Berthold von Schenk's Kingdom Plan - A Sermon Series on "Giving"
Sermon 3: "The Attitude Toward Giving"

What kind of people are present and participate in their liturgy on the Lord’s Day? I think this question important. I have heard this answer: Many who worship are really not Christians. In fact, many pastors refer to their worshippers as baptized pagans.

When a pastor sees his congregation as baptized pagans, his message will conform to this judgment. He will feel that his important task remains to convert his people. That his people make a decision stands as his prime concern. His preaching, therefore, must consist in using evangelistic methods. To be sure, evangelism is an important tool of his ministry. The preacher also believes that he must indoctrinate his people. Since we water down our preaching, I feel that for this reason our preaching is not successful. The pastor considers his prime purpose this: preaching the ‘Good News of the One who came to save men.’ He must, however, confront his people with the living Christ, the Christ in the now! However, is it really news that we bring? Are we to be news reporters? It certainly no longer remains news that an angel appeared to the Shepherds near Bethlehem in a vision or dream. Church worshippers have heard it a thousand times. Over and over worshippers hear that the shepherds came and saw the Christ Child, worshipping Him. This no longer remains news. It is not news that Jesus, God made flesh, suffered and died. We just confessed before the sermon in the Creed: “who for us men came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit in the Virgin Mary and was made man.” The liturgical congregation confesses that he suffered and died, and they confess that he rose from the dead. So what’s new? Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter must then be a challenge.

We who are assembled are the Body of Christ, baptized into Christ. The imagery of the Body has been elaborated mainly by St. Paul (e.g. 1 Cor. 12; Eph. 4; Col. 2)The basis of this is in the symbolic action of the last supper. Jesus said, “This is my body. Do this in remembrance of me!” In other words, when we do our liturgy on Sunday morning we are the Body of Christ. (Mark 14:22) There is no magic about this. The priest at the altar is not performing a magic trick. There is no “hocus pocus” about the celebration. Dr. Harold Rissenfeld, University of Uppsala writes concerning the words, “this is my Body.” When the congregation meets under the direction of the pastor, it is the way to a living organism and an expanding communion (which is for you, 1 Cor. 11:22) and its resurrection. Because Christ has served his Father in his Body, his followers, being incorporated into communion with him, become members of his spiritual Body, which means that their bodies – being the outward form of their personality – are in the realm of life and can take part in the function of true worship of God (“to present your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God.” Rom 12:1)

The unity of the Cross and Resurrection is the life of the Liturgy, the Church. The great tragedy happened when in the thinking of the Church, both Roman and Lutheran, Easter was isolated from Good Friday. The celebration showed forth the death and not the resurrection. Good Friday and Easter are contained in the celebration of the Eucharist. To place the emphasis on the Resurrection Body is just as bad as placing the emphasis on the Cross. This was recognized. Therefore the Church had to invent the “Sacrifice of the Mass.” (Roman Catholic dogma.)

The church must always bear the marks of the Cross. Those who meet in the Eucharistic community must take up their cross in conformity with Jesus (Mark 8:34).

The Cross and the Resurrection are present as remembrance and an experience. This applies to the hymns, the prayers, the readings. Martyrdom is always a mark of the Church but it leads into life. We die with him and we rise with him. Thus, at every Eucharist we keep our baptism fresh, for we die with Chirst, we are buried with him and we rise. This is the attitude when we meet together; Affliction, self-surrender, death, resurrection.

And always there must be the last note, the Alleluia Chorus, “And he shall come – He shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings and Lord of hosts…”

This is the right attitude of the worshipping congregation. It will also give them the right attitude to giving.

Some theological teachers insist in the Seminary lectures that every sermon must in some way contain the truths of the Second article of the Creed. Others hold that preaching must be doctrinal. They stand on their pulpit to preach the “good news,” but they really present a formal teaching and insist that every one conform to these dogmas. This can become creedalism and a substitute for Gospel preaching. In Fact, we have many substitutes in our religious church life. The ugliest substitutes are: moralism, creedalism and ritualism. Many people in the pews and in the pulpits harp on these substitutes. To be sure, it is of vast importance that we lead a moral life, but we cannot make this a substitute for faith as a surrender.  Moralism has its own rewards for pagans also. Many fine moral people do not accept Jesus Christ. They often put us to shame in their generosity and moral living. Often they are not even church members. They have their reward. Thank God for moralism. The Christian, under grace, can’t make it a substitute. The world can, this would come under the heading of “moral religion.” At best it is good paganism.

Creedalism can also be a very dangerous substitute. We often confuse knowledge with faith and true discipleship. Jesus stated only one condition for discipleship: “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” He did not hand His disciples a catechism. Only as we follow Jesus in full surrender and commitment will we know what a wonderful Savior we have. I fear that  people are not challenged to meet Jesus’ conditions and requirements for discipleship in living the full life, practicing the presence of God in daily life. Dogmas remain important as well as fascinating, but they cannot become substitutes. They can be the cream in the coffee. Substitutions surely happened to the great theme of grace, resulting in the loss of grace’s grandeur, creating a substituted, cheap grace, resulting in the fact that our congregations are not the militant company of the committed.

