Falling Temples

Pentecost 25

Mark 13:1-8

Church buildings can be a real problem.  All too often, I have seen them get in the way of mission.  Now, I am not opposed to church buildings.  Over the years, I have been involved in a number of capital campaigns to restore, refurbish, repair and expand them.  I think having a concrete, visible place (with clear signage and a welcoming design) for a faith community to gather can provide a ministry with a certain level of recognition and identity in the larger community and provide a tool to be used for mission and ministry.  It certainly can make the ministry easier to find.  But, buildings can also become idols.  They can become more important to us than the ministry they were built to house.  The building can come to define the ministry more than the ministry itself.  Mortgages, leaky roofs, maintenance costs and other building expenses can cripple a congregation financially.  When maintaining the building becomes a higher priority than maintaining the ministry…  church buildings can be a real problem.

Then, Jesus asked, “Do you see these great buildings?  Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”  (v. 2)

No religious tradition has ever been more defined by a building than ancient Judaism and its Temple.  And yet, after it was razed to the ground by Titus in 70 AD, Judaism not only persisted, but flourished.  When our church building burned to the ground in Wayne, NE in 1994 AD, we discovered an identity as a faith community that went much deeper than the charred bricks and mortar.  Some of the fastest growing congregations I have visited in Tanzania gather for worship under the trees.

1 Peter 2:5 puts it this way, “…like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house…”  and again, in 2:6,  “For it stands in scripture: ‘See, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious; and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’”  As a church, we need to get past the idea that the goal of being a church is to fill our buildings so we can maintain them, and build bigger ones.  The goal of being a church is to build disciples upon the cornerstone, which is Christ, and then to send them out into the world to live their daily lives in service and in witness to God’s love and compassion.  If the building gets in the way of doing that…  then, as hard as that may be, perhaps it is time to let it go.

Peace,

Bishop Mike

For Widows’ Sake

Pentecost 24

November 7, 2015

Mark 12:38-44

In his earthly ministry, Jesus frequently talked about issues of wealth and poverty.  It is, in fact, a common theme throughout the bible.  In this week’s Gospel Lesson, Jesus observes a widow putting two small coins in the Temple treasury.  An offering, Jesus says, that represents “all she had to live on.”  Often times, we lift up this widow as an example of the kind of sacrificial giving that God expects of us as Christians.  But, I don’t think that’s what Jesus was doing.  In the paragraph just before this one, Jesus criticizes scribes who “devour widow’s houses” among other things.  Actions which, Jesus implies, are self-focused and self-serving.  I think the contrast here is intentional.   Those who give out of their abundance, but ignore and even take advantage of poor widows and others in need, have completely missed the point of their offering and God’s intent for the use of their wealth.  Amos and other Old Testament writers offer a similar critique of the people of their own times (Amos 8:4-6).   Like Jesus, they call upon God’s people to use what we have for the sake of widows, orphans, the poor and the powerless of the world.   

These days, in every corner of the church, I hear people talking about a lack of funds to do the ministries we are called to do.  This is true in congregations, in the synod and churchwide offices, in seminaries and colleges and other institutions and ministries where I serve on boards.  The problem today is not so much a misuse of our abundance, but the paralysis of our perceived scarcity.  Many, it seems, feel the best response is to cling tightly to what we have.  To take care of ourselves first.  But, by doing so, don’t we fall into the same trap as the scribes?  Don’t we wind up self-focused and self-serving in the use of what we have?   The scriptures call us to a different, almost counter-intuitive way of thinking about these things.  Paul, writing to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 9-10) encourages people to give from a sense of gratitude for God’s blessings, rather than that of fear.   He acknowledges that not everyone has the ability to give a lot, but he believes everyone has the ability to give something.   If, with grateful hearts, we all give in proportion to what we have received, combining our resources for the sake of Christ’s work, then widows won’t be forced to offer up “all they have to live on” and God’s work will still be done in our congregations, in our synod, in our church and around the  world.

In Gratitude,

Bishop Mike