Fear not: How Much is Enough

from my message on 3/3/13, from Luke 12:22-24

Leftovers.  This message could be titled Leftovers.  You hear the scripture, and you think, "Didn't we finish our stewardship emphasis a couple of weeks ago?'' Yes, we did.  But I didn't get to say all of the things I wanted to.  So today you are getting leftovers.  And isn't one of our biggest fears that we won't have enough?  We hold onto tightly to our stuff, no matter how much or how little we have.

I was pastor down on the Texas coast for 10 years.  While there, a tropical storm came in north of us and settled over Cuero.  It dumped a bunch of rain in a short time in that little town, flooding the low areas.  Guess who lived in the low areas?  The poorest people. Rivers of waters swept through their homes.  One day, our church was helping a old man (by old, I mean older than I am, and I will be 60 tomorrow).  Our job was to clear out a storage shed.  Now storage shed is much too grand a term.  It was a falling down shack.   Some people might call what was in the shed antiques, but really it was junk.  We had a bid dumpster next to the shed.  We were to take the items out of the shed and place them in the dumpster.  I sat with that man all day long.  I carried very few things to the dumpster.  I stayed with the man as he personally reviewed each item we took to the dumpster. It was nothing but warped lumber and buckets of rusted nails and an old screen door and a bald tire.  Everything was moldy, rusted, worthless.  But he needed to say yes or no.  I was his pastor that day, helping him to grieve all he lost.  But all of the stuff was absolutely not worth anything.  At the end of the day, nothing was held back. Everything went into the dumpster.  There was nothing left over.

We hear Jesus' words about the folly of worrying over things in this life.  How are we to hold things lightly?  Craig Ford was a missionary to Papua, New Guinea.  I didn't get to share  the following counsel during our stewardship emphasis:

For the Christian, money is the ultimate balancing act.  To be rich is not ungodly.  To be poor is not spiritual.  But there is an ungodly way to be rich and there is a way to grow spiritually through poverty.
--Rich Christians acknowledge God as the Source of wealth.  Do you say grace over meals?  How do recognize that all we have is a gift from God? 
--Rich Christians give God absolute ownership.  You have a bank account with your name on it.  Probably houses and stocks and bonds, but what do you own?  We are just borrowing all of  this stuff for a little while.  What is God's plan for God's money?
--Rich Christians use their position and influence for kingdom purposes.  We are Christians not just on Sunday mornings for 1 hour.  We use our gifts all during the week.  We serve on boards and agencies.   We teach.  We do good works like today with Interfaith Hospitality Network, or the CROP walk for hunger.  We use our skills, our time, our spiritual gifts for God's glory.
--Rich Christians give generously from a genuine heart.  That's why we had our stewardship emphasis with a title of Extravagant Generosity.  We know it is not a budget matter, but  a heart matter.
--Rich Christians always give priority to people over things.  I heard it a long time ago:  In the beginning, God gave us people to love and things to use.  Maybe our problems begin when we start loving the things and using the people.

I have another story about leftovers.  Cathy and I have grown fond of a show on PBS, aired here on Sunday nights, called, The Cafe'.  The setting is a coastal town in the south of England.  Three generations of women run this cafe where people's lives intersect.  Carol is the primary one who manages the eatery.  Her mother and father started it.  Her dad died, and now her mom sits by the door, knitting.  Her daughter, Sara, is an aspiring writer sitting over here working on her manuscripts, trying to get published.  There is Frank, who sits outside the door begging for spare change.  Carol goes out to see him. He asks, "Any leftovers."  "At the end of the day, Frank.  An the end of the day."  Richard is an attendent at the nursing home.  He comes greeting everyone, "Alright?  Alright."  Stan is in love with Carol.  He is a flower merchant. He comes in the afternoons bringing Carol leftover flowers from his shop.  The characters are so sweet and gentle with each other.  Carol tells her mom "that last night  Stan and I went too far.... We held hands."  Carol is behind in payments on the cafe.  She doesn't know a way out.  Brenda (hiss) is the evil one who wants to buy Carol out and make the cafe into something entirely different. 

Carol is having a birthday.  It has been arranged for her to get her hair done in the back room of the cafe.  Her hair is in curlers and under a hair dryer to mask the sound of the surprise party being set up in the front of the cafe.  People are sneaking in, "SSSHHH, she's  just right there."  They are decorating.  They are bringing food.  They are handing envelopes to the daugther Sara as they enter.  Carol comes out with her hair still in curlers.  "Surprise," they all shout.  They sing, "For she's a jolly good fellow..."  Carol cries.  Richard is set up with his guitar and is singing.  Sara interrupts a song.  She says, "You know that mum got in a bit of a spot.  She owed 1500 pounds.  I am sad to report today that in your envelopes you gave only 1497 pounds and 78 pence."  Everybody cheers.  Carol cries.  They are all singing and dancing.  Except Brenda, who says, "Next time, Carol, next time."  Then Frank comes up to Carol with his cup, "I have counted it twice, Carol, and there's 3 pounds and 12 pence.  I want you to have it."  "I can't accept it Frank."  "You must."  And Carol takes it.  It is more than enough.  And then Frank asks, "Any leftovers, Carol?"  "At the end of the table, Frank, at the end of the table."

I don't have very much on this table today.  Just a little bread and some grape juice.  I am here to tell you that it is more than enough.

There is only one miracle story that is reported in all four gospels, that is, the feeding of the crowds with just somebody's lunch of bread and fish.  In the story, the disciples take up baskets of leftovers.  Have no fear:  with Jesus, we have more than enough.