Annual Conference 1998 Thursday evening, July 2, 1998 Orlando, Florida Preacher: Fred Swartz Sermon title: Making the Real Sacrifice Scripture text: Hebrews 11:17-19 Genesis 22:1-14 Clifford and Mark are two special names among the list of saints who have taught me through the years what discipleship, and especially sacrificial discipleship, really means. Clifford was a poultry grower who provided a meager existence for his family of five. At the time I learned from him, I was still a teenager, aspiring to the ministry, but still finishing college. The setting was a stewardship committee meeting, not exactly the epitome of exciting entertainment, and the agenda item was the mundane discussion of what kind of fall commitment campaign we wanted to design this year. Now, of course, everybody is full of fresh, electrifying ideas on that subject! Yes, you know better...some of the same old components of a traditional stewardship campaign were mentioned...and the group got into the annual debate about whether there should be a visitation of all the membership or just make it a letter campaign with a commitment card Sunday. Clifford had not participated in this straw-groping exercise...in fact, I recall that he was exhibiting some rather agitated behavior...But then, he was not cut out to be a committee man...he had difficulty staying still that long. Sure enough, Clifford sought out attention and he blurted out his testimony, that every time he sold some chickens or some eggs, just as soon as he got home, he and the Mrs. took ten percent of that money and put it in the jar on the refrigerator. And that tithe went to church the next Sunday. Now if everybody in this church did that, he said, we would not need to be talking about a stewardship campaign. And he was right, of course...and we wished it would be that easy! While Clifford’s testimony did not solve our stewardship campaign dilemma, there was a lasting fruit. It was close to the time when I was about to be married; and on top of that, I was going off to seminary, and I thought I had precious few pennies to give away. But when Clifford said that he could tithe, and that because they had made that commitment they found ways to live on what was left...I said, “Fred Swartz should be able to tithe too.” That was forty years ago. Our “tithe” has grown to much more than ten percent...and we’ve been able to do it! Mark was only 10 years old when he taught me a lesson in faithful discipleship. It was at Thanksgiving...Mark went with his mother to deliver a food basket to a needy family in our community. It was through an ecumenical effort, so we had no prior acquaintance with the family or their needs. When Mark and his mother arrived at the home, Mark discovered that one member of the family was a boy the same age as he. The two boys, irrespective of situation or opportunity, hit it off immediately...and I believe something was said about playing together for a few minutes. Mark’s mother later told me that when she and Mark got in the car to leave the home, Mark was extremely troubled because his new-found friend did not really have the usual toys to play with. Mark’s mother suggested maybe they could buy a couple of toys and take them back on another day. But Mark would not hear of that. He insisted that they go home immediately for he wanted to get something from among his collection of playthings to take back to the boy right away. Mark’s mother was pleased with Mark’s consideration, so she agreed. She was not, however, prepared for the moment when Mark came out carrying his prize football that was the only thing he had wanted for his recent birthday. He decided that the only satisfactory gift was the thing he prized the most. It has always been hard to imagine myself in Abraham’s place. Of course, we understand that human sacrifice, even sacrifice of one’s own son or daughter, was a rather common practice among Abraham’s pagan neighbors who thought such drastic measures were necessary to appease the angry gods who controlled the universe. And perhaps Abraham thought that even though the God he worshiped had a more congenial character, nonetheless, the ultimate show of faithfulness would be to offer back to God the thing, the most personal being, he valued the most. God is a God of love, and God intervened to show the divine recognition of obedience, the willingness to make the real sacrifice. We do not believe literally today that God requires human sacrifice via Abraham’s method. And yet, the principle should continue to guide us in our response to our Creator and Lord. Are we willing to give up the thing we value the most in order to be faithful to what God wants us to be and do? I believe Jesus’ words are even more demanding than the story of Abraham’s test. Luke 9:23: “Then he said to them all, ‘If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves, and take up their cross daily and follow me.’” One of the most prized books of my library is that which contains the addresses and sermons given to the Annual Conference of 1908, commemorating the bicentennial of the denomination. The Conference was held in Des Moines, Iowa, and I remembered that, while the addresses given “covered the various phases of our church life and growth up to the present time,” there was a similar overall thematic atmosphere similar to that adopted for this Conference ninety years later. In the address by Albert Cassel Wieand, one of the founders of Bethany Theological Seminary and a noted mentor of the spiritual life, I found these words: “(There are) just two things (important) in the higher spiritual life — TRUST and OBEY, (or) surrender and faith, surrender of all. Brethren, have you ever taken an inventory of everything that belongs to you — your clothes, your books, your time, your talents, your voice, your friends, your houses, your lands, your cattle, your children, your parents, your wishes, your hopes, your fears — have you ever done it, and have you made a quit-claim deed of the whole business, without reserve, to the Lord? Have you surrendered everything that belongs to you, so far as you are concerned, over to the Lord? If you have not done that, I beg of you, do it. Get alone with God the first chance you get and ask yourself solemnly, ‘Am I willing for now on to let God have control of my life in everything?’ ‘Am I willing to let (God) manage my time, my occupation, my business? Am I willing? WILLING?’ And then, when you have surrendered, do you believe God will? Do you believe God will take it? Are you trusting God moment by moment, day by day, and hour by hour, that God is taking, and using, and when you get into a pinch, can you and will you trust God that God will bring salvation out of the difficulty?” (Pp. 176-177) Here we are, ninety years later, again reminding ourselves that faithfulness to Christ demands surrender, sacrifice, risk. It’s something every disciple has to deal with. Look at some of those closest to Jesus. James and John, for example, had to give up their ambitious pride. Remember their mother asking Jesus for the best positions in the kingdom for her sons? Last summer at the Caring Ministries 2000 Conference I had a woman tell me that my mother thinks I’m perfect. Now this witness is one of the finest Christian women I have ever known; I don’t think she would mess with the truth! It proves to me that my mother is a very smart woman...Why? Because if she thinks I’m perfect, she certainly has never told me! And I doubt she ever will! Our pride is indeed the hardest thing to surrender to Jesus. Early in my ministry I was told the story of a young preacher who was so confident (cocky was the word actually used) that he decided to preach without notes. He processed up the aisle with a smug countenance and a brisk stride. But after a few opening paragraphs into his sermon, he completely lost his train of thought, and upon sputtering for an eternity of seconds, he simply pronounced a benediction, and slinked down the aisle with head hung. When he reached the vestibule, he was met by the wise custodian, whose comment was, “Reverend, if you would have went up the way you come down, you’d have come down the way you went up.” There is no substitute in human relationships for humility, for setting aside one’s own ambitions for the advancement or uplifting of another. Of course, it makes us vulnerable; it also makes us loving. The Apostle Paul...of him it was required to give up his prejudice, first his prejudice against Christians, and even after becoming a Christian, his prejudice against Gentiles. Paul was not alone in that regard among Jesus’ first followers. Remember the day the disciples hurried to Jesus with the report that someone not of their “group” was healing and preaching in Jesus’ name? “What do you want us to do with him?” They asked. (Note how we project our own judgments upon Jesus! Don’t we readily assume that if we think someone is guilty of offending Jesus, that Jesus will think so too?) Jesus replied “Whoever is for us is not against us.” So often we spend a ton of energy condemning and figuring out how to change those who have ideologic differences with us and ignoring the good they may be doing. Maybe we need to sacrifice some of our pride and arrogance in the name of unity and progress. Goodness knows! Jesus did not choose disciples who agreed on principle, much less doctrine. But most of them, save Judas, became significant witnesses for the new Christian way...even dying for the cause of Christ! I fear that most of the concern I hear these days for the church springs from a desire to preserve the church rather than share the church. I confess to the same tendency. It is so much easier to hold on to that which is safe and familiar; so much easier to protect what we have rather than submit it to wear and tear, particularly by those who may not honor or use it in the same way we would. It is ironical that we frequently hear the comment, “too many people want to use the church.” Some congregations in our area of the country have recently begun asking fees for the use of the church facilities that are comparable to secular halls in the area. I asked one Brethren pastor why and his answer was, “We are getting too many requests for the use of the church...we need to save the church for the use of our own members.” Isn’t the root of prejudice really selfishness? Not even the church is demonstrating the depth of faithfulness God requires. What did Jesus mean by, “If anyone wants to follow me, you must deny yourself?” Remember the Big Lotto Jackpot that was the excitement of the nation a few weeks ago? What, there were fourteen or nineteen states involved in it or something like that? Well, I had a woman in our church tell me that she was going to win that lottery, and the first thing she was going to do was insure that the church wouldn’t have to incur the $1 million indebtedness we are about to take on at the completion of our church building project. She assured me that she could do that with no problem (the jackpot was about $153 million at that point, I think). Now before I go on with this story, I want you to know that I received permission to tell it! My reply, as well as I remember it, was a rather deft. “Oh?” I think I was in a state of shock...for about three reasons. One, I was shocked to hear that she had played the lottery when I had preached against it. On second thought, I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised at that! Secondly, it