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"Transformation"

photo of Greg preachingSermon by Dr. Greg Knox Jones
on Luke 19:1-10
given October 21, 2007

A well-known commentator says that today’s dominant philosophy in America can be summed up in three simple words: “Me want more.”  Regardless of how much we have, most of us feel that it is not quite enough.  We seem to possess an insatiable desire for the newest and the latest.1


Yet, at the same time, there is increasing interest in spiritual matters.  More and more say that something is missing in their lives, and they want to connect with God.  Is there a correlation between our constant striving for material possessions and our feeling of emptiness within?  Isn’t there a connection between our yearning for wealth and our longing for a rich, meaningful life? 

Old Testament scholar and prophet of our times, Walter Brueggemann, writes: “Money is becoming a kind of narcotic for us.  We hardly notice our own prosperity or the poverty of so many others.  The great contradiction is that we have more and more money, but less and less generosity.”  He goes on to point out that “although many of us are well intentioned, we have invested our lives in consumerism.  We have a love affair with ‘more’ – and we will never have enough.  Consumerism is not simply a marketing strategy.  It has become a demonic spiritual force among us and the question we must face is whether the gospel has the power to help us withstand it.”2


David Myers has written The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty.  In describing the paradox of our situation he writes: “We have bigger houses but broken homes, higher income but lower morale, more mental health professionals but less well-being.  We excel at making a living but often fail at making a life.” A colleague adds: “In the past century, our lifespan has nearly doubled, yet we are lonely in our old age.  Infant mortality is down, but teen suicide has tripled.  Since 1950, we have experienced an unbelievable burst in prosperity, yet during that same period, the rate of depression has increased tenfold...Anxiety controls our choices, fear fills the shadows and greed sneaks in around the edges.  We think more about what our neighbors have than about what God has given us. We spend more time planning our own entertainment than we do asking God for direction. Like addicts, we assure everyone around us that there is nothing wrong, while we keep piling up the very stuff that is smothering us.”3


We live in a nation of such abundance, that we tend to focus on what we do not have, rather than on all that we do have.  Our spiritual lives will always be lacking if we do not loosen the grip that wealth and possessions have on us.  We will forever thirst in our souls, if we do not put money in its proper place.  And by that, I mean moving it out of first place.  The good news of the gospel is that there is a very simple method for insuring that God, and not wealth, is the primary focus of our lives.  Christ teaches us to give a portion of our money to the church, because this is how we free ourselves from its deadly grip.

There are two basic reasons we give a portion of our wealth to the church.  One is because, without financial support, the church ceases to exist.  Without funds to pay salaries, utilities, upkeep on the building, church school curriculum and the support of mission, the whole enterprise implodes.  In the same way that it takes money to maintain a home or a business, it takes money to maintain a church.  Do you have any idea what it costs to heat this building in cool weather and cool it during the summer?  Our utility bill is $71,000.  And that money must come from us.  The government does not provide us with a single penny.  What about our endowment fund?  Westminster is a wealthy church with a large endowment fund, right?  Our endowment fund is substantial and without it, we would be forced to make deep, painful cuts - so deep, that Westminster would become a shadow of the church we are today.  However, our endowment fund, as large as it is, provides only 23 percent of the income we need.  75 percent of our budget must come from our financial gifts.  Those are the hard numbers.  Without our contributions, this church vanishes and many vital ministries are crippled.


The second reason we give a portion of our wealth to the church is to get right with God.  On numerous occasions, Jesus taught his followers that in order to demonstrate that money does not have a death grip on us, we must give some of it away.  Every major religion of the world recognizes the dark side of wealth and the destructive nature of greed, and the absolute necessity of giving a portion of our wealth away.  It is for the health of our souls. A friend suggested that we should all be in a twelve-step program.  Each day we crawl out of bed we should say, “I am an addict to my lifestyle.  I keep spending money on things I do not really need.”


Someone has calculated that there are 500 verses in the Bible on prayer, but there are more than 2,000 verses that deal with wealth.  In the gospels, the topic Jesus talks about the most is the kingdom of God.  The number two topic is wealth and what it does to our lives.  This concern holds such a prominent position with Jesus, because he knows that wealth and the desire for it, can wreak havoc.  He also knows that we can change and so he continuously seeks to transform us.


This morning’s story from the Gospel of Luke is a story about wealth and transformation and getting right with God.  Luke informs us that Jesus and his followers are traveling through the city of Jericho, when he encounters a wealthy individual named Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus is likely wealthy as a result of his profession; a profession detested by his fellow Jews.  Zacchaeus is a chief tax collector which means that he is responsible for all of the money collected in his district. 


