C3/CCC Sermon Transcript for September 30, 2007 “The End” is an old black and white film starring Rock Hudson. There is a great scene where Hudson’s boat capsizes and sinks. He is bobbing up and down in the water, and cannot even see the shoreline. So he offers a prayer to God, saying, “God, if you get me out of this I will give you 50% of my net worth.” He continues to swim along, and at one point, he thinks he may be able to see the shoreline. So he prays again, saying, “God, if you get me to shore, I will give you 30% of my net worth.” Soon, he realizes that he is getting closer to the shoreline, so again he prays, “God, if you get me to the beach, I will give you 10% of my net worth.” Finally he is very near the shore and still swimming strong, so he prays, “God, just forget what I said before. I can take it from here.” Money as a Hail Mary This story captures the scarcity mentality perfectly. It captures the viewpoint that life is a series of problems that need to be solved. We either need to be rescued by an external god, or we look to people around us for rescue. Conversely, we see ourselves as rescuers of others. And we will treat money the same way. Money is like a “Hail Mary,” and we use it to rescue ourselves or other people. Through the centuries the church has institutionalized the scarcity mentality. Several hundred years ago it was institutionalized in the form of indulgences. You could literally pay your way out of the consequences of sin. People were persuaded that by paying the church they were paying their way into God’s favor. This is the ultimate expression of the scarcity mindset. Soulful Generosity But there is another way. After 400 years of this impoverished scarcity theology, progressive theology offers an alternative. It is the way of self-empowerment and abundance. The Rock Hudson ocean story could be seen as a metaphor for the development of our spirituality. As we swim through the challenges of life, we come to points where we stop projecting our hopes and dreams on an external god, and begin to internalize all of our deepest human ideals. When we do that we experience a strength, resilience, and self-empowerment from deep within that we never could have imagined. Now, its important to remember that abundance was the ideal from the outset of Christianity. Its been the centuries of church dogmatics ever since that warped the original intent. The reading this morning from Corinthians expresses the abundance that was there from the outset, an abundance that was inherited from the Hebrew concept of generosity. * (see reading below) In Hebrew there are two words for generosity. The first is Tzedekah, which means fulfilling your obligation. Tzedekah is important, as we do have responsibilities. However the danger of Tzedekah is that on its own it is often about being seen to be generous. So Jesus criticized the Pharisees as hypocrites for being so “showy” about their giving. That is the negative side of obligation-based giving. While there is nothing wrong with obligation, it is so much more powerful when balanced with another word out of the Hebrew tradition, Nedivut, which is an irresistible inner calling to participate in a vision. It's a movement of the soul that erupts when you are pierced by the recognition of your direct connection to another soul. Your need is my need. Your suffering is my suffering. Your liberation is bound up with my liberation. When the two are combined you have the full, and wholistic Hebrew concept of generosity. It was the soul of generosity that led to the Golden Rule. The Golden Rule usually says, “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” I want to suggest another version, “Do to others as if they ARE you.” If you do this, you are giving in a spirit of abundance. In this spirit of abundance and flow, everyone wins, because everyone’s liberation is bound up with everyone else’s. I am so thrilled to be part of a movement and a community where we move beyond an impoverished, scarcity theology. I am excited to be part of a community based in self-empowerment and freedom. It is a freedom to serve, but not service of the other, rather it is service alongside the other. What Goes Around Comes Around Let me give you one more Hebrew phrase. This one translates the phrase “They shall give” – v'natnu (spelled vav-nun-tet-nun-vav.) The beautiful thing about this phrase is that it is a palindrome. It reads the same right to left as left to right. Here are some other fun examples of palindromes – Do geese see God? Madam, I’m Adam. God lived as a devil dog. Murder for a jar of red rum. Go hang a salami; I’m a lasagna hog. One last example relates to today’s theme of soul based generosity- So much for the palindrome. Consider the Hebrew phrase for generosity in the context of the palindrome. The point is that when generosity is based in a soulful mindset, giving and receiving are one and the same thing. What goes around comes around. What goes forward comes back tenfold. Vav-nun-tet-nun-vav is generosity based in abundance and flow. The beautiful reality is that in the Judeo/ Christian tradition, we inherit a spirit of abundance. That’s what The Soul of Money is all about. There is no sense that one is doing to another, or that one is receiving from another, It’s just people being together in harmony, dwelling in the flow of abundance. It’s a beautiful truth, one that is at the heart of progressive theology. And it is also right there in the heart of our tradition. Forget the centuries of impoverished scarcity theology. Let’s go back to the very origins of our faith, and claim the spirit of abundance that was always there. Giving and Reciprocity Indigenous cultures have many great ways of expressing the spirit of abundance. There is one particular practice that is commonplace with indigenous people of North Western North America and British Columbia. It is called the “Potlatch.” This is an occasion where a host invites many guests into their home. The people bring nothing; rather the host lavishes his guests with gifts and money and with food, as if there is no tomorrow. Outlandish generosity with no concern for the future. There is an unspoken understanding of reciprocity in indigenous cultures. The hosts know that in the future they will be invited to potlatches where they too will be lavished with gifts. They don’t do it for that reason, it is just an understanding that when you pay kindness forward, it comes back tenfold. That’s just the nature of life when we live in the abundance