From bread and wine to faith and giving: the table of provision for all

Exodus 32:1-14; Acts 2:42-47; Matthew 22:1-14

We continue this week with our stewardship discussion of from bread and wine to faith and giving. This week’s focus scripture is Acts 2, as you will see from the bulletin insert.

In Exodus, Moses is on the mountain talking with God. In the meantime Aaron is on the plain with the people,  who have grumbled and worried since they left Egypt.  The people gather gold and make a bull out of it, an idol, to represent the divine.  They are forgetting,  of course,  that they have been forbidden from doing just this.

When God sees what the people are doing, God is furious! God is ready to destroy the people and start over. But Moses reminds God that doing so would not be good for God’s reputation.  And God changes God’s mind and let’s Moses try again.

When we choose to keep what we have instead of sharing it, we make it an idol. Idols take a portion of our attention away from God and prevent us from trusting God with our whole hearts.

... The parable of wedding feast is strange, with refusals by the wealthy to participate in the party, followed by murder and mayhem. Then everyone else, including the miscellaneous people from the streets, is invited. They love having good food and enjoyed the party.  But one member of the second group doesn’t bother to dress appropriately for the party and gets evicted.

When we interpret a parable we usually start by identifying who is God in the story. And for centuries, the parable has been interpreted as an allegory, with everyone in the story representing a person or group. But it’s hard to find God in this story. God is not the cruel king, so that seems the wrong place to start our interpretation.

So, I invite you to join me for some wondering, because there is no easy or clear answer or explanation of this parable. 

Is the party Jesus himself or the group of disciples? The first guests could be the leaders, who refuse to join the party, and don’t deserve to be there. Certainly we understand the inclusion of all people, including slaves. That sounds like something Jesus would say.

But who is the guest in the wrong clothes?  Maybe it’s someone who wants to be with Jesus but doesn’t want to believe what he says. Maybe there was someone who constantly criticized Jesus and wouldn’t leave. Maybe there was something that happened at that time that all the disciples would understand,  but because there was no one writing down the current events, we haven’t a clue.

Let’s just say for our purposes today that the story is about resistance to Jesus by the powerful and influential people.  The leaders have made an idol out of preserving their faith as they have understood it and interpreted it to the people. And we know how God feels about idols! Whether the Idols are made of gold or tradition, we are to be aware of the dangers of creating them.

… In Acts, the new believers are so excited to try living out Jesus’ vision, they form a sort of commune. Those who have share with those who lack. Sounds ideal, doesn’t it? We know it didn’t last, and it wasn’t for all believers. While communes do exist, they usually fail because it is hard to share so freely over time. It takes a lot of commitment to live in a commune.   

We don’t have to live in a commune to share what we have with those who don’t have enough.  We just have to commit to sharing a portion of what we have. We just have to commit to learning what others need and providing what we can to satisfy those needs.

When we resist giving away what we have, we may be making an idol of our stuff, our money, our house, our lifestyle. Idols keep us from giving our whole heart to God, because a portion of it belongs to the idol.

It can feel like a paradox. We feel better when we give away what we have. When I first met Mike and we went out for a meal, he insisted on tipping 15%, in the pretax amount.  Over time, he has come to believe in a different point of view: the Thrivent saying, “Live generously.” Now, Mike figures the tip on 20% and rounds up to the next whole dollar. It only means a dollar or two for us, but he reasons that for a server with children or going to university, that dollar or two means a lot.

What has made the difference? Thinking about other people’s needs beyond our own. This is the point of the story from Acts: noticing that others have needs and taking action to help meet those needs.

A quick story about a little-known ministry that happens here. Jim and Pat Dasler collect bikes, Jim repairs them, and they give them away. The most recent bike went to Ivan, who has been walking over an hour to get here each week.

… As we consider the ministries God is calling us to next year, I hope our financial plans will form a balance between our concern for those in need and our need to maintain buildings and support staff.

And as we as individuals consider our own contributions, I hope we can live generously and identify any idols that prevent us from doing so. Amen