Malachi 3:7-12

             Did you hear that sometime last Sunday morning at Wapping Community Church in South Windsor, Connecticut, a robbery was committed?  An undetermined amount of money was stolen.  And this doesn’t appear to be the first time such a crime occurred.  The evidence strongly indicates that this is only one of the many unchecked offenses that have been going on over a long period of time. 

            What’s more, all clues seem to suggest that it was an inside job.  There was no sign of forced entry.  Over two hundred people were here at the scene of the crime and no one is above suspicion.  So far none of the suspects have been apprehended.  And local authorities are still investigating.

             One of the authorities commented that in all his years of investigating robberies, he’s never seen anything like this before.  A large sum of money was missing, but no money seems to have changed hands.  In fact, the money appears to be stolen from God…address unknown.  There is no indication that a weapon was used, no visible sign of any struggle that might have taken place.  By all accounts, it looks to be a robbery without precedent.

             So I have come this morning on behalf of the authorities to issue warrants for arrest.  But I have also come to announce that the judge in this case, who also happens to be God, is willing to suspend all sentences.  Yes, God plans to pardon all those who make a vow not to commit this crime again.

            This bold and unique all points bulletin comes to us this morning via the prophet Malachi.  The prophet goes to the people of Israel on God’s behalf.  He pleads with them to return to God what they have taken from God.  He expresses to the people the pain God feels that God’s love has been unrequited. 
 
            In no uncertain terms, Malachi gives voice to God’s message.  “I have delivered you.  I am your parent and your partner.  I entered into sacred covenant with you.  You became my people and I agreed to be your God.  I promised to companion you and keep you and provide for you all the days between now and eternity.”

            “Meanwhile you have despised me.  You have dishonored me.  You have withheld yourselves and your offerings and your service and your substance.  Even though I keep nothing from you, you are actively taking something from me.  You want more and more and more and you aren’t willing to give anything in return.  I feel like I’m being robbed.”

             As is the case sometimes with Old Testament prophets, Malachi comes across as a little over the top.   Granted most of us would admit that we fall short when it comes to our relationship with God.  We could pray more than we do.  We could reach out to people in need and offer help more than we do.  We could give more to our neighbors and more to our community.  Many of us could increase our financial pledge to the church.  But is it really robbery?  I’m not sure I’d go that far.

             Then again, listen to what Malachi is actually saying and it makes sense.  If our human relationship with God is one sided, we know that one sided relationships don’t work.  Healthy relationships work because both sides are considerate of each other.  In a marriage, for example, there are certain initiatives and responsibilities that both spouses must make and take in order for the marriage to thrive.  If the relationship is a one way street. where one spouse is doing the giving while the other spouse is doing the taking, resentment will build and the marriage will eventually self-destruct.   

             So if we know that one sided relationships don’t work in our human experience, what makes us think one sided relationships work with God?  In order to maintain a healthy relationship with God, you and I need to do certain things on our end to maintain balance.   

             To that end…with the goal of reminding his people why it was important to even out the scales…the prophet Malachi called human beings to accountability.  Back in the first chapter of his book, Malachi stated that “a son honors his father and a servant respects his master, but the people of God despise God.” 

             The people of Israel who heard the prophet responded as any of us likely would.  “How is it that we have despised God?”

             And through Malachi, God proceeded to lay it on the line.  You have offered polluted bread on my altar.  You have given me trash and mess and garbage.  You’ve provided me far less than your best and that doesn’t work for me.  

 You and I would never think of giving less than we are supposed to when we pay taxes to the government.  We would never shortchange the school that sends us a tuition bill.  We wouldn’t pay less than the required amount to our mortgage company or the bank that holds our car note or the store that sells us the new outfit. 

             In every other area of our lives, we engage in regular, substantial, intentional payments.  And yet we think we can stroll into the presence of God and give less to God and do less for God than we do for ourselves with all our conveniences and creature comforts.   

             Flip ahead to today’s Chapter Three, and Malachi goes even further by declaring that we have actually abandoned God.  Yes we claim that we believe in God, but our actions don’t match our words.  Finally, Malachi’s imagery comes to a climax when the prophet asks the blunt question, “Will anyone rob God?” 

             Malachi isn’t talking about stealing.  When we steal from someone we do it behind their backs where no one can see what we’re doing.  But when we rob somebody, we’re doing it right in their face.  Will you and I in all our weakness and mortality and frailty and brevity of days on this earth go so far as to rob God? 

             In the end, everything you and I have in this world comes from God.  We brought nothing into this world and we will take nothing out.  There are no safe deposit boxes in a casket.  I’ve never seen a Brink’s truck in a funeral procession.  If we have anything, God gave it to us. 

             There are plenty of people who will protest.  “I got what I earned on my own.  I worked hard.  I woke up early every morning and came home late in the evening and I deserve everything that is coming to me. 

