GIVING THANKS FOR, WITH, AND IN….

Today is our pledge dedication Sunday. Later in the service each of us will have the opportunity to dedicate our 2007 financial commitment to Trinity Presbyterian Church. As we consider our pledge let us keep in mind what we have learned from scripture: Our commitment to Jesus Christ and the work of the church cannot be a partial commitment. The faith we are called to is a life of total commitment. We are called to dedicate our entire lives to our resurrected Lord.

Moreover, the God we have come to know through scripture is always present with us. There is never a moment that we are outside of God’s love. We may not always feel it. We may not always recognize it. And, speaking honestly, we may not even always want God’s presence in our lives. Yet God never wavers! God is always present. God is with us always, for us and in us. Everything we are and everything we have comes from God. For that reason we are called to give thanks.

However, even given with the all encompassing reality of God’s love it is also true that we have a deeply rooted desire to wall off God from certain parts of our lives. Beginning with the Garden of Eden and now continuing with each successive generation, there is a part of each of us that wants to rebel from God’s presence. Theologically, it is called original sin. But practically, it can be described as the notion that we think we know what is better for us than God does.

The truly amazing part of all this is that God allows it at all. But he does. God allows us the freedom of original sin because he wants us to freely love him. God wants our heart more than anything else. Love cannot be demanded, it can only be given.

Scripture calls us to freely give our whole lives over to God’s care and to trust in God’s providence over our lives. Yet we must constantly struggle against our sin; that is, the pull in the other direction. It is an impulse that comes from deep within us. It comes from the very seat of our freedom. It is that persistent voice in our head which says, “Well, okay God, I’ll give most of my life over to you, but I reserve certain parts for my control.”

There are numerous ways this desire manifests itself. We see evidence of this attitude in our constant struggle to define personal morality. We see evidence of it in society as personal and business ethical standards slowly erode and decline. We see evidence of it as sexual ethics continue to slide farther and farther away from scriptural standards. And, we see evidence of it as well as we consider our financial commitments to the church.

Let me share a story from history. After the Emperor Constantine was baptized and converted to Christianity, it is said that following his conversion his armies were also baptized. Hundreds of his warriors at a time would wade into a river to receive the waters of baptism, giving their lives to God and recognizing and accepting God’s gracious love revealed through Jesus Christ. Now what is interesting to us this morning is not so much their baptism, but HOW they waded into the waters of commitment and redemption.

These warriors would wade into the river with their sword hand held high above the water. Supposedly these warriors believed that by doing this they would be free to do whatever they wanted to with this sword hand. Accordingly, then, they could brutalize and kill the enemy without regard to their Christian faith.

The analogy has been made that many of us North American Christians have waded into the water’s of baptism with our wallets held high; thereby hoping to separate our faith from our finances. We know in our heart of hearts that such a notion is as incomprehensible as the image of an army wading into a river with its killing hands raised high above the water. God has given us everything, and in turn we are called to return thanks to God with our whole being, and that includes our money.

By virtue of our faith, each of us is called to live placing our trust in a reality that is revealed to us by God; not merely the reality of our eyes, ears, and hands. We are called to live placing our trust in God’s providence over our lives. It means that we live according to a vision of reality and truth that comes to us from outside of us. It is a transcendent reality that is intangible, but at the same time defines the tangible.

It is impossible to overstate how hard it is to live this way. To live by faith and not by sight is always a challenge. The truth is it is so easy to succumb to the cynicism of life. Circumstances easily overwhelm us. People betray us. Life is not easy. In our scripture reading from Genesis this morning we have a man who easily could have given into a cynical view of the world.

Joseph suffered greatly at the hands of his family and by the circumstances of his life. By all rights, given all of the setbacks he suffered in life, he should have been a dejected and defeated person. Yet he was not! Why? Joseph was grounded in a vision of reality and truth that was different from the world around him. He was filled with the very strength and power of God.

Those around him saw this power and strength, and the confidence it gave Joseph, even in the most difficult situations. Even though Potiphar didn’t understand that Joseph’s strength came from God, he nonetheless understood that Joseph had a vision of reality different from others. In turn, Potiphar trusted in that strength and vision that came through Joseph’s living and entrusted everything he had to Joseph.

Early in his life God had given Joseph dreams that allowed him to see that God intended to provide for the future survival of Israel using Joseph’s life. Accordingly, Joseph knew that God would provide. He trusted in those dreams. Such a faith gave him a certain freedom as he faced the daily challenges of life. It was this divine confidence that Potiphar no doubt found so alluring and attractive. It was why he was willing to turn everything in his life, except his wife, over to Joseph’s control.

Scripture gives us yet another example of someone trusting in God’s revealed reality in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. As Paul wrote his letter one of the first things he let his readers know was his faith and trust in a revealed reality that triumphs over observable reality. In verse 17 he speaks of his prayer that these people might also place their trust and hope in the vision of glory revealed through the risen Christ. It is his hope that they will make decisions in life based on the reality of God’s providence rather than on the reality that can be perceived solely through the physical senses.

So, then, what about us gathered here at Trinity Presbyterian Church? In what reality do we trust? Is it the revealed reality of scripture, or is it the reality limited by our physical senses?

From its beginnings almost 80 years ago in the Renfrew mill village through it relocation to this site people have gathered as Trinity Presbyterian Church and trusted in God’s vision. People have trusted in God’s providence. Our brothers and sisters in the faith who have gone before us in this family of faith trusted in the vision God gave them. The result is the wonderful legacy we have today – the mission of Trinity Presbyterian Church. This mission is grounded in the transcendent reality of God, not the tangible reality of cynicism.

And what is that mission? Simply stated, it is to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel revealed through Jesus Christ. Specifically, the Good News is that in Jesus Christ God loves us and forgives us, and calls us his very own. That is our reality.

Now, we live out that mission in a variety of ways. We offer a strong and growing ministry to families with children and youth. We devote a significant portion of the budget to supporting outside mission causes beyond the four walls of this building. We give to ministries that minister to people in need, not to make us feel good about ourselves, but because our Lord has called us to care for each others as brothers and sisters. Our mission dollars provide food, clothing, shelter, as well as, infrastructure support for helping ministries throughout our community and beyond.

We also live out our mission by providing a community wherein we get to know each other as fellow believers. Providing events and activities for people to work together and socially build relationships beyond the level of “acknowledging nods” across the pews on Sunday mornings is a core part of our mission.

When we give thanks to God by financially supporting the work of the church, we are supporting a mission that is grounded in scripture and guided by love.

God gave Joseph a dream, and he believed it. God gave Paul a vision of hope and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, and he followed it. God has given us the mission of Trinity Presbyterian Church. Let us live out the mission by giving thanks for God’s love. Let us live out the mission with enthusiasm and excitement for what God has done in Jesus Christ and has promised to do with our lives. Let us live out the mission by making a financial commitment in the future of God’s mission here at Trinity Presbyterian Church by dedicating our pledges to God’s glory.

So may it be for us. Amen.

Reverend Marc V. Mason

Dedication Sunday, November 19, 2006

Trinity Presbyterian Church

Travelers Rest, SC