was such a shock to hear anyone say she would give a million dollars to the church, regardless of where it came from. And that’s a whole different question: If the church is opposed to the lottery would we accept a gift of money won in the lottery? Jesus did not leave me specific instructions on that. In spite of whether we wear those WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets on both arms, there are just some questions that cannot be solved that easily! And thirdly, I was shocked at the thought that someone could negate in a matter of seconds all the work we had put into getting that $1 million loan in the first place. The woman lottery player was not on either the building committee nor the building finance committee! She did not know how hard we had worked to make the presentation the get the congregation to approve the mega-indebtedness; we had worked at increasing the size of the congregation; we had interviewed several banks before finding one with attractive terms; we had set up a pay back schedule...and suddenly she would deny us the joy of seeing it all work out? Just kidding on that one, of course; and yet...oh by the way, she didn’t win...and yet, I wonder what it would have been like had she given us that million. You know, of course, we would have had to accept it: we honor designated giving, right? That rule supersedes any moral consideration! But let’s go a bit further in our dream. Suppose she would have seen her way clearer to give the church two million instead of one, with no strings attached to million number two! What do you suppose we would have done with the second million? You know, I have to admit I haven’t a clue! Do you know how your church would spend a sudden windfall of a million dollars? What if Bill Gates decided that he liked the looks of your church and decided to drop $20 million into the mail to you? Would you have a plan for what you would do with the money? You look a little skeptical...but I wonder if your church really has a plan for what you would do with the money should the members sacrifice like you ask them to? Maybe we don’t receive that sacrifice because our faith in people’s making it is too thin! It makes me wonder also whether we as individuals have any kind of plan or guidelines for what we might do with any kind of windfall. Suppose Aunt Hattie decides I’m a nice nephew and gives me $50 for Christmas, no strings attached, except that she’d like me to call her once in a while. Am I tickled that I have $50 to go splurge on myself — maybe a new book, or a golf shirt, or a new pair of birding binoculars — or am I faithful enough to say immediately, “I’m going to give part of this to the church or to the homeless shelter, or to the family down the road who were burned out. As I have been given to, I too shall give.” I like the story of a little eight-year-old girl, dressed rather shabbily and hair a bit disheveled, who went into an ice cream parlor and asked the waitress behind the counter the cost of a sundae. And the waitress, who had not had a particularly good day to begin with, was a bit annoyed at having to deal with a child, snapped back, “Seventy-five cents.” And the little girl looked at the coins she was clutching in her hand and asked again, “How much for just a small dish of ice cream?” “Sixty cents,” the woman said, even more annoyed. The little girl looked again at her change and then said, “Please give me the dish of ice cream.” “Are you sure you can pay for it?” the waitress sternly inquired. “Oh yes mam,” the girl answered politely, and she had counted out exactly sixty cents. The waitress went on about other things while the little girl enjoyed her ice cream. After she left the parlor the waitress went back to the end of the counter to get the empty dish, and there, to her utter surprise and shame, lay a fifteen cent tip! I think we have to apply that kind of attitude to all our stewardship to be faithful to Jesus’ challenge. No, I haven’t checked up on how well Brethren are tipping this week in Orlando! The point is that we show our seriousness about being a disciple of Jesus by being willing to scale back our self- pandering in order to fulfill our part in sharing the love of Jesus with others. One word of warning we get from these scriptural examples, however. And that is, that a frequent element of the real sacrifice is surprise. We don’t always get to choose what we need to give up or the extent of the risk we should take. Often what is required of us is a real surprise, what we least expected. For example, maybe we need to give up some of our obstinacy toward others’ views in order for the church to make some headway toward unity and witness for Christ. Maybe we need to give up some of our social prejudice so that Christ’s love for all people can shine through. Maybe we need to surrender our hold on a church name so that our little congregation can join hands with a larger or another one. In a Charles Schultz’s Peanuts cartoon Sally was sitting at a table with two pieces of paper — one large and one small — in front of her. As she writes diligently on the large piece, she says to Charlie Brown, “I’m making a list of all the things I’ve learned in life...Well actually, I’m making two lists.” Charlie Brown asks, “Why is one list longer than the other?” Holding up the long list, Sally says, “These are the things I’ve learned the hard way!” Most of our significant learnings come the hard way. We are more attentive when life is hard...when we don’t always have it exactly our way. We are more faithful when we are willing to make the real sacrifice...that of the surrender of our will to the will of God. Like Abraham, and James and John, and Paul...we need to work harder at the long list!