             But who wakes you and me up in the morning?  Who starts us on our way?  Who opened the job door up for us and gave us an opportunity?  Who gives us the strength we need to stand up and breathe and hold onto hope?  As the Apostle Paul said, “I am what I am but by the grace of God!” 

             Malachi informed the people they were robbing God.  And the people of Israel responded the way any of us probably would.  How have we robbed God? 

God’s answer?  You’ve robbed me by withholding your offerings.  But there is something you can do about it.  If you really want to keep faith with me and if you want to maintain balance in the covenant I share with you, bring all the offering you can to the “storehouse.”  Which is a word that means in Hebrew “the temple treasure.” 

 Don’t hold back.  Don’t give just a piece of what you can give.  Give your best.  Bring your offerings and your pledges and your gifts to the temple where God is and dedicate them to God. 

 When we give our offering to the church or make a yearly pledge to the church or commit to an endowment gift, you and I are admitting that God is the source of our lives.  And when each of us gives our very best to God here at Wapping Community Church, we can make a powerful and meaningful impact on the life of this world.  Our offerings can be signs of life and hope for those who are desperate and lonely.  Our pledges translate into healing for those who need the company and counsel of faithful Christian companions.  Our offerings represent a place where children and youth can come and be educated and feel safe and welcome.  Our pledges will be used to help provide food and shelter for those who are hungry and homeless. 

Every year around this time, you and I have an opportunity to start a new trend in the world.  Everyone out there is busy shouting “We don’t have enough!  We don’t have enough joy!

But when we learn to trust God and stop robbing God, what you shout out loud and what I shout out loud will be different.  Instead of “not enough” we will shout together, “there is more than enough!” 

By the grace of God, may that day come soon…Amen.  

NOTE:  Inspiration for this sermon came from a sermon preached by the Rev. Alvin O. Jackson.  Rev. Jackson’s sermon, entitled “Robbery Without a Weapon,” can be found on pages 75-79 in Joyful Giving: Sermons on Stewardship, edited by Dan Moseley.   (Chalice Press: 1997)

 

            

Psalm 84


            In some broad way I started writing this sermon almost exactly sixteen years ago when I led my first worship service as the new Senior Minister of Wapping Community Church in October of 1998.  The specific truth, however, is that I began writing this sermon in my head two Sundays ago. 

            Whether you were here in church for worship on Sunday, October 5th or not, the occasion was World Communion Sunday.  In the 10am service, Chris and I invited children and a few youth to come forward and sit with us on the front stairs of the sanctuary in order to help us tell the story of the Last Supper Jesus shared with his disciples.  Together we talked about the bread and the cup.  We talked about the meaning of World Communion Sunday and how Christians all over the world celebrate communion in different ways and in different languages. 

            And then right at the end, Chris and I asked whether any of the kids wanted to stay with us for the actual communion.  The youth and most of the kids returned to their pews to share communion with their families.  But Alex Rho and Quinn Worthington decided they would come with us and sit behind the communion table with the rest of the Deacons. 

            Once the congregation received the bread and the cup, Alex and Quinn helped us serve communion to the Deacons.  They listened carefully to what we said and watched intently all that was going on.  In the end, I suspect for Quinn and Alex, that communion experience of a couple of weeks ago will stay with them for a long time.

            I know I will long remember the day.  It’s one thing to say that everyone is welcome around the communion table.  It’s another thing to say specifically that people of all ages are invited to eat the bread and drink from the cup.  But I’m not sure there are many churches where you would see two children sitting behind the communion table and helping to lead the communion experience for an entire congregation.

            Sharing communion with Quinn and Alex was one of my favorite communion experiences in ministry.  And it’s actually where this sermon began to take shape.  For me, it falls into the wonderful category represented by this morning’s sermon title…why I love this church…  

            Last Sunday, one week after World Communion Sunday, I walked into the sanctuary and sat down for worship.  But not before making a couple of trips with Chris and Ken Johnson out to the Gathering Room to bring large plastic buckets filled with undergarments into the sanctuary.  If you were here last week for what we affectionately term “Undie Sunday,” you saw the buckets in front of the communion table.  And then on top of the smaller table in front of the communion table, you couldn’t help but notice packages of underwear and socks lined up from end to end.


            It’s one thing to bear in mind the words of Jesus Christ when he called us to reach out to the least of our brothers and sisters by providing clothing to those who are without.  It’s another thing to pray for people in need and to ask God to speed the day when all God’s people will have food to eat and shelter over their heads and clothing on their bodies.  But I’m not sure there are many churches where you would see packages of underwear and socks stretched across the front facing of the communion table.

            There are probably people in other congregations who would say it’s not appropriate to display underwear in the sanctuary.  Or maybe you could do it somewhere in a corner of the sanctuary out of sight and out of mind, but not in front of the communion table where everyone can see it.  Actually churches that care a lot about maintaining their image and keeping their sanctuary pristine would likely pass on the idea of Undie Sunday altogether. 

