Time after Pentecost- Lectionary 30
Luke 18: 9 – 18

Dear friends in Christ,

Why do we do, what we do, when we do things for the Lord? What motivates us to give our time, our talents, and our money, so that God’s mission and ministry are done in the world? What are the reasons, and are some reasons better than others? These are good questions, and they are questions that come up in the parable we just read about the Pharisee and the tax collector in the temple.

Earlier this fall I had the chance to hear a series of presentations by Dr. Mark Allan Powell, a professor of Biblical studies at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio. His focus was on Giving to God, which is also the title of a book he wrote on that subject. In his book, he writes of 10 motives for giving. They tie nicely into the parable this morning, and nicely into part of today’s service, as we bring our morning offerings and 2008 commitments forward to the altar. I’m not going to talk about all 10 reasons he lists as motives for giving, but I do want to touch on seven of them, tying them into today’s parable.

The parable is pretty straight forward. There is a Pharisee, the most respected Jewish leader of the day, at the temple. He prays to God, and in his prayer it is evident he thinks very highly of himself. He is a tither, giving 1/10th of his income in offerings. He fasts twice a week. He’s not a sinner like others around him, including a tax collector who is also praying in the temple.

The tax collector, on the other hand, is humble. He recognizes his sin and prays for mercy. The point is clear. The humble, repentant tax collector goes home forgiven and justified before God. The self righteous Pharisee does not.

Why do we do, what we do, for God? Here’s seven reasons from Mark Powell, and how we see them shown in the Pharisee and tax collector.

#1. Some give, to gain recognition. It’s a human tendency to want to make ourselves look good. The Pharisee was all about looking good compared to others. He thanked God he wasn’t like other sinners. He gave his tithes and did his fasting so others would recognize his righteousness. Now it is certainly appropriate to give occasional recognitions of faithfulness in giving. But we really ought not give and do things for God in order to receive affirmation and praise from others. Rather, we do it with humility, like the tax collector who stood far off, away from attention, in this parable.

#2. Some give, to attain power or influence. It is a temptation to give and use time, talent, or money as a way to increase our stature or increase control over the community. Money can be power. There is no doubt that this Pharisee saw his giving as another way to attain power, to be better and greater than others. Powell gives the example where a couple made a generous donation to fund the remodeling of a dilapidated room in the church and transform it into a very nice parlor. The room was painted, carpeted, and outfitted with new furniture, all at the couple’s expense. Unfortunately, the couple seemed to think that they now had the right to decide how and when the parlor should be used. They often expressed opinions about what sort of activities should be held there, subtly reminding church leaders that they donated the money in the first place. This can lead to all kinds of problems, and is not why we give. When we give, we give it away, understanding it is no longer ours to control how it is used. Money used for power in the church is a dangerous thing, and the Bible warns against showing favoritism in the church based on one’s wealth. We are the body of Christ, sharing freely with one another what we have, so that the whole body is built up and benefits.

#3. Some people give to the church in order to appease God or somehow win a special favor or perhaps to obtain forgiveness of sins. I sense some of this in the Pharisee. He’s giving and doing what God wants, so now God owes him something in return. This morning is Reformation Sunday in the church, the Sunday closest to October 31st, which is marked as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. It all started when Martin Luther got upset by a church fundraiser selling a piece of paper called an indulgence, which was basically sold as a way to buy a soul into heaven. We cannot buy God. Rather, God has bought us back through the death of his son, Jesus, on the cross. And yet there continues to be this idea that if we give a certain amount of money, we can pay God off. God doesn’t need our time, talent, or money to love or forgive us. God does this freely, because God is love.

#4. Some people give to fulfill an obligation. Clearly the Pharisee was doing this. He may have been tithing and fasting, but there was no joy in what he was doing. He was doing it because he had to, it was required of him. Even his praying sounds like an obligation, nothing heartfelt about what he was praying. The tax collector, on the other hand, was praying from the heart. He had a genuine need. He knew his need for forgiveness. This was not obligation, he really needed to be at the temple and to pray as he did.

