"Come to the Feast!"

A Sermon Preached by the Rev. Deana Dudley

at Holy Fellowship Metropolitan Community Church, London, Ontario

and Christos Metropolitan Community Church, Toronto, Ontario

6 April 2003 – Lent V (Year B)

If I could just get an usher to lock the doors, keep everyone inside for a few minutes, I’m going to preach about giving, and about tithing.

I thought about starting with all kinds of disclaimers and apologies, you know, how I just HAVE to preach on it once in a while, and I’ve been here about a year and haven’t mentioned it at all, and yada, yada, yada. But I decided not to do that. It’s nothing to apologize for. This church is not one that can legitimately be critiqued for talking about money all the time.

In fact, you might say that this church could be critiqued for not talking about money NEARLY as much as Jesus did. Contrary to what some folks think, what Jesus talked about more than almost anything else wasn’t peace, or love, or prayer, or even homosexuality. It was, to a large extent, money, and our relationships to money, and the ways in which we receive and give.

And.... the only disclaimer I want to make is that I know that the people of this church DO give, of yourselves and of what you have, so this is not an attempt to browbeat anyone. It’s more of an attempt to give some framework, some meaning, some sense of JOY, to our giving.

So, here we go. There are a lot of biblical passages that might be appropriate to look at when we are examining what we believe, as a body and as individuals, about giving to the work of God in this church. And I’ve actually prepared a little brochure with a good number of the more traditional passages, in case you’re interested, because I’m not actually going to preach on any of them.

I COULD take as a text, many of the things I learned in the Baptist Sunday School, like 2^nd Corinthians 9:6-7. Anyone know that one? "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." That does, in fact, pretty much sum up New Testament teaching on giving, but I always thought it was asking a bit much. First I had to give up some of my allowance, and to add insult to injury, I had to be CHEERFUL about it. For the record, I’ve learned better since, but I’m not going there.

I could talk about how, according to the scriptures, God blesses giving. We COULD look at verses such as Acts 20:35, where Jesus is reported to have said that it’s "more blessed to give than to receive." Or Matthew 6:4, which says when you give, that "God, who sees in secret, will reward you openly." Or Matthew 7:2, which says, "and with the measure you use, so will it be measured back to you." But I’m not going there, either.

I could wimp out and avoid the "M" word – money – altogether. Churches talk about giving in terms of "stewardship." What that means is that what we have belongs to God, not to us. What we have is only under our control for a time. This makes us "stewards." A steward is someone who is in charge of something that belongs to someone else. So Jesus taught that we’re accountable to God for what we do with what’s been entrusted to us.

Or I could go back to some of the passages from the Hebrew Scriptures, where God gave the people a benchmark requirement for giving to the house of God, the tithe, or ten percent of all that they received. Interestingly, it appears that the tithe was ON TOP OF all of the other offerings that the people made to God. You can look those up in Numbers 18, or Deuteronomy 12, or 2^nd Chronicles, or any number of places. But I’m not going there either.

So where the heck am I going? Well, I commend to your attention, a scripture from the book of Deuteronomy, in the 14^th chapter, verses 22 through 27. "Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. In the presence of your God, in the place that God has chosen as a dwelling for the Holy name," – in other words, in the tabernacle of God, and ultimately at the Temple in Jerusalem – "you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may live in awe of God always. But if, when God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the God has chosen to set the Holy name is too far away from you," – in other words, if you don’t live within reasonable travelling distance of the Temple in Jerusalem, or if in the case of modern times, if the Temple has been destroyed – in THAT case, the scripture goes on "then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that your God chooses; spend the money for whatever you wish -- oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat them there in the presence of your God, you and your whole household rejoicing together. And as for the Levites -- the priests -- resident in your towns, do not neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you."

I have to confess that I have never once heard this scripture passage mentioned in a sermon on giving to the church, notwithstanding that it is part of the largest single text in scripture concerning the tithe and its formal definition. I dunno, maybe it seems a little counter-intuitive – or counter-productive, even! – to raise up a scripture that encourages, nay commands, us to take our tithe, and throw a party with it. Except..... I think that’s pretty much exactly what we’re supposed to do.

