When the Cup Overflows

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus moved by compassion to respond to the needs of the crowds:
Matthew tells us, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” When Jesus and the disciples sailed across the Sea of Galilee to the other side to rest and pray, the people followed, walking around the sea and meeting them, “When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” When a leper approached him and declared that if Jesus was willing, he knew he could heal him, “Moved with compassion, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him. “I am willing,” he told him. “Be clean.” And then Jesus warned him not to tell anyone that Jesus had healed him. But the man went out and started talking, spreading the news to everyone. So Jesus could no longer enter a town openly. He stayed outside in lonely places. But people still came to him from everywhere.

Healing individuals wasn’t Jesus’ purpose in life, but he couldn’t withhold it. Jesus saw suffering and compassion overflowed. But when the man called out from the crowd, “Rabbi, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me” Jesus was clear that he was not going to engage in settling property disputes.
Instead, he used the opportunity to disciple his followers. “Be on guard,” he warned, “when any type of greed creeps up on you, for a person’s life is not about having a lot of possessions.”

And then, he tells a parable, “There once was a wealthy man who owned some land that produced a huge harvest. He often thought to himself, “I have a problem here. I don’t have anywhere to store all my crops. What should I do? I know! I’ll tear down my small barns and build even bigger ones, and then I’ll have plenty of storage space for my grain and all my other goods. Then I’ll be able to say to myself, ‘I have it made! I can relax and take it easy for years! So I’ll just sit back, eat, drink, and have a good time!’”

Just beyond his reach was security; just there in the distance was the confidence that he could pause and enjoy life; just out of reach was enough; he just needed a little more. He believed what Pastor John Ortberg calls the “myth of more,” “the myth that one day more will be enough. If we believe this myth, we spend our lives looking for The Next Thing. It might be a car, or a promotion,…” the latest tech gadget, the must-have toy of the season. “We keep hoping that The Next Thing will be IT – the source of true satisfaction for our souls.” And when the itch gets strong enough, we scratch it.” And for a few minutes, or perhaps days, we experience true soul satisfaction. Then it wears off. It always wears off.” And the itch for more returns.
We have and we obtain and we reach and we stretch and we grasp and we still don’t have enough, we just need more. No itch was ever satisfied by scratching.

When our focus is on collecting more, having more, getting more, we are just scratching an itch that can only be satisfied by God. We itch for purpose in our lives. We itch for love. We itch for connection. The good life has nothing to do with how much or what we own.

Rev. Wes Seeliger, an Episcopal priest, observed that we all know what the good life lived well looks like, because when we find ourselves in a trauma ER waiting room, the itch can’t be temporarily satisfied by all the scratching the world has to offer and everyone there knows it. He writes, “…the world changes. Vanity and pretense vanish. [The distinctions of race and class melt away.] The universe is focused on the doctor’s next report. If only it will show improvement.”

Jesus concluded the parable, “God interrupted the wealthy man’s thoughts of bigger barns and the stores to be able to sit back and relax, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

The good life is life lived so that our blessings overflow. Deliberate disciples live the good life by recognizing their blessings for what they are, gifts of God, and being thankful. The passage that ___ read from Proverbs says, A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” How we use our resources either aligns our lives with God’s will for us and the world, or it doesn’t. When it does, our cup overflows!

I have heard the story of Matt and his wife Keri over and over again in my years of ministry. (Schnase, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations) Different people; different details; same story. Matt and Keri were a young couple in the church. They had wandered a bit during college and young married life, but now they had two small children and had found a faith family to settle into. They were both professionals, they had the typical suburban life, big house, two cars, preschool…all with monthly payments.

They attended church regularly for worship, the first step in deliberate discipleship. They joined a school year-long study of the whole Bible story to learn more about their faith, the second step in deliberate discipleship. They volunteered with mission projects and with the children’s ministry where their children were involved; they helped with fellowship events, if you needed someone to serve, Matt and Keri were willing to help if they could, the third step in deliberate discipleship. Then they were asked to speak about giving during the worship service leading up to Commitment Sunday, when the church made their annual financial pledges. “When they did the math, they realized they were giving less than 2 percent of their annual income to God’s purposes through the church.” They had been asked to speak on tithing. “Even though they prayerfully studied the biblical roots and practices that supported the tithe, 10 percent simply seemed too much to expect. They had a mortgage, car payments, college savings, and retirement plans to think about. They never had money left over at the end of the month. How could they possibly tithe?”

Matt and Keri decided to talk about the challenge of growing in giving and “decided to increase their giving by almost half that year, pushing them toward 3 percent of their income.”

They got asked to give a talk the next year, and they decided together to grow toward tithing. “They increased their giving by another 1 percent….Giving 4 percent involved rethinking spending habits.” They realized how often they ate out because they didn’t plan a meal to eat at home. They looked at the little things that added up. They looked at how long they drove their cars before replacing them. Moving toward a tithe even caused them to look at their investment pattern and improve their saving habits. It took several years until they reached their goal of tithing 10 percent of their income to the church.

When Matt and Keri wrote the first check of the new year based on a tithe, Keri remembers it as a ‘gut check moment’ in their faith journey. She says, “It seemed crazy and extravagant” and they had such a sense of accomplishment. Their cup overflowed. The fourth step in deliberate discipleship; deliberate disciples shift their focus from this life to God.

As long as we focus on this life, we will always want more. Dave Ramsey hits the nail on the head when he says, “We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t even know.” At their root, financial problems are spiritual problems.

“Be on guard,” said Jesus, “when any kind of greed threatens to settle within you, for a person’s life is not about having a lot of possessions.”

What is your life about? You are a unique, unrepeatable miracle of God. Before you were a cell, God had a dream for your life and loved you. God blesses you because God loves you. In response, we live lives of deliberate discipleship. We worship, we study, we serve and we let our blessings overflow! Thanks be to God! Amen.