One day, as we were going to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners a great deal of money by fortune telling.  While she followed Paul and us, she would cry out, “These men are slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you a way of salvation.”  She kept doing this for many days.  But Paul, very much annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I order you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.  But when her owners saw that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them…before the magistrates saying, “These men are disturbing our city.” ~ Acts 16:16-20

Servants of God,

Motivated by the love of money, people will engage in the most selfish acts.  The recent round of Congressional inquiries into the failure of banks and the behind-the-scenes complicity and outright fraud of executives are only the most recent examples.  Greed contorts the human capacity for good judgment, common sense, and respect for the law and the neighbor. This is not a new story, but the interdependence of global financial systems around the world today means that when things go wrong, the ripples reach farther and deeper then ever before.  No doubt the debate over causes will continue to rage, but none can fail to see the effects of greatest economic recession since the Great Depression.

Jesus knew the dangers that are incubated by wealth. “No slave can serve two masters,” he told his followers, “for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Lk 16:13)  St. Paul, too, took on the subject: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,” he wrote in 1st Timothy, “and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”

Notice with me that it’s not money in and of itself that the New Testament warns about, but our attitude toward it and our relationship with it. Wealth is one of those subjects about which we must be “wise as serpents and innocent as doves,” lest we become subject to its corrupting influences.

Alongside all the perils and temptations that come with money and wealth, we who follow Christ also recognize that the proper use of wealth can support God’s work in amazing ways. Without the vision of our forefathers and foremothers to educate young men and women for lives of service, and the generosity required to fund this vision, the 26 colleges and universities of our church would not exist.  Without the shared commitment of congregations like ours to join hands around the globe with the message and love of Christ, the worldwide mission of the church would dry up and wither.

While it’s true that God calls some to divest themselves completely in order to follow Christ wholly (St. Francis is an example), God calls the rest of us to a proper orientation to our wealth: to be wise and generous stewards of the resources we have been given (yes, it’s all gift!).  Indeed, the ongoing mission of our congregation is dependent on just such an attitude and conviction.

When Paul and Silas were thrown into prison for acknowledging a higher authority than the profit motive (Acts 16), they could have been overcome with fear and held captive by their dire circumstances.  But they had learned to anticipate God’s presence and power in the most unholy places, through the most unlikely means.  Through their faithful witness in word and song the Holy Spirit not only brought them freedom—the Spirit brought their jailor and his entire family into the circle of believers. God took a dire and desperate situation and turned it toward resurrection, one of God’s hallmark moves!

Financial strength in a congregation is one measure of its health, but it’s not the only one. There are other measures of vitality that are as or more important:  a strong sense of vision and purpose; a quality worship life centered on God’s gifts in Jesus Christ; a strong life of prayer in which many participate; an outward orientation that takes Jesus’ call to neighbor-love seriously by responding in specific ways; a growing number of people who are drawn to the congregation, its worship life and its mission.

There is much that is encouraging and exciting about what’s happening here at Peace! As we face up to the challenges and growing pains that come with funding our ministry vision, let’s not forget how the Spirit’s presence is being manifested in and through our congregation.  Let’s not become captive to fears; let’s not become curved in on ourselves.  Instead, let us affirm generosity as a defining characteristic of Peace. Generosity of spirit, exhibited in our caring for each other; and generosity of resources, exhibited in our support of the mission God is calling us to serve within and beyond our doors.  This attribute will enable us to continue to accomplish great things together!

As we mark the outpouring of God’s Spirit on God’s people at Pentecost, and witness five of our young people affirming their baptismal faith in the Rite of Confirmation, I am praying that the Holy Spirit will blow into our congregational life in new and powerful ways, renewing our passion for God’s work in this place.

Will you join me in that prayer?

Pastor Erik