The collection of taxes was farmed out among the native population by the Romans.  So it is the responsibility of Zacchaeus to collect taxes from his fellow Jews, and then hand over their money to the despised Romans.  That alone would make Zacchaeus a perfect target for the people’s rage.  However, in addition to collecting the taxes for the Romans, tax collectors were known to skim a little extra for themselves.  Apparently Zacchaeus has played this to the hilt, because the passage informs us that he is rich.


On the day Jesus arrives in Jericho, a crowd gathers and lines the streets.  Zacchaeus wants to see this person who is causing the commotion, but he’s short in stature and cannot see over the crowd.  Since Zacchaeus is a resourceful and ambitious man in other aspects of his life, it’s not surprising that he figures out a way to get a prime spot from which to view Jesus.  He determines the direction Jesus is heading, and then he runs ahead and climbs a tree that is along the route.  And when Jesus reaches the spot where Zacchaeus is perched in the tree, Jesus suddenly stops. He peers up through the branches and calls Zacchaeus by name.  I suspect Zacchaeus got a knot in his throat and his heart began to race.  “Why is he looking at me, and how does he know my name?”  Jesus says, “Hurry down Zacchaeus; I’m staying in your home today.”


Jesus welcomes himself into Zacchaeus’ life as if he owns the place; and when he does, something begins to happen.  Zacchaeus begins to change.  Jesus confronts him at the point of his strength - his wealth – and the transformation in Zacchaeus begins as he pledges to use his strength in the service of God.  Zacchaeus says, “I will give half of my possessions to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much.”


That’s the kind of thing that happens when we allow Christ to play a prominent role in our lives.  Priorities shift, relationships change and our view of what is essential in life is revised.  One of the chief ways we are transformed is that we become generous.  We no longer grasp our wealth and possessions so tightly.  We become aware of how important it is to share with others; especially those who go to bed hungry and those who have no home and those without adequate medical care.


A colleague began a new family tradition a couple of years ago.  When he and his wife sat down to figure out their extra year-end charitable giving they asked their children sit down with them to help them make their decisions.   They knew this would be a good way to teach their children that money is not simply to be spent on yourself.   God also wants us to give away a portion of our money.


The summer after they did this for the first time,  their ten year-old son received $20 as a reward at a camp.  On the way home, he indicated that he wanted to put $10 in his savings account and give the other $10 to a homeless shelter the family had supported the previous Christmas.  The father’s first reaction was to say that he didn’t need to give away 50 percent of his money.  Perhaps he might give five dollars to the shelter and spend five dollars on something for himself.  Then he realized how insidious our consumer-driven culture is – we’re always being told that spending money on ourselves is what will make us happy.  And that was what he was telling his son.  But his son was teaching him a profound lesson about generosity and what stirs true satisfaction in the soul.4


One of my friends reminded me that there are actually millions of people in our country who give away ten percent of their income.  That is the good news; there are millions of tithers in the U.S...  The bad news is that for most of them, their 10 percent goes to pay the interest on their credit card debt.5


A relief worker was filling the bowls of the malnourished children who lived in a refugee camp when two young boys who were brothers came to have their bowls filled.  The food was put in each child's bowl and as the two little boys began to walk away, one handed his bowl to his brother.  The relief worker said, “Aren’t you going to eat something?”  The child answered, “I think my brother is hungrier than I am. Besides, I ate yesterday.” 6


What creates that kind of generosity?  Hoarding our money corrupts our souls.  But God can transform our hearts so that we, too, can become generous.
Thirteen days ago, we buried my father and I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to be able to say at his service that he was a generous man and to see people nod in agreement.  It struck me with greater force than ever before that I want people to be able to say the same thing about me when I die.


If you have not yet filled out a pledge card, I urge you to do it before the end of this week.  And when you fill in the amount you will give to the church, I hope it will come from a place within you that is being transformed as you strive to become more generous.

NOTES

    1. 1. Joanna Adams quoting former New York governor Mario Cuomo in “More,” Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, October 13, 2002.

    2. Walter Brueggemann, “The liturgy of abundance, the myth of scarcity,” in Christian Century, March 24-31, 1999, p. 342.

    3. Charles Summers, “Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty,” First Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, October, 2002.

    4. L. Gregory Jones, “Be Generous,” in Christian Century, October 2, 2007, p.33.

    5. Charles Grant, “Money Talks,” at Bon Air Presbyterian Church, Richmond, November 14, 2004.

    6. Joanna Adams, “Mirror, Mirror” Morningside Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, November 19, 2006.

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