Go with the flow
Sermon on Isaiah 55: 10-13
Back in elementary school I remember learning about the cycle of water for the first time. How precipitation will water the earth and sustain all things living. And how because of the heat of the sun this same but changed precipitation will evaporate and finally condensate into clouds. And then, at one point, there will be old but new precipitation watering the earth again. It’s the cycle of water. It’s the cycle that enables all life on earth. A cycle of blessings.
It doesn’t happen very often, that the bible teaches an elementary school science class.
“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater”
The waters flow. It’s God’s way to sustain his creation. It’s a promise that nothing will be wasted. That there is nothing to lose by giving life and providing for people today. Because there will be enough the next day and the next one and so on. It’s really quite a simple concept to grasp. And yet, it’s one of the hardest to live by. Because it requires us to trust in a continuing cycle of blessings that we can only partly control. And that’s nothing our human nature enjoys. To not have control.
But Isaiah isn’t done yet. The water cycle is what is obvious to everyone in his eyes. Yet, it’s only an image for the most powerful circle of life. For God’s word. God promises that his word
“shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”
It’s a grant lesson in stewardship. Yes, ‘tis the season. And no, don’t panic. I won’t give you “the talk” about the biblical tenth or explain to you how tithing is the only way to be a good Christian. Because it’s not. We can’t buy our salvation. Thanks be to Jesus and Paul and Luther. So, I don’t have any way to scare you into giving unfortunately. Just kidding.
Today, I want to talk about the cycle of blessings. I didn’t come up with it obviously, God did, Isaiah explained it to us. And Eric Law translated it into our today’s language. As some of you already know, a couple of weeks ago we launched a stewardship committee for the first time in years. We started partnering with the Kaleidoscope institute founded and led by Eric Law. Eric is an Episcopal priest and he rethinks the way we do church. He calls his model “Holy currencies” and talks about the cycle of blessings.
Just like water flows, currencies need to flow. Which is technically a tautology. Because currency actually means flow. From currentia, Latin. I am aware that I am playing the smart ass today, sorry for that. But the point is important. When we think of currencies, we usually associate foreign money with it. Money, we have a hard time paying in cash with at the beginning, because we don’t know which coin is which. Like I still have to read the actual numbers on the 5 and 10 Cent pieces here. Somehow, I often mix those up.
Well, currency in its original sense just means basically a medium of exchange that is in circulation. Something that is of service, at least recycling what’s there, at most transforming it. Nothing ever gets lost.
Eric identifies 6 holy currencies. And yes, one among them is money. And then there are 5 others.
The currency of time and place: God sends us the rain at a certain time and place.
The currency of gracious leadership: God gives us what we need when we need it. And God invites us to actively participate in sustaining his creation. He makes us be responsible co-leaders even though we mostly mess up big time.
The currency of relationship: We have the freedom and ability to turn to feed the world and connect to the people around us.
The currency of truth: Once we turn to our neighbors in joy we could hear the truth about their lives and hardships and hopes. We could deeply connect and share what we have and what we need.
And then there is my favorite one, the currency of wellness. Once we know our neighbors as God’s children, our communities could be healed and whole. The entire world could be healed and whole. “For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace”, Isaiah writes.
And we would strengthen our relationships through more story-telling and we would come up with more opportunities to meet. Because people in general prefer to hang out with people they like and feel safe with. Sounds like an utopian idea? Maybe. And yet, it’s what God has in store for us and how he treats us every day.
Money is just a means to an end in that equation. It will come automatically, because we usually spend money on what’s important to us. What’s meaningful to our lives. What makes us feel safe and whole and happy.
In order to be a sustainable and missional church, we will need the cycle of blessings to flow. That’s the whole concept. Eric’s experience: Most churches focus on money, time and place and a pastor. Which doesn’t necessarily mean a gracious leader. The money that comes in will be spent for buildings and staff to keep the church running for its members. That’s about it. Eric’s mantra is: If it’s only about having a building, a pastor and a budget, a church is doomed to die. Money is only important as a mean to flow back into the community. To provide people with what they need. Money spent well will build relationships, make us listen to truthful stories and contribute to physical, mental and spiritual wellness. Which yes, will result in donations. To be spent on people. Because money not invested in people can quickly become worthless. That’s what I learned from my great-grandfather Hans.
My great-grandfather was a small business owner back in the early 20th century. Born in 1907 in Northern Germany, he lived through two world wars, the great recession and the occupation of his town by the Russians. He lived through the entire GDR and even lived to see the German Unification in 1989. He died when I was 12.
One story I was told about him, was the story of losing all of his earnings twice. In 1929 Hans dreamt of buying his first car. When he had nearly saved up enough, the Black Friday hit and all his money put aside for years was hardly worth a loaf of bread. But he didn’t give up and saved up again, even during the war. In 1949 he again was so close to buying a car. Again, within days his money wasn’t worth anything when the GDR was founded including its own currency.
From then on, Hans didn’t save anymore. Not like he ever lived beyond his means. After all, he was a businessman. But he didn’t trust the idea anymore, that money would turn into a wish come true. He just lived his life, never poor, never rich. The safest way to handle money was to turn it into something of value. Like clothes for his grandchildren or presents for his great-grandchildren or helping friends and neighbors or his church by giving his house to the church upon moving into a senior living. He had learned his lesson: Never again to get attached to coins or to place his hopes in banknotes. So, in 1990, when East Germans lost money again due to a 2:1 exchange rate, my great-grandfather didn’t have anything to lose. And he had everything he needed. A place to live, families, friends. When he died, nobody had to fight over his inheritance. Apart from his few belongings there was none. Everything had already flown back into his community.
It taught me a couple of things: Don’t expect to inherit money. Trust God. Live your life. And go with the flow of blessings.
“For you shall go out in joy,
and be led back in peace;
and it shall be to the LORD for a memorial,
for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”
Amen.
