STEPS ALONG THE PILGRIMAGE
A sermon by the Rev. Dr. James G. Kirk
Harundale Presbyterian Church
Text: “You shall…bow down before the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 26:10)
First
Second
On this day
twenty eight years ago the nation was observing its bicentennial. The Concorde made its first flights, the
Viking spacecraft landed on Mars, Chinese leader Mao Zedong died, and Jimmy
Carter was elected president. The
The next time February 29th will fall on a Sunday will be 2032 and think how the world will have changed by that time. “Nanobots will be used to perform surgery, we’ll do word processing on liquid computers, or an a paper computer so flat, we can roll it up like we do our newspaper. Our children will be subject to biogenetic engineering, we’ll be closer to artificial intelligence as an organizing principle in computing, the walls in our homes will be covered with flat screens conveying the data we choose, or a work of art, and we’ll carry a remote control with us, like we do cell phones now.” (Homiletics, February 2004, page 68)
Think back twenty eight years and where you were on your pilgrimage of faith. How far have you come since then? How far have you still to go and what’s it going to take to get there? This past Monday the Session chose eleven people to form the strategic vision committee. This year we’re going to spend considerable time discussing where Harundale should be not in the next twenty eight years but in the next five years. The committee will be asking some very specific questions. What does Harundale want to be known for in the future, its mission, its worship, its youth and Sunday school programs, its pastoral care of its members or all of the above? What is its plan for the youth in the congregation in the Sunday school, Kids for Christ and the youth group? What form of worship and worship leadership would Harundale like to offer? What are its plans for outreach and growth? What new stewardship emphasis is needed to increase giving and funding for programs? It’s a time to think about how far we’ve come and what needs to be done to continue the pilgrimage.
It’s somewhat the same thing Moses wants the Israelites to think about. He wants them to think how far they’ve come and how they’re going to behave once they get to where they’re going. We hear him say, “When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it.” It’s very important to remember along the way that what we’re doing here at Harundale is not about us, it’s about God. Like the Israelites God has given us a ministry as an inheritance. It’s not something we own or can ever take credit for, but rather we tend to it and care for it for God’s sake. It’s all about stewardship. We are to be stewards of these buildings. We are to be stewards of all the programs that occur here. We are to be stewards of our worship. We are to be stewards of our children. We are to be stewards of the money we give. We are to be stewards of one another. Or, put another way, we are to be the caretakers of everything that goes on at Harundale. We are God’s appointed caretakers. When you think about stewardship and caretaking all of a sudden what we do is no longer as important as how God’s name is praised in all that we do.
Moses continues that when the Israelites get to the Promised Land they are to “take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name.” There God’s name is praised again and this time the emphasis is upon what the Israelites will give. They are to give the first fruits of all that God’s given them.
Too often, I’m afraid; we give God the dregs, not from the bounty God give us. We take care of our needs first. There are bills to be paid, mortgages to cover, trips to take, healthcare to provide for, necessary expenses like that. Then, when we get down to the bottom of the financial page we begin to think about what we should give to God. Moses was quite insistent that the first fruits were to be given to God, not what was left over. As you can see in your bulletin we’re pretty close to our budget for this time of year. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if for once throughout the year we were always ahead of where we should be? We wouldn’t have to worry about making the budget by the end of the year. We wouldn’t have to hold back on our forecasts for the next year, but could seriously consider new ventures in mission and ministry. Like Moses we would give God the first fruits of all that God so mercifully gives us.
Moses continues that once the priest takes the basket and places it before the altar of the Lord the people are to respond, “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous…The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.” It’s time now to consider all the goodness God gives us along the pilgrimage of faith: God hears our cries; God knows our affliction; God brings us to a better place.
The story is told of Gracie Allen. “Gracie Allen was the life partner and comedic partner of George Burns. On their radio and television shows, Gracie played the role of a lovable airhead, whose misunderstandings made people laugh. For example, at the end of the show, if George would tell her, ‘Say good night, Gracie,’ she would say, ‘Good night, Gracie.’ However, in their real lives, Gracie was very much the brains and heart and soul of their partnership and their relationship. So before she died, Gracie left a love note for George, hoping to soften his pain and to give him courage to continue in life. And that note contained these words, ‘Never place a period where God has placed a comma…Love Gracie.’ (Ibid. page 71)
When we cry out to God to hear our voice, oftentimes we’re at the end of our tether. We wonder how much more can we possibly take. We’re throwing out our lifeline to God, hoping that God will hear our voice and rein us in to more sheltered and calm seas. Never place a period where God has placed a comma. Again, when God sees our affliction we wonder if God is so preoccupied elsewhere that God can’t possibly have time or be bothered with us. Never place a period where God has placed a comma, because, like the Israelites, God is inevitably going to bring us to a better place.
That’s what God did with the Israelites and that’s what God will always do with us. God brought them to the Promised Land. In light of that it’s no wonder that Moses tells them, “You shall set the first of the fruit of the ground down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.”
Those are the steps along the pilgrimage of faith: Always give the first fruits from the bounty that God has given you, not the dregs. Remember that God always hears our cries; God knows our affliction and God brings us to a better place. So, never put a period where God has placed a comma and continue to celebrate before God’s throne of grace the bounty that God has given you and your house.
Thanks be to God,
Amen