            But I looked over at the small table full of underwear last Sunday morning and one thought came to mind.  “That is why I love Wapping Community Church…”

            I suppose I have a unique perspective on Sunday mornings when I lead the prayers.  People in this sanctuary literally make cross country trips from where they are sitting to greet someone in a faraway pew.  And we get to laughing and talking.  And there’s a lot of traffic in the aisles which sometimes makes it hard to get back to the pew where you started.  I do love passing the peace in this church. 

            Yet the moment the prayer time starts, people quickly focus.  Many close their eyes.  And it feels like we pay close attention.  Not only to the words of the prayer and the prayer requests named aloud.  But also to the voice of God who sometimes speaks to us and sometimes speaks through us and sometimes speaks through the people sitting around us. 

            It’s one thing for everyone to get really quiet in prayer time and bow their heads and stop shifting in their pews.  It’s another thing to feel a sense of calm reverence come over a congregation as we seek to make our joys and our sorrows and our challenges known to God.  But not every church encourages people in the sanctuary to raise their hands and offer prayer requests aloud.  Not every church is comfortable with someone besides the ordained pastor praying.  On the other hand, some might think our prayer time takes too long and we could save some worship time if we streamlined the whole experience.   

            For me, however, the way in which we pray in worship in this congregation is symbolic of how seriously we take prayer.  People listen intently to the prayers of others.  People find ways to follow up with their brothers and sisters in the wake of prayer requests offered aloud during worship.  In fact, sometimes that follow up happens as soon as the Sunday service is over.  At Wapping Community Church we believe in prayer.  We trust, as it states in the New Testament Letter of James, that the prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective.   And we are willing and committed to sharing the burdens and the joys of those sitting around us every Sunday morning.

             The prayers of the people offered to God and in the company of the faithful here at Wapping during every worship service.  It’s why I love this church…!   

             Have you ever had your mind wander during a worship service thinking about all the things you have to do when you get home or all the things facing you in the upcoming week?  And all of a sudden the moment the choir started to sing your worries disappeared and the words and melody of the anthem took you to a peaceful, restful place?

             Have you ever glanced around this sanctuary on a Sunday morning or stopped by the church on a Sunday afternoon or evening?  Between worship and JPF and Confirmation and SPF, there are dozens of youth who come to this church to find and feel a sense of community, who want to be in a place where they feel welcomed by their peers and by adults and by God, and who come to youth activities because of all the other places they could be on a Sunday they choose to be here and hate to miss it.

             Have you ever spent any social time with other people in this congregation?  Going on a hike over at Gay City Park last Sunday afternoon with a group of nearly thirty people and a few four legged compaions to boot.  Sitting on the very hottest bleacher seats at Rentschler Field with a church group a few weeks ago and fading in the heat even faster than the UConn football team…until a few other church friends invited us to trek across to the cool, shady side of the stadium where they are saving just enough seats for the whole group.  There are all kinds of really fun people to hang out with in this church and if you haven’t done it yet, I hope you will make some time in the near future.

            The beautiful church grounds covered with brightly colored flowers, alive and vibrant not only for all of us but for anyone who happens to be passing by on foot or in their car.  Our willingness to embrace our church name by welcoming various groups from the town of South Windsor and offering space throughout this building.  Good, dedicated, compassionate people who aren’t afraid to cry and laugh and hug and give thanks to God along the way.

            There are so many reasons why I love this church!  But it’s not just about me.  Tell me why you love Wapping Community Church.  What about this place stirs your soul and your spirit?  Who in this congregation do you turn to when you need care and love and support?  How does this church help to grow your faith and give you the inspiration and wisdom you need to journey through your daily life?  Assuming you were writing and preaching this particular sermon, what would you say to someone who is here in worship for the very first time this morning?  Or someone who has been here in worship for forty or fifty years?

             If you haven’t spent a whole lot of time thinking about it up till now, I hope you will spend some time over these next few weeks.  Consider what it is that you really love about Wapping Community Church.  But then don’t just keep it to yourself.  Share what you think and feel with someone else and let your gratitude and your enthusiasm spill over and become infectious.

             Maybe even refer back to the Bible and to Psalm 84.  Despite the fact that it was written hundreds of years before the church ever existed, Psalm 84 sounds like a sermon written by someone who can’t say enough about how much they love being part of God’s church.

             “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!  My soul longs, indeed it faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.  Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young at your altars…Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.”  Amen. 

Jonah 1:15-2:9 “The Calm in the Storm”

I wonder if Jonah was an anxious human.  I wonder if when the word of God spoke to the prophet from beyond his barriers, Jonah seized up in panic attacks and in terror.  Did he long to hear the “fear not!” that so often preludes the voice of God? Did his heart clench in his chest and his hands begin to shake?

