24 Pentecost 07 Proper 27

Pepe Rodriguez was one of the most notorious bank robbers in the early settling of the West. He lived just across the border in Mexico. He regularly crept into Texas towns to rob banks, returning to Mexico before the Texas Rangers could catch him.

The frustrated lawmen were so embarrassed by this that they illegally crossed the border into Mexico. Eventually, they cornered Pepe in a Mexican bar that he frequented. Unfortunately, Pepe couldn’t speak any English, so the lawmen asked the bartender to translate for them.

The bartender explained to Pepe who these men were, and Pepe began to shake with fear. The Texas Rangers, with their guns drawn, told the bartender to ask Pepe where he had hidden the money he had stolen from the Texas banks. “Tell him that if he doesn’t tell us where the money is right now, we’re going to shoot him dead on the spot.”

The bartender translated all this for Pepe. Immediately, Pepe explained in Spanish that the money was hidden in the town well. They could find the money by counting down seventeen stones from the handle, and behind the seventeenth stone was all the loot he had stolen.

The bartender then turned to the Texas Rangers and said in English, “Pepe is a very brave man. He says that you are a bunch of stinking pigs, and his is not afraid to die.”

The Rector has to be a very brave man to talk about money in church and sometimes it seems that he is speaking a foreign language when it comes to the subject of stewardship.

I’m not going to say that we are like Pepe and we rob God by not bringing our tithes into the storehouse as the prophet Malachi says. I’m not going to lay a guilt trip on you today. Instead I hope to give you a different perspective on giving.

Instead of focusing only on giving I want to first focus on our relationship with God. We are called to love God by giving up control of our lives and everything we have, including our money to God. If God comes first in our lives then giving is a natural response to that relationship.

Many people want to have that kind of relationship with God but find they don’t know how to do it. Perhaps it is related to the reality that a person who is truly born anew in the Spirit has experienced a kind of resurrection of their spirit, their spirits have come alive. Their human spirit has come alive because it has been indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God.

Our gospel lesson today speaks of resurrection of the body. It talks about a group of Jews called the Sadducees. The Pharisees, another group of Jews, believed in the idea of resurrection. The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection of the dead. That is why they were Sad You See.

Tragically some who call themselves Christians do not believe in the resurrection. This is seen in the fact that their lives reflect little of the spiritual resurrection that brings a person alive in Christ through their faith in him.

If a Christian really believed in the resurrection, that belief would transform his daily living. This fact was illustrated in a story told by a Christian friend of Opera great Jerome Hines.

His friend writes: “If the Christian really believed in the resurrection, that belief would transform his daily living. This fact was brought home to me the first time I attended a performance of Richard Wagner’s opera “Die Walkure” in the New York Metropolitan Opera House. Jerome Hines sang Woton that night, and Anita Valkki, a Finnish soprano, debuted as Brunnhilde.

The final dialogue between father and daughter soars in rapturous tones over the thundering orchestral chords and the enveloping marvels of the strings, then dies in the pulsing melodies and the flaming stage impressions of the “Magic Fire Music” finale.

Something was electric in the performance, and one could feel the singers rising above and beyond their actual physical limitations. Knowing Mr. Hines personally, I hurried back stage to greet him, while the audience went wild with praise, demanding curtain call after curtain call. When Jerry finally came into the wings, he was radiant with excitement that superseded mere delight in the audience’s appreciation.

‘As I sang the final scene tonight, for the first time I realized Woton’s words contain an argument for the resurrection,’ he told me, and he began to quote from the libretto. Here was the clue to a unique performance. Being a Christian, Jerry had caught a vision of his faith in the most unexpected of places, and it had inspired his creation of an operatic role. His enthusiasm had flamed through the other soloists and the orchestra to thunder forth in sheer triumph.

If every Christian were so inspired by the reality of Jesus’ resurrection, we would soon flood the dark world around us with the brilliance of God’s love.”

Until you are inspired by the resurrection of Jesus there is a good chance your giving might not be inspired either. Once you get inspired by the resurrection of Jesus, you get inspired about God, about the Church and about spreading the Faith handed down to us by the apostles.

The Church, as I see it, has always been supported by its members. The Macedonian Church in our second lesson today was perhaps one of the poorest churches financially, and yet they begged the apostles to let them help support the work of the Church. Imagine that, people begging to give to God’s work. Today, it’s just the opposite. The Church is begging the people to support God’s work.

When you get inspired by Jesus and his resurrection, you get inspired to give as well. In 2 Cor. 9: 6-7 in our reading today, we find the contrast between one who has not been inspired by Christ and one who has. “Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should give what he or she has decided in his or her heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Giving to God’s work in the church is like planting a seed. If I plant a few seeds then the most I will get is a few plants. If I sow a lot, I will reap a lot. And this principle does not just apply to giving money. It applies to giving our time and talent as well.

We, as Christians, would want to decide what God wants us to give and give it. It doesn’t matter how much but rather, “is this what God wants me to give?” Giving is not Christian giving if it is done reluctantly. “I don’t want to but I will,” or under compulsion, “If I don’t give I won’t get a tax break,” or “I have to give 10 % or God will be mad at me.” We would want to give simply because of all that God has given us, and because we love Jesus Christ and wish to spread his Word. If you don’t want to give, then don’t because your heart is not in the proper attitude to give.

Remember, God loves a cheerful giver. The Greek word for “cheerful giver” would better be translated “hilarious givers.” How many of us are hilarious givers?

William Temple said that “the church is the only organization which exists primarily for those who are not its members.” While that is true the church can only exist with the support of its members.

St. Anne’s will no doubt face some difficult times as a result of the uncertainty in the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion. A few may no longer be able to support our church. This means that those who continue to support St. Anne’s and want to see her flourish will be called upon to be even more sacrificial in their giving. We will be called to take on that Macedonian spirit of giving which welled up causing them to give even out of their extreme poverty.

I thank all of you who have been so faithful in your support of St. Anne’s. I trust that you have been blessed here and have grown spiritually and have grown closer to others. I want to thank you in advance for your continued support of our church in 2008.

Next week we will have our annual pledge drive. We will follow the same format of turning in a pledge sheet which will be burned at the church as a “burnt offering” to the Lord. The amount you pledge will be between you and God, but offering a public acknowledgement that you are making a pledge to the church is a way to further strengthen your commitment to your church and showing others that they matter to you as part of Christ’s body here at St. Anne’s.