What Do We Own?

I was asked by visitors from the USA for a copy of this sermon.  Thought that others might connect with what was said as well.

PENTECOST 19A-2014   ©Rev. Dr. Kimberlynn McNabb, Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, Halifax, NS

In the movie, “Finding Nemo,” seagulls are characterized as a bird that congregates in large groups, pests that are loud and squawky and repeat in nauseating chorus... “mine, mine, mine.”

The dictionary definition for ownership reads: ownership is to have or hold as property, to possess; to have power or mastery over; belonging to oneself or itself (usually used after a possessive to emphasize the idea of ownership, interest, or relationship conveyed by the possessive).

The situation posed by Matthew in the Gospel is one of ownership:

The Pharisees see themselves as owners of the Covenant Law.  There is a connection to the Temple.  They own tradition, the interpretation of the Law, the judgement of others breaking of the Law. They own the practice of daily religion.  The Herodians are owners of a political ideology – Judeans who support the government in the rule of the Herods at the behest of Rome.   

Currency is issued and owned by the ruling government, the Emperor, Rome.

Take a moment and recall the readings from Matthew over the past two months.  Jesus has been telling parables about a vineyard.  Every one of the parables reflects Jesus addressing issues of ownership. Who owns the vineyard – the land, the vines, or the harvest? Who is included or excluded as owners or workers? Who owns the responsibility? Ultimately is the vineyard God’s? Jesus purposefully addresses ownership with parables that seem to annoy and even anger those who hear them.  Annoyance and anger are routed in a gut reaction to the audacity of Jesus to confront instilled senses of ownership.

Ownership is our relationship with stuff – material possessions, money, ideas, community, beliefs.

How are you with your stuff?

What do you own?

What do we as a church own?

Much of my pastoral ministry has and does involve issues of ownership. 

There are stewardship concerns including conversations around leaving endowments or money to the church, or giving of a tithe (is it on net or gross income); or guilt around what one has and how does one go about sharing it.

There are grief concerns, perhaps at the loss of money or property; or the inability to find an equitable wage to subsist with food and housing; perhaps there is grief around the ways one has accumulated their riches.

There are property concerns, like the maintenance of church buildings taking precedent over mission; money being the key topic of discussion at meetings; budget making, that accounts for every pencil. There are discussions on the oft pervasive theology of scarcity and acting from this belief.

There are power concerns – who owns the power – church councils, the pastor, a loud contingent or a passionate member?

And what about ideas – who owns what is said, how worship is enacted.

Who owns – or does anyone- own decisions, possible mistakes, or mission statements.

All of us in some way are like the seagulls, somewhere along the way we as a church and as individuals will say “mine, mine, mine, mine, mine.”  So consider the questions, how are you with your stuff?

What do you own? What does the church own?

This morning we are called to entertain the answer – nothing!

We own nothing.

In downtown Toronto there is a large brick church surrounded by a park with mature trees, park benches – the church and part take up a good portion of the city block.  The church is Lutheran and houses a Latvian/Estonian community.  For years this church was serviced by their European parents – particularly in the calling of pastors.  They are in relationship with and part of the Eastern Synod.  Currently the congregation is in the process of looking at what they own.

Physically, in a legal sense, they own –by deed- a very lucrative piece of property.

They have a large building on this land; owned by them, as in paid for, and have been responsible in maintenance and upkeep.

One could argue that the contents of the building: pews, hymn books, chairs; belong to the congregation as items purchased over the years. They own the land, the church building, and the church contents.

The church looked at what they own and they realized that there was far more to ownership than the physical things I mentioned.   The church has been studying and working on listening to what God’s call is for them as a community of faith.  Through the process they have taken ownership for a mission statement.

The community’s realization was that although financially feasible, meaning they could continue, with property, building, worship services for a comfortable amount of time; in the end what they owned, was not theirs to own, rather, the property is part of God’s kingdom for this place and time.  They felt they were not using the resource the way it could be used, and that their mission did not fit with the resources they have.

So to be in mission for others they have decided (and are in the process) of moving services to another space which they will rent for the time being; allowing another congregation who is using their space to purchase (have legal ownership) of the physical plant.  This other denomination has a mission that is street based, and a calling to reach the people who sleep on the park benches, engage in inner city work, offering shelter and perhaps growing a community coffee house, etc.  The space (ownership) is God’s!

Ownership is our relationship with stuff.

How does our relationship with “stuff” change if we consider all to be God’s?

How does our relationship with “stuff” change if we live into our mission statement...God is on a mission and we want to be a part of it.

This past week Vicar Mark led the first of a three week series based on the theme of the Lutheran World Federation coming up to the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation.  The three year themes are: Salvation not for sale, creation not for sale, human beings not for sale. 

In the group we talked about salvation not being for sale... we don’t own salvation. It is not ours to sell; it is a gift from God.  We acknowledged that often the church gives the impression to the wider world that salvation is within our jurisdiction, we can decide who is or is not saved, we own this Jesus thing and can dispense sacrament as we choose; we have ownership – kind of like the Pharisees, at Jesus’ time. But the theme of the anniversary is to remind us that salvation is not for sale.  It is all gift!

If we consider all of our stuff to be God’s, doesn’t that make everything gift.  If all is gift, what becomes of your relationship to your stuff?

There are serious consequences to believing that all is gift and that we own nothing.  If natural resources – metals, precious stones, trees, oil, fish – are not ours doesn’t that change how we use resources. If the money we carry is not owned by us, doesn’t that translate into using it, giving it, investing it, redistributing it in different ways than we currently do?  If this building and the church property are not ours but God’s, all gift ...does that not change how we use this space?

Vicar Mark has shared a story about a pair of earring he gave to his mother.  They were a gift to her.  She chose not to wear them, ever, because they didn’t suit her sensibilities. Vicar Mark was crushed.  Entertaining that all is gift, and that we own nothing, how does God feel about the gifts given to us and what we do or do not do with the gift?

God,

Force us to practice the giving up of attachment to things. Force us to release our sense of entitlement.

Entertaining the idea that we own nothing, may we experience your free gift, so that Jesus’ parable of vineyard becomes true in this church community’s life and practice.  Passion ignite our hearts to live the mission you have called us to; being a part of what you are doing in the world; by welcoming the displaced, sharing our space and faith, reflecting your light and participating in resurrection.

Thank-you that we own nothing – standing with nothing may we live out a theology of abundance.

Amen.