1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
3I'm speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it's important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God. No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.
4-6In this way we are like the various parts of a human body. Each part gets its meaning from the body as a whole, not the other way around. The body we're talking about is Christ's body of chosen people. Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body. But as a chopped-off finger or cut-off toe we wouldn't amount to much, would we? So since we find ourselves fashioned into all these excellently formed and marvelously functioning parts in Christ's body, let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't.
Ann Robertson tells of a discomfort she had within her while she was a Seminary student at the thought of placing money upon the altar table in the liturgical act of offering.She felt that it was wrong somehow to put money upon the same surface as the holy things of communion bread and wine, candles giving light, flowers that speak of God’s giving.She had the sense that the altar was where important things went, and putting a plate full of money there seemed to her wrong—as though we are worshipping money in that act.
Then one day, as she voiced her concern over this atrocious act in worship, a wise woman in her church replied simply, “Oh, I just always assumed that since the altar was the place of sacrifice, that’s where the money we sacrifice to God should go.” She had the sense that the altar is where important things go, but to know that it is also the place of sacrifice made all the difference in the world.Her discomfort left her.Now as she serves in her churches, lifting the offering plates at the table is one of the most meaningful parts of worship for her.
I wonder how many of you know that this altar used to be up against that wall [pointing to the east wall in the sanctuary]?When this sanctuary was built the original design (in the liturgical understanding of the times), was that the altar was against the east wall under the cross and framed by the reredos or dorsal curtain.The wooden panels we see are the updated version of that.The clergy would bring the offerings alone up to the altar, raise them high in prayer, and place them onto the altar with a prayer, facing the wall.The offering was clearly a sacrifice.That design worked well for offerings.But it did leave the impression that there was a clear separation between the holy and the profane and that only certain people could approach these holy things.
Then later a re-pitching of the tent was done right here in the sanctuary; the table was moved forward, the cross was lengthened on the wall, the choir was moved from the side to behind the table.Now we experience God in a different way—not as distant, but present in our midst.We meet each other across and at the table.We still bring our offerings to this altar table, but we surround it now, and are fed from it, empowered by it.
The early church gathered in large homes on the Lord’s Day to worship.As they did so, each person brought something of their own livelihood to give.Grapes, wine, bread, leatherworks, wool, olive oil—whatever they made in their lives they brought.When it was time for the offering they would bring these forward and place them upon the table, “The Lord’s table” they called it.It was piled high with all the food and goods.The Eucharistic thanksgiving prayer was offered over the whole table and then some of it was then used for their communion meal.After worship, the rest of the goods and foods were used in their ministry with orphans, widows, shipwrecked sailors, the unemployed and poor.Their livelihood provided life, as it crossed the table.Their sacrifice enabled others to live, and God’s love to be shown in concrete ways.
Today we do virtually the same thing; something of our livelihood is brought here, placed, recognized as holy or sacred, and it is dedicated to God’s work in the world.We are acting as priests as we place our lives symbolically on this table, sacrificing them in the spirit of Paul’s words to the Romans:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Today we are placing our lives upon this table as we come forward.You may be bringing your pledge today to our campaign.You may already have given your pledge and are bringing an offering or a prayer card.But the full reality is that we are bringing our selves to this table.We are bringing the sacrifice of our living lives as we dedicate ourselves to the way of Christ. Pledge, offering, prayer, commitment, self… it is all coming forward today.Our true worship entails a living sacrifice that continually brings gifts to God, knowing that all things come from God.Because God gives to us, we can live and give.It is all grace.
I walked into my office this week and saw a white envelope on the floor.Now for those of you who have been in my office, paper on the floor is nothing new.When I have important stuff to deal with, but don’t have time to get to it right away, I put it on the floor reasoning that I will see it when I walk over it.But I didn’t put this envelope there.It was near the door, as though someone pushed it over the threshold.I picked it up and read it.Printed on the envelope was something like, “An anonymous gift for the campaign start up costs.”The envelope seemed heavy and since I don’t deal with offerings I took it into Julie Daniels’ office for her to process.She opened it up to find ten $100 bills!No name.No one to credit for their tax purposes at the end of the year.Totally anonymous.
We tried to decipher the handwriting but no luck.We do have the DNA from the saliva that we could test if you are all willing to submit samples with cotton swabs this morning.In a kind of fumc-CSI move we can determine who this generous person is.But that would wreck it in a way wouldn’t it?Imagine the joy of this unknown friend, when they got the idea.Imagine the thrill of placing the bills into the envelope, of slipping it under my door.Imagine their inner joy right now as they see the delight and joy that it brings to us all!
Here is a person who is serious about giving in the spirit of Jesus’ teaching, “do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”Here is a person who has been blessed by God and is empowered to give.Here is a person who gives cheerfully, willingly, generously and sacrificially.
May all our hearts be filled with that joy as we bring our gifts, pledges, prayers and selves forward…place them upon the altar table, to find ourselves fed, loved, empowered.So be it.Amen.
