How Is It with Your Soul?

I started this series on A Closer Look at Church with a story that Rev. Dr. Fred Craddock told about a settler stopping by the General Store in Peter’s Colony, Texas. The clerk asked what was in the wagon and the settler replied “a church.” Curious, the clerk asked to see the church. As they went out, the settler shared with the clerk that you have to start with the Bible, and we have pulled the tarp off of the pews, and the baptismal font, the liturgy and the music, we have seen that the Table is in the very center, and today we come to what many see as an inevitable – the offering plates.

Some churches have baskets, some have bags or baskets on poles, some have brass plates with felt in the bottom to discretely absorb the clinking of the change, and in most church services, at some point in the service, an offering will be taken.

And about 10 years ago pastor’s conversations about giving and the church began to question what would happen as banking and commerce shifted to online and electronic payments. Would we still pass the plates? Is the offering a spiritual moment in the service that should not be omitted? Would it be helpful to give receipts for online or automatic payments that people could print out and put in the plate? Would kiosks in the narthex for credit and debit cards be appropriate? What does the church believe about accepting credit cards? And in the midst of these questions, I found myself wondering, “How did it come to be that we loaded plates on our church wagon anyway?”

Passing the offering plates is not easy…any usher will tell you…it takes training. And The Presbyterian Handbook tells us that it is not easy for a person sitting in the pew either. It advises, “Passing the offering plate requires physical flexibility and an ability to adapt to differing practices…Pay close attention to instructions, if any….Be alert for the plate’s arrival at your row or pew…As the plate approaches you, set aside other activity and prepare for passing. Avoid watching your neighbor or making judgments about their offering. Many people contribute once a month by mail and some by automatic withdrawal from a bank account. If your neighbor passes the plate to you without placing an envelope, check, or cash in it, do not assume they didn’t contribute. Place your offering in the plate as you pass it politely to the next person. Do not attempt to make change from the plate if your offering is in cash. Avoid letting the plate rest in your lap as you finish writing a check. Simply pass it on to and hand your check to an usher as you leave at the end of worship.” And, helpfully, there is a list of things to “Be Aware” of: Some congregations place an offering plate or basket at the rear of the worship space [rather than passing one in worship], offerings may be tax deductible, churches often depend entirely upon the money that comes in through congregational offerings, everyone, regardless of age, has something to offer, and [ the last, and maybe most important point,] offerings are not fees or dues given out of obligation. They are gifts of thanksgiving returned to God from the heart.

Until the 19th Century, “Would the ushers please come forward?” was not a part of worship. In Colonial America, the church didn’t depend on the members to support the church. Just like in Europe, the government established churches and supported them financially. But then in 1833, Massachusetts rescinded its religious tax, and following that state churches in the Union were officially disestablished, which then meant that churches had to support themselves. So, they tried some different things like auctioning pews annually…pews in the front went for more than pews in the back, and you could sit in a free pew in the balcony, but there was some stigma associated for sure. Other churches preferred using a subscription book. Each year, the total amount needed was listed in the front, and each member filled in their pledge amount in the book. Some churches occasionally took up an offering, they called them free-will offerings, to support missions or the poor, but these offerings were not to support the budget of the church.

Over time, the practice of passing the plate each Sunday became standard because as time passed, the practice of giving to God as an act of worship returned. For centuries, the church had been supported by requirement, by tax assessment, and we lost something that was critical – that important last point in the “Be Aware” section on Offerings in The Presbyterian Handbook, “Offerings are not fees or dues given out of obligation. They are gifts of thanksgiving returned to God from the heart.”

Responding to God, giving, is an act of worship.

The passage we read from Exodus this morning takes place as Moses comes down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments on tablets and tells the people that the Lord has commanded everyone to be part of building the Tabernacle, the tent of the Lord that will hold the Ark of the Covenant, that will in turn hold the Ten Commandments. In the passage we read this morning, we get the instructions from Moses, “Everyone willing, bring the things we need. Everyone skilled, come and use your skills.” And we are told that everyone who was willing, whose heart was stirred, came and brought an offering to the Lord for the building of the Tabernacle.

What we don’t have here is WHY God instructed the Israelites to build the Tabernacle. The Lord tells Moses what the people are to do 10 chapters earlier in Chapter 25, and there in verse 8 we learn WHY. The Lord tells Moses, “Have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.”

Old Testament Professor Gerald Janzen says of this verse, “…the tent does not only signify God in their midst. As often as the Israelites or their priests enter the tent, they are in God’s midst.” It is symbol and reality, and the people are a part of building it because their hearts are stirred. It is a response.

The Gospel of John tells us that God’s desire to tabernacle continues to burn, “The Word became flesh and tabernacled among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” And as Jesus prepared to die, he gave us a new symbol that is also the reality of God’s presence in the breaking of bread and drinking the cup of the new covenant together. So, God still tabernacles. Here in this place, we come to worship, and God is here. It is symbol and reality, and we participate in building and sustaining this place where we meet God because our hearts are stirred. Our offerings are in response.

When I realize that God wants to be with me, I am awed. God wants to be with you, let that sink in. Not just short, weekly visits, either. God wants to tabernacle, to tent, with you. God wants to live where you live. Doesn’t that stir your heart? God loves you so much that he wants to live with you. So how do you respond, when your heart is stirred by God’s desire to be in your life, how do you respond?

The short answer is by doing God’s will. And that sounds nice to proclaim in worship on Sunday morning, but, really, what is that? I Peter gives us a practical response. Responding to God by doing God’s will looks like this: Love one another. Be hospitable without complaining. The word “hospitality” literally means “love of strangers”, so love strangers without complaining.

Love one another, love strangers without complaining, and serve with whatever gifts you have received. And all that you say or do, say or do everything in a way that glorifies God. In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.