of flow and spirit. If that seems a little far from home, let me tell you another story that is far more ordinary and everyday. This story comes from Lynne Twist’s book The Soul of Money: Lynne was driving home one night and noticed that her brakes were failing. It was late in the evening, and she saw some lights on at an auto shop. She stopped, and found the mechanics inside drinking, partying, and having a great time. She asked them if they could fix her car, and they told her they were in the middle of a party. The only problem with the party is that the musician did not show up. Lynne looked into the corner of the room and noticed a piano. She said, “Would it be alright if I play the piano for the party?” The mechanics thought it was a great idea, and decided that while Lynne played the piano, they would fix her car. So for the next few hours there was a great party in the auto shop. Lynne played the piano, and a few mechanics got together and fixed her brakes. At the end of the night, they refused to take money from her, because they realized that they had been caught up in the spirit of abundance. Each person came with his or her skill, and they became immersed in the flow of generosity. There are people in our very community who live the soul of money everyday. These people inspire me greatly. I’ve asked Don Anderson to speak about his approach to money and generosity. I offer this to you now as a wonderful example of one of our own who captures the spirit of abundance and flow that we have been speaking of: “I’ve run a very successful business for about 20 years. My partner and I started a bridge construction business, and some of how we chose to go about that business was based on the company that we worked on prior to that, which some things were done in a way that we would not prefer business to be done. So when we started our business we felt it was always very necessary to be as fair and ethical with suppliers and sub-contractors, and competitors as we could possibly be. Over the years we have learned that in doing so it has probably come back to us tenfold. We have been able to benefit from better pricing from suppliers because we have been fair with them over the years, and treated them in a way that they knew they were getting a straight shot with us. My wife and I have found that obviously there are many people who do not have as much as we have, and so it’s always been a desire of ours to do what we could to help them. Going back years ago when we did not have nearly as much as we do today, even then we felt it was important to support various causes that needed support. We have always felt that Christ Community Church is a worthwhile endeavor, and we still feel that way today, even more so. Obviously if we support the church it helps the church in its mission. Those are the types of things that we are after. If we are able to help The Little Red House, People Center, or Camp Bluebird, people who cannot afford or do not have the means for whatever reason, we feel that we need to do that. In your business and your personal life, if you treat people fairly and honestly, it comes back to you because it improves the relationship between you and everyone else. Work with others in the manner that you would want them to work with you, ethically, fairly, bettering their lives if you have the possibility, all works in your favor because it comes back. You benefit from what ever you can do for others.” Any number of people from this community could have been interviewed because so many people in this community operate out of a spirit of abundance and flow. Abundance and The Progressive Movement The last few days I spent in San Francisco with a group of progressive leaders from around the country, and I had the same experience that I have had many times before. When I describe this community to other progressive leaders, they give me a look of wide-eyed wonder and envy at the freedom that we have. Many of them find that they are being as progressive and authentic as they can, but at a certain point their denominational ties will put restrictions on them. When I tell them stories about the people of our community, about the programs, and the energy in this community, they just look at me with wide eyes. “That really exists? That’s really possible?” they ask. I hear it again and again. What we have here is extraordinary. This is an extraordinary community, and everyone plays a part in it. It is extraordinary to dwell in possibility together, based in freedom and self-empowerment. Do you understand what we could do and be together as we dwell in the spirit of flow and abundance? Do you know what difference we could make in the world, as the suffering of the world becomes our suffering, as the pain of the world becomes our pain, as the liberation of the world becomes entwined with our liberation? Do you understand what possibilities we have here? I heard it again for the last three days. People are looking to us as a model of a progressive community that dwells in a place of soul. That is, in a place of connectedness. I want to ask you to consider your ongoing support of this community, both financial and the volunteer work, time and energy you put into this community, in that context. Consider that what you give to this community comes back to you ten fold. And as it goes out and spreads into the world, it comes back to us tenfold and more. I could not be more proud to be part of this community as I travel the country and describe you to people. I am truly proud to be a part of this. And we are only just beginning. There is so much ahead for us, so much good that we can do and be together. So much difference we can make together. It’s no accident that this collection of people has come together at this point in history. What we are creating as a community is exactly what the world needs right now. People need connectedness. So many are catching the vision of oneness; relating to the earth with respect, seeking more just and equitable structures. A community based in self-empowerment, freedom and justice, exactly what the world is calling for and we have it already, and there is nothing stopping us taking the next steps. Alongside each other, empowering and encouraging each other, let us move forward, empowered to dwell in the place of abundance and flow, where there is no end to what we can achieve and no end to what we will get in return. The abundance and flow of soulful generosity. * 2 Corinthians 9 close window | ^ top | home |