Now giving out of obligation or a sense of responsibility to the church is not necessarily a bad thing. The Bible does present giving as something we ought to do. Common sense dictates that people who belong to a congregation and make use of the ministries it provides have some responsibility for supporting it financially.

There are all kinds of ministries and mission that happens through this church. Some are visible, like a Sunday morning service, much is not, like bringing a meal to a grieving widow or taking a bus load of kids on a youth outing. There’s a financial cost to make this happen, that we all need to support. It is our duty, as church members or regular attenders, to do so.

This year we calculated this cost, if everyone gave equally, for both the general fund and building fund, and included it on the commitment card. Some may find it useful, to realize what it really does cost to do ministry in this place. It’s another piece of information for you to consider. Some can give much more, others much less. Whatever the case, we give freely and joyfully what we believe we should, not because someone else thinks we should. There is a certain responsibility, our duty, if you will, to support the congregation we attend. But hopefully we can move beyond obligation, to that place where we’re really glad we do what we can do.

#5. Many people give to support a worthy cause. You don’t see this brought out in the parable, but we see it a lot in our congregation. It’s wonderful when it happens, and we can feel good about that. An example of this is taking place later this morning. Many people have already given a great deal of their time and resources for the Booya to benefit the Graeve family. People want to do that, to share what they have when people are in need. We’ve seen it in recent weeks as we received special offerings for students in Tanzania and to provide a new well at one of our preaching points. We’ve seen it in donations received for Operation Christmas Child through our Sunday School. We see it in times of natural disasters, as people open their pocketbooks to those that are suffering.

The only caution in this special giving is that we do still need to support the basic budget of the church and the building expenses. That may not seem as exciting or as fulfilling as giving to a special cause, but it has to happen. In most cases, the only reason the giving to special causes is possible, is because the church through its staff, building, and communications makes it possible. Hopefully, we can all do both, support our church as a responsibility of membership and then give joyfully to other special needs that come our way.

#6. Many people give, to give thanks to God for what God has done for them. Now we’re getting closer to the core of true Christian giving. It is done out of a sense of gratitude to God. God provides for us our very lives, each breath, food, clothing, family, daily work, favorable health and the greatest gift of all, Jesus our savior. God has done so much for us, and our giving can be a tangible sign of our gratitude. Further, it is not then based on an emotion or special need. It’s a lifestyle. We always give a portion back to God, because of what God has first done for us. We hope our gifts are always used in helpful and honorable ways, but that’s not primarily why we give. We give in thanks to God for what God has first given to us.

And finally, #7. Many people give, to convey the Christ within. This is the deepest level of giving. When we get to that place, we’re giving for the right reason. As Baptized believers, Christ lives in us. We have the Holy Spirit within us every day. As God’s Spirit takes hold of us more and more, we become more godly and thus more giving. God is a giver. We are made in God’s image. We were created to give. We give because that’s what God made us to do. When we’ve come to that realization, there’s no turning back. We know the joy of giving, and that’s all that matters. The Pharisee in the parable obviously had no experience of this at all. He was all about recognition, power, appeasement, and obligation. Although we can’t say for certain, the humble tax collector was much closer to this. He knew his need for God, he knew God’s love, and, I suspect, he gave for much better reasons than the Pharisee.

Why do we do, what we do, for the Lord? There are many motivations to give, some better than others. We’ve probably given at one time or another for all the reasons I’ve talked about. The parable teaches us that it’s not the amount we give that really matters, but the attitude with which it is given. The Pharisee certainly gave, but for not very good reasons. The tax collector came to God for the right reasons, and with the right heart. As we share our offerings today and make commitments for the future, may we do so with a humble heart, for the right reasons, with the Spirit of Christ in our hearts. If we do that, we can be assured that we are giving as God would want. Amen