27 Pentecost Yr A

Our actions in dark times say who we are. On Wednesday night, those of us who were here for Wednesday @ St. Andrew’s watched a rather disturbing piece that had aired on PBS. It was called God on Trial. It was the story of Jewish men held at Auschwitz, on the eve of the death of half of them. They decided to put God on Trial, and that the charge that God was guilty of was breaking the covenant. We talked a little about our impressions of this story, and I think most of us are probably still thinking about it. That was a dark and evil time. And what I gathered from that story is that our actions in dark times say who we are. The men in that story went to the gas chambers with prayers in their mouths, and their hands on their heads, in lieu of the hat that covers their heads with humility before God.

Our actions in dark times say who we are. Some would say we are living through some dark times. Some would say the election we all just experienced is hopeful, others, like the letter writer in Thursday’s paper, say all our freedoms have just come to an end. I think the truth can be found somewhere in saying that no matter what, we must change. We must examine our consumerism and our consumption and we must learn to use less. We must examine our impact upon our Mother Earth, and we must learn to live with less of an impact. We must examine our relationships with our neighbors and learn to love them. Our actions in dark times say who we are.

Our actions in dark times say who we are. So, who are we? We are people of hope. We are people of joy. We are stewards. We are God’s children, and God has poured out God’s abundance upon us. We are people who do not give in to fear. We are people who like our relatives the Jews, pray, and come humbly before our God. We are people who take risks for the kingdom, not for ourselves, but for the Kingdom. That is what the parable in Matthew shows us today. This story shows us that fear only limits our capacity to be the children that God has created us to be. This story shows us that fear only limits our capacity to participate in the mission and ministry that God has called us to. This story shows us that fear only limits our capacity to be the new creations that God has made us. This story shows us that we are people of hope, and that we must move from fear to hope.

Many things have been said about the third servant in Matthew’s story. I say that servant was living out of fear, and that fear limited his ability to be the disciple God had created him to be. He focused all his energy on preserving things as they are, and missed God’s abundance. Fear caused him to be unable to experience God’s abundance. Fear caused him to be unable to risk living fully as a new creation. Fear caused him to be unable to see that he was created in God’s image. When we live out of fear, when we do not risk experiencing God’s abundance, we are much like that servant. Not only do we lose sight of God’s abundance, but we begin to lose the gifts that God has given us as well. Fear keeps us from claiming God’s abundance.

Moving from fear to hope seems like folly to many in our culture. But the rules of God’s economy are quite different than the rules of the marketplace. In God’s economy, as Matthew shows us, everyone is abundantly gifted, everyone has value and worth. In God’s economy, to risk is to claim God’s abundance. In God’s economy, being a steward is a given, the choice is between being a good steward or not. In God’s economy, to risk losing what our culture counts as valuable is to gain everything. Well-done, good and trustworthy servant. If these are indeed dark times, our actions say who we are. We are God’s creation, and we are stewards of that creation. The question remains, as we move from fear to hope, what kind of a steward do you want to be?

Find a way to be generous; there is so much need in our community. We are well fed, people are hungry. The shelves at the food bank are empty, our cash can fill them.

The group of pastors I meet with on Wednesday mornings have been talking about forming a new Tuesday crew for Habitat for Humanity. Most of you read in the Rapid City Journal at the beginning of September about the Thursday crew, and the Saturday group. Chuck Mickel volunteers his time regularly for the Habitat builds. The hope is that a new Tuesday crew can begin an ecumenical build on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. It is our hope that we can provide the impetus for continuous construction of Habitat homes. The need for affordable housing seems to be growing, not lessening. Our actions in dark times say who we are. If you want to be part of the new Tuesday crew, just show up at the Restore on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving at by 9am. Habitat for Humanity is all about God’s economy. Habitat for Humanity International is about the fourth largest mortgage provider, and charges no interest. Talk about folly, Black Hills Habitat has built 53 houses since it’s inception, and only one has been repossessed.

I ask you today to be a bold steward. I ask you today to put your trust in God’s economy. I ask you today to move to action. I remind you today of our hope in Jesus Christ. In these dark and fearful times, I ask you to be generous, not only to our St. Andrew’s budget, not only to the mission and ministry we can do here together, but to just be generous for the sake of the Kingdom and the sake of God’s economy. Our actions in dark times say who we are. We must respond in hope, say your prayers and act humbly before your God.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness: Come let us adore him.