Did he run away with the thought that “when I get further down from God, it will be better than this?”  Did each step further away provide a slight release of the pressure of anxiety of God’s call to go up to Ninevah?   When he saw the ship in the distance, was there an ah-ha! moment of “Oh Thank God--! A Way Out!”  Maybe he thought he could move across countries away from his problems and his mental health and the plan that God has for him. 

When he got on the boat, did the sailors wonder, Who is this foreigner?  Did they clutch their dice within their pockets, or rub the deck in the certain pattern that their superstitions have demanded for decades as he stepped on board and they were outward bound?  And when God threw the storm at the ship, did they glance sideways at each other, and at the newcomer, holding his legs up against his chest, hiding behind the barrels in the corner?  As the storm grew worse, I wonder if their own panic grew, too.  As they battened down the hatches and took turns at the helm, was it a hard decision to draw straws to see who is the cause of all this panic?

I wonder if Jonah’s sleep in the storm was his coping mechanism for the internal storm that raged in his anxiety.  Did he say to him self, “if I sleep, then this will all go away.”  Did he vision a hope for calm?  Was there a tiny release of pressure in his dreams, a harbor of refuge from the storm?  I wonder if avoiding the conflict of what might happen in Ninevah, pretending that there is no conflict at all, was even possible for him.  

When the sailors pulled out the lots to find the source, did Jonah’s heart begin to race?  Did his face turn red in shame, and his hands begin to shake again?  Did the anxiety overwhelm him, rendering him incapable of movement?  And when the short straw landed in front of him, and they demanded answers of him for why, did his vision glaze over and return him to the truth of who he was, causing him to state his identity and beliefs?  When he said, “I am a Hebrew, and I worship the Lord, the God of heaven, who made the sea and dry land” did the sailors gasp with superstition and fear when they realized that Jonah was running away?

And as the waves crashed on the deck and the wind blew the tiny boat around in the huge sea, as the storm raged with anger unabated, did a calm come over Jonah as he knew what they had to do?  Did he see their attempts to row back in to shore with quiet awareness that it would do no good?  And when the men lifted him and tossed him down, was his anxiety numbed in anticipation of the coming end?

Was the fall from the boat and into the water more of an easy float down?  And was there a comfort in the moments where Jonah laid on his back, looking skyward into the rain and the wind, the water surrounding him and holding him up, fully?  While the ship sailed away and he was alone, did he hum quietly to himself, hymns he’s know for years that have eased his anxiety...? 
And as the fish swam beneath him, water currents foreshadowing his fate, did Jonah close his eyes?  As the waters closed over him and the deep surrounded him in the heart of the seas, did he hold himself close?

I wonder if he thought of comforting things, thinking back about his life, his family, his home, his friends....  I wonder if, as the mouth of the fish swallowed him up, he offered up his complete submission to his anxieties and to his God.  I wonder if from that place of odd calm, he found himself in the belly of the fish, surrounded by flesh and warm, away from the the storm of life, away from the coming conflicts and the task that lies in front of him-- I wonder if in that place he was able to clearly see past his own mental blocks and the truth before him.

Maybe as the pulse of the being that carried him along gave a rhythm to his prayer, he offered up his supplication, his submission, his sure awareness that his secret circumvention of God’s task must now end.  I wonder if from that emotional space of calm, in the belly of the fish, there is where Jonah prayed, offering his resignation to his duty, his surrender to the will of the Lord your God.  From where did the quiet prayer come, when Jonah whispered from the fish, “As my life was ebbing away, I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came to you, into your holy temple....” 

and with what power of resolve and understanding did he finally assert, “...But I, with the voice of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you; ...what I have vowed, I will pay.” ?  And when the fish surged towards shore, what relief was there, as Jonah came up for air, to Ninevah, to God?

More than Jonah’s storm, I wonder if, in another storm, in another time, that calm was still present.  Maybe in another storm, in another time, the disciples wondered if they had angered God in some way, while another man slept on.  I wonder if their anxiety ate away at them.  I wonder if when they reached out, it was from their panic they called out “Don’t you CARE!?”  

I wonder, too, if the calm that surpasses all understanding held them afloat, in that moment, when God embodied awoke, and looked upon them, and called to the storm, Peace.  Be Still.  And when they left that boat, I wonder if their direction was just a little clearer, their path a little more defined, and their faith a little stronger. 

What will happen when the winds of life pick up?  The ship we sail starts to shake?  What will happen when the way we have been going for so long seems to no longer work as we want it to?  What happens when our anxiety speaks louder than the voice of God within us?  How does God reach out in all of these moments to call us home, bring us calm, and bring us up once again?  

I don’t know.  But perhaps that answer is somewhere within the words, “Peace.  Be Still.”