed by the Trustees and then mailed to the people on the parish mailing list (and we hope for no errors or omissions in the mailing!) together with a covering letter and explanatory literature.

And following this second Sunday in November, we are asked to signify what will be our contribution to the church in the following year. In some cases, it will be a lump sum, given by check. In most cases, we are sure that it is best to make a pledge of weekly giving, using offering envelopes and bringing our gifts to the church as part of our worship.

Now of course, the ability (as well as the willingness) to give, varies greatly in a free congregation such as ours. Some are minded, and able, to give in figures that appear really substantial and generous. Some have a hard time to give more than what might appear to be a token gift. Young members who have only a student’s allowance, plus an occasional earning for a few hours work, will not contribute more that a small fraction of what a regular wage or salary earner wishes to give. But each student member can give his own self-determined proportion, and I am sure will take real personal satisfaction in doing so.

Those who have finished school and are earning a regular income will want to think earnestly on what proportion of their income they would like to give. Those who have long been established will want to re-evaluate their capacity and their desire to give as stewards of their substance. Even those on relief may find ways to give. Some years ago I knew a woman of meager ability and more meager livelihood who actually had no income except relief payments. But once in a while some gift to her would open the chance to contribute $5 to her church. She gave it joyfully. This might happen a couple of times a year. If she had been able to count on it, she could have pledged regularly out of her near-destitution to her church. Most of us in this room are far from that extremity, and will think in terms of our gratitude for more abundant living.

If, as a congregation, we were to average 5% of our income given to our church, our budget would be so far oversubscribed that we could expand our work and influence in many directions. Other churches right here in our own community are doing it, with honor to God and blessing to themselves. As you study the proposed budget of this church for the coming year, I suggest you look at it not in terms of any burden of obligations so much as in terms of the opportunity to serve significantly.

Adverse critics of the Christian churches have asserted that the church is too often irrelevant to the needs of people in today’s world. We are the people who can continue trying to make this church relevant. If we begin with our own household, we remind ourselves that we now have a beautiful, commodious, and well-arranged home. Many new church buildings are hardly finished before they are found to be too small or lacking in some important provision. This church has a home that is remarkably sufficient to its needs of the present and immediate future. And we want to keep it that way. Like any of the good houses in which we live, we want to maintain it in good repair. We want to continue building a good program in parish ministry, Christian education, youth activity, and community concern. And we want to reach out in effective concern for others who can be touched and mutually advanced by our Christian World Mission.

Many of us come to the weekly services of worship for comfort and renewal. And this is a proper function of our church life. The tempo of living speeds up constantly. Each week is filled with activity, with heavy demands, with some anxiety. And we seek renewal as we come to the church, so that we may face another week refreshed in health and vision. But there is a lot more to do than just attend the Sunday morning service. We members of this United Church of Christ want not only to sit down and be comforted; we want to stand up and be counted! The quiet moments of Sunday morning worship are the beginning of our service in the Lord’s spirit for the rest of the week! We aim to be a going concern 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

By our study of special needs that can be met by Christian concern, and by our giving through our Christian World Mission, we are helping out in India with a roadside leprosy clinic; we encourage a Seattle storefront ministry for those wretched ones who want to break out of drug addiction; we give practical help to Viet Nam refugees; we encourage an experiment in Kansas City MO where United Church of Christ forces, Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Presbyterians build a church to serve a community together; we support our representatives who struggle to find ways of bringing people of Watts, Los Angeles, into constructive growth; we support one of our own ministers in Milwaukee (one of the few, as yet, ministries to metropolitan areas) who works quietly but positively to help that city through its present tensions; we help with the training of ministers for parish work and for specialized service; we help schools in distant nations in the education of forward-looking leaders; we contribute toward getting mission aided hospitals on their feet; we encourage programs like Chicago’s West Side Organization working in a ghetto with 40% unemployment, finding jobs for 1200 men and women, breaking up destructive elements in 11 teenage gangs, persuading 63 dropout boys to go back to school.

We back up doctors and nurses who see more and more patients every day in underdeveloped countries; we help to provide them with something better than their all-too-often makeshift equipment. We help with the means of keeping our parish ministers abreast of the times through varying forms of in-service training.

Around the clock, we promote research and study of problems that are wholly new and sometimes frightening as the advance of science and technology requires ethical decision. We help those of many nations who try to develop the leadership that can put their countries in a responsible place in the community of nations.

A young Indian, Sinda Hulbe, who recently earned his graduate degree from the University of Texas and now teaches at Ahmednazer College, has developed a program for training rural workers to upgrade the standard of living in thousands of Indian villages. The United Church of Christ hopes to help in the training of 33 more people like Sinda Hulbe.

Around the clock, our “outreach” gifts help the emotionally disturbed children at the Neillsville Winnebago Children’s home to get into the normal stream of life. We are proud of this history of our church here in Wisconsin Rapids. We are proud of the history of the United Church of Christ and its antecedents.

But it is the future that counts. And much of the future calls for venture and risk. Truman Douglas has pointed out what we all know; that the test of the church is not survival or success, but faithfulness. And that faithfulness may lead us into experimentation with the hope of success and the risk of failure. It may mean identifying ourselves with despised and forgotten people; with the causes that breed revolution against the outworn. It may mean fast moves in dealing with issues of justice and human dignity. But the wonderful thing about the church is that so many of its members have been willing to take the risk and are still ready to do so. Both the Board for World Ministries and the Board for Homeland Ministries of our church are seeking to be “go-structures” -- going where the action is even though it is not always known what the task may be when it arrives.

Have you heard this story of the soldier in the Vietnam war? His closest friend was sent out on patrol duty and failed to return. The soldier implored his captain for permission to go out into the combat area and find his friend. The captain looked at the inferno of crossfire and mortar shells and said: “It’s hopeless. Your friend could not survive ten minutes in that hell. You would be too late.” The soldier continued his entreaties and at length the captain gave his permission to go. Two hours later the soldier returned, bearing on his shoulders the lifeless body of his friend. The captain said, “I told you it would be useless. I told you it would be too late.” “But I wasn’t,” said the soldier, “I got there in time to hear him say, ‘Jim, I knew you’d come!’”

Well, the church is still in the business of getting there, sometimes pretty late, sometimes quite early, sometimes where the situation is pretty complex. And sometimes it hears the accolade of those who are sorely pressed in the battle of life, saying simply, “I knew you’d come.” We of this church want to be a part of that 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week, 12-months-of-the-year mission at home and over this state and nation, and all over the world.

When a volunteer visitor calls at our home, perhaps by appointment, let us be ready to hear the church’s story. Let us be prepared to give sharply increased financial support. Let’s not only underwrite -- let’s oversubscribe this budget! Let’s give until it is fun to be a participating supporter!

Each week, we pray together the words and spirit of our Lord when we say “Thy Will be done on earth.” God’s will be done by whom? Me? Yes -- me! God’s will gets done through the strong, supporting dedication of you and you and you and me. So be it.

[Let us pray: “Thy will be done on earth.” Amen.]

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Delivered in Wisconsin Rapids, November 12, 1967.

[The first section of this sermon was first delivered in Wisconsin Rapids November 9, 1958.]