You see, we’ve all been invited to a feast. And the tithe, as it has been defined here in Deuteronomy, was a party, a feast, to be consumed in the presence of God. God’s command to tithe includes consuming "whatever your heart desires," including "strong drink!" Imagine that! Things I never learned in the Baptist church! Imagine using up a tenth of your income every year in a single party! Wasteful, extravagant... and yet God's clear command. God commands us to enjoy ourselves by bringing the bounty together so that "There may be food in [God’s] house" and then feasting and enjoying ourselves in God’s presence.

To me, this gives a much richer understanding of giving to the church. As you read Deuteronomy 14 and see the concepts of "throwing a feast," and "not forgetting the poor" and making sure to invite "the Levites, the priests (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens," the widows and orphans.... does this not have a familiar ring with teachings of Jesus? And Jesus says, "When you throw a feast, do not just invite those who can pay you back or help you share expenses. Rather... do not forget the poor..." (Luke 14:13). Hmmm... Sound familiar?

So, we’re to have a party, a feast, and invite everyone. How do we go about doing that?

Well, whenever I have asked people WHY they give to the church, I get a variety of answers, but they usually revolve around one basic theme. And, kind of surprisingly, for people who revere the bible, I don’t USUALLY hear people say that they give because God demands a tithe, or because Jesus commanded it, or because the bible says so. Some folks give for those reasons. Some give out of obligation and some give out of a natural sense of generosity. Some give because they believe, based on scriptures such as .............. that it’s a kind of an investment with God, that God will supply their needs and bless them according to the way in which they give. Some give simply out of gratitude for what God has done for them. Even if we had no other reason to give, we’d give to God in thanksgiving, and in response to the needs God has shown us.

My experience is that you really cannot guilt trip people into giving, so I won’t even try, and aren’t you glad? It may work for some televangelists, but I think it’s just not effective over the long term. Mainly, people tell me that they give because they believe in the work that the church is doing, and they want to see that work continue and grow.

And invariably, in Metropolitan Community Churches, people have another reason for giving. And that’s because the church was there for them when they needed it, when they wondered if God could love them "in spite of" being Gay, when other churches rejected them. And they give because MCC has taught them of God’s unconditional love for ALL people. And they want MCC and that message to be there for others, when they come, when they need it, when they’re cast out of someplace else.

Listen to some of the things folks have said to me about giving: "I give... for many reasons but mainly because I know in my heart, it’s the right thing to do. I remember those who are not so fortunate.... [This church] is a place that helps to heal the hurts and injustices of this world. It’s a refuge and a sanctuary.... The work our church does may, at times, seem insignificant in the face of so many problems in the world. But I believe it’s truly a witness to God’s love for us all alive and working in this world, and that’s why I give of my time, talent and treasure."

Many give so new people, looking for a place to worship God openly, will find the same welcoming community that they found when THEY first came here. One person put it this way: "I give out of thanks for all the people who gave before me so that the church would be there when I needed it so badly. I give now because the church is there for me week in and week out regardless of how good my life is or how much strength I have. And I give for the future people. The persons wandering around looking for somewhere to go, somewhere they won't have to lie or hide who they are, but a place where they can come to God whole as they are and know they are loved. I want to make sure there is always a place people can go to hear that message. That God loves you, unconditionally."

See.... this church is a place where many of us were reunited with God, and where we found the warm fellowship of sisters and brothers – a community that cares. And we want others to know those blessings and opportunities too!

These are GREAT REASONS TO GIVE. There are lots more. But the bottom line is that we all give so that we can live out our commitment to KNOW Christ, GROW in Christ, and SHOW Christ to our community and to the world.

When we voted on a budget a few weeks ago, we agreed together on what we want to do as a church. What we want to do with God’s blessings. What ministries are important to us. What we’re willing to put into that work. And we acknowledged together that what we want to do costs money. What we’ve covenanted to do together is a huge task, and a great work. But in Christ, it’s a challenging vision, not a struggle. It calls for generosity of spirit. It calls for energy. And it calls for giving that may stretch all of us. Mostly, it calls for faith that God will provide for all of our needs, as individuals and as a church.

This is God’s work. As such, it deserves our best. So the Board of Directors and I are asking you to pray, to consider your commitment to this church, and to the work that we’ll do together. Think about it – Maybe YOU are the channel through which God will provide for the needs of someone who longs to find a place like... MCC!!! Most of all, we give, we bring our tithe, whatever it may be, so that others can join in the feast that God has given us all.