There is also something dangerous about ritualism. Many of us love the ritual. Ceremonies remain God’s good table manners. I think that ceremonies were introduced into the Liturgy to counteract dead ritualism. Luther, for instance, loved to make the sign of the cross, for it reminded him of his Baptism when he was branded with the sign of the cross. It is sentient to kneel at the words, “and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary and was made man.” By kneeling we draw attention to the wonder of the grand fact that Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, that is, to restore us to be truly human and become a child of God. Our basic sin demonstrates itself when we refuse the dignity of our original humanity, the position of being a real man, not attempting to play God or something else.

Something important goes on when Christian people meet and form the Eucharistic community. We must know what it is all about. St. Paul calls the Corinthian’s attention to this, that they “Should discern the Body of the Lord.’ He did not mean by this that the worshipping Congregation discover the right definition of the consecrated bread and wine. Discerning the Body of Christ means to realize that when we meet together there is a total presence of Christ and, this meeting is not a devotional or instructional hour, but the gathering is the Church, the continued presence of the crucified and risen Christ. “You are the Body of Christ.” The Fathers defined the Church as the Eucharistic community manifesting the presence of the total Christ. He is present in the coming together, since He assured us that “where two or three gather in His Name, His presence is assured, and He is there even as He was present in the home of the disciples who journeyed to Emmaus on Easter Day. They recognized him by the breaking of bread. He is present in the person of the ordained minister. The fathers believed that there could not be a Eucharist, the Church, without the presence of the bishop or presbyter. So Christ is present through the Holy Ministry of whom He said, “he that hears you hears Me.” He is present in the reading of the lessons from the inspired Scriptures, since Scripture remains the Living Voice of the Risen Christ (Living God). He  is present in every faithful sermon, for it is really Christ who is preaching. He is present in a unique way in the Holy Meal. It is He who stands at the Altar at the Offering, offering us his merit, showing forth this death. He even takes our offering and offers us to the Father, including our love, dedications and commitment. All this means “to discern His Body,” the Church, as He is totally present. Those who discern His Body, knowing what the Church is, will never be absent from their Liturgy. In discerning the Lord’s Body in the meeting of the saints about the Holy we have the right attitude. To worship, and the heart of worship is the offering.

Therefore the absent church member cannot just send in his check to the treasurer of the church for the work of the congregation. You must be there. If not, there can be no offering and you deny your priesthood which your Lord purchased for you at a staggering price. Absence from the Liturgy denies your Baptism and demonstrates a neglect of your priesthood, besides indifference to the living Christ who is totally present.

We must have this attitude when we worship and bring our offering. Every church member must realize these three great truths about ‘going to Church.” 1. The church meeting is liturgical. Man cannot worship by himself in pious sanctity. To be present in that holy hour of worship becomes the most important thing you can do during the whole week.

2. The Offering, our giving, must always be collective. The offering is the Fellowship, the koinonia , of which St. Luke writes in Acts 2:42. “They continued constantly in the collective giving, the fellowship.”

3. Those who are present are the sent ones. Jesus speaks to us also and means you and me. He says, “As my Father sent me so send I you.” “Go!” The Christian is truly a “go-go!” Those who meet in Jesus’ Name and participate in their liturgy go out as men and women who have seen the Lord’s glory. Jesus said, “I have come to serve, not to be served.” Those who participate in their liturgy must be concerned about their church, their pastor, their fellow members, the poor, the sick, the needy, the community, and all people whom they may contact during the week. To be sure, this service beings in the family. You are to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus. You are Christ, for St. Paul asks you, “do you know that at your Baptism you “who participated in the Liturgy,” were and are baptized in Christ, His death and resurrection. The people we serve will see Christ. St. Paul says, “we are to be living epistles of him.”

Church members also continue the threefold offices of Christ: Prophet, Priest, and King. A prophet bears witness, a priest sacrifices, and so we must sacrifice ourselves and give ourselves to others. (c.f. Rom. 12) As Kings we serve. The ideal concept of a Ruler consisted in serving his people. The office of a king consists in serving. The only constitution, in all reality, which a congregation needs is this blueprint. Worship in the Eucharistic Community prepares us to be sent into the world, and in the world we must be living sacraments to those who may never enter our house of worship. We serve Christ by serving our fellow men, by meeting Christ in them, by being Christ in service to them. Christ lives out His continued life in us, the Body of Christ, and we are members of this Body.

Can we say that we have this blueprint in our congregation? This blueprint involves us in many duties. We must recognize our responsibility by supporting the program of the congregation and be willing to bring such sacrifices which are demanded of us. We should be happy to support the great institutions which function through our Synod. We must make it possible so that young men can be sent to foreign countries where the Gospel is not even news. Our attitude should be to let Christ’s Kingdom come and His will be done through me.

The Bible does not speak of a cheap grace but of an involved grace, a grace which after you have accepted, motivates you to full dedication and commitment. We are redeemed for a reason, the reason of being involved with God in His work. This is what it is to be a man, a man working for and with God for others. God spent so much on us, restoring us to this humanity, involving us in His grace.

The ideal congregation is when the pastor is assured that he is not speaking to just nice people, but to those baptized into Christ and who are in the state of grace. People not in the state of grace will not profit from these or any words. Such people will be much happier with their substitutes. This should inspire us.

We confess the right attitude in the beginning of the Liturgy, ‘Lord have mercy.” This is not a penitential prayer. It rather means that we have the proper attitude, being empty of self and our prejudices, ready to be filled with God’s grace. We offer ourselves as an empty chalice to God, asking Him to fill us with His grace. When we accept grace and allow the Holy Spirit to set us on fire, some great things will happen to us and through us.