08 November 1998
I begin this morning with a warning. I begin my sermon this morning with a prayer. I must warn you that this prayer has been used at St. Margaret's for some time. If you have been here a long time you will have heard it in worship. If you brand new to St. Margaret's, you probably haven't heard it, but you can see the results of the prayer in the buildings and ministries that are a part of this parish.
I warn you because I know that God has heard this prayer and, once invited in, has changed lives. I use the prayer this morning with this knowledge, and with the hope that God will continue to bless our parish with the generous gift of your time given for God's glory as you do something (for God) with your lives.
Come Holy Spirit, come with your fire and burn us, come with your rain and cleanse us, come with your light and reveal to us. Convict us, convert us, consecrate us until we do something with our lives. Amen.
In the next few minutes, with your help, let me whip up the wind and feed the fire of the Holy Spirit that burns within you.
Let us look at the gift and use of time. Let us begin with Jesus. Jesus had, at best, three good years to proclaim the news of God's kingdom, to reveal the love of the Father, to invite those whose lives he touched into that kingdom, into that love. It is an easy leap of imagination to picture Jesus getting the most out of every precious minute of his ministry.
Jesus was entrusted with a treasure beyond price. Upon taking up his active ministry to proclaim God's kingdom and God's favor, Jesus first gathered disciples; knowing there would be a time when his work would continue through the efforts of others. Peter and Andrew were invited to join him, James and John, and then others until he had a core of 12 disciples who would learn, who would receive this treasure from him, who would use their time and energy and talent to continue the work he began. He needed two things from them: their willingness to follow and learn from him, their willingness to use their time and talent to share what they learned.
My focus in the next few minutes—all of them precious to me and you—is to draw out the understanding that Jesus needs the same two things from us. You have already travelled far along this path, you know. Your presence here this morning, like a sacrament, is an outward and visible sign to others (and to yourself) that you have decided to follow Jesus, that you have approached to listen and learn from him. No matter how you successful you feel about your discipleship, you have made the effort to follow the Lord and you are here. And I give thanks to God for your decision and your presence.
Your presence here means that you have given him time from a busy day, you have given him time from a schedule that could include more play and relaxation. You have, by your presence here, made a gift to the Lord from the very gift the Lord has given you: your time (may this remind you of the words of scripture used in our 8:00 am Service: All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee.) Having received God's gift, you have also given the Lord the gift of your time.
That you have chosen to dedicate these moments to worship and thanksgiving to God are testimony that you understand that every second, every minute, every hour of your life is a gift from God. May the wind and fire of the Holy Spirit stir within you that you may more deeply understand and appreciate this gift of time. May the wind and fire of the Holy Spirit stir within you that you may continue to honor God with the gift of your time given to praise and thanksgiving in Sunday worship.
But, thanks be to God, many of you have chosen to honor God with the additional gift of your time given to serving others in the name of God, serving others because it is the right thing to do, serving others because as you listened and learned you discovered that Jesus spent his precious seconds, minutes, and hours on this earth serving others and sharing with others the Good News of God's love and God's invitation to join the Kingdom party he had prepared.
Jesus gave his time away to the glory of the Father, feeding those who were hungry, healing those who were ill, freeing those held captive by demons and circumstance, and reconciling those who felt estranged from God's love. Whenever he had the chance, Jesus used his time to sit with children and those with childlike trust telling them stories of the Kingdom, teaching them of God's constant and powerful love that is the source of light and life in a world darkened and threatened with sin and evil.
In a moment charged with power, symbol, and mystery, in a moment of calm and quiet just before the darkening storm of evil and destruction would overwhelm him and his disciples, Jesus took off his outer garment, poured water into a basin, attached a towel to his waist and, kneeling at the feet of each of his disciples, including the one who would betray him, he washed and dried their feet. When he was finished he made a simple statement that commands our attention still: "I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you." (Jn 13.15)
There isn't a person in this church who has not received the precious gift of time from our God. There isn't a person in this church who doesn't understand that by his word and example Jesus asks us to share a portion of that gift for the benefit of others—to do what Jesus has done for us. Let the wind and the fire of the Holy Spirit within you confirm and convince you that, for the Glory of God, you have something to do with your life and you have God's gift of time to do it.
You need not invent ways to spend your time to God's glory. Your church family, St. Margaret's, has begun many different ministries in being faithful to God's call to serve. You need only to choose the one's which appeal to your heart and your talent and then decide to spend some time with others in bringing glory to God and honoring your committment to share, generously, God's gift. In early December you will receive a pledge card that will invite you to spend time in one of our existing ministries, strengthening it, growing it, sharing it with others. Take it seriously, let the Holy Spirit guide your decision making and your actions.
Be extravegently generous in your response, using God's gift of time for the benefit of others. Let the Holy Spirit be your guide. Let the wisdom of a little child humor you into giving your all for God.
Sheila, a 9 year old Sunday School student was asked, "What does the Old Testament suggest is the Main Goal we should all be striving for?" She responded: "Love God 365 days a year. . . .Be careful not to take many days off." Amen. (1)
The Rev. Daniel Rondeau
drondeau@stmargarets.org
08 November 1998
(1) Just build the ark and the animals will come. Edited by David Heller. Kensington Books. page 141.