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Success, Bridesmaids and Stewardship: Consecration Sunday Sermon, Nov. 9, 2008 by The Rev. Dr. Paul Lawson Today's sermon is all about success. Something of great interest to everyone in LA. I believe that success occurs when preparation meets the moment of opportunity. In Southern California we live in a hard driving and success driven culture. For those of you in the entertainment industry you know you are only as good as your last show, for those in politics or advertising you are only as good as your last campaign. Unfortunately this drive leads to lots of burnout, family strife, relationship break ups and a sense of personal unhappiness. We seem to be running a race that is not getting us anywhere. A race that is taking us to places we don't want to go. Our Blackberrys, Palm Pilots, computers and date books are filled with "to do" lists. We check off our projects, meetings, time at the gym, play dates for our children, our list is never ending. But do we have the right stuff on our list? Are we in the right race? Are we focused on what is really important in our life? I began this sermon by saying that success occurs when preparation meets the moment of opportunity. That is the message of today's gospel about the wise and foolish bridesmaids. Half of them are prepared for the big event. . . that is the coming of the groom, five have waited equally as long, but they have not done the preparation of getting their lamps filled with oil and so they are left out of the party. No success. This parable can tell us a lot about the priorities in our own lives. Bishop Chet Talton once said to me that he never met anyone who was seriously ill or dying who said to him, "I didn't spend enough time in the office." When thinking of last things there is so much that is more important than our work. So much more important than the toys we collect. Simple things like our relationships with God, our family and our friends. Creating moments that will live forever in our minds. In face of these things our desire for material objects seem to melt away. When people get to the end of life I have found in many cases there is the need for some kind of evaluation which may include confession and repentance or just a life review. The clearing out of those dark places or maybe just that extra baggage that we can't or don't want to take with us. Repentance and forgiveness truly lightens the load. A person's last moments are a stop on life's pilgrimage, a stop where what is really important stands out and trivial things quickly recede into the background. So let me suggest that we not wait until the end or close to the end to think of serious things. This is a time for us, like for the bridesmaids, to think about what is real and what is important in our life. A time to make sure our lamps are full. But it is not an easy task. We are surrounded and bombarded constantly by the trivia, assaulted by email and junk mail, by cell phone and computer. How can we sort through it all? Most of us, here today, if we got rid of some of the stuff in the clutter of our lives we would then be able to make some time for more recreation, for study and for prayer. We could make some room for God in our hearts. While none of us are immune from the pressures of our culture we do have with in us the power to make choices and make room for God. A God who is always seeking us. I find centering prayer is a great way of clearing things out. I am reminded of John Donne's quote, "I throw myself down in my chamber and I call in and invite God and his angels, and when they are there I neglect them for the rattling of a coach or the whining of a door." So where are we? We need help. We need help in simplifying and in paying attention to what is real and what is important and what is temporal and what is eternal. We need help in paying attention to God who is always calling us. So where do we get that help? This brings us to stewardship. It is November, a traditional time in our Episcopal Church to talk about our giving. But I want to do it a little differently. I don't want to talk to you about what the church of St. Augustine wants or needs or what your rector would like to see. Too often our stewardship programs are about "you've got it and I want it." Well let me tell you today I don't want it. Giving is not about your church; giving is all about your relationship with God and what the priorities are in your life. What proportion of what you have will you give to God? If we put God first then all the rest of our priorities will fall into place. What is important in life will be starkly revealed. Today is New Consecration Sunday, a day when we have the opportunity to separate what is trivial and what is important and to rededicate ourselves and our lives to the service of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. Today we will mark this giftedness by filling out a card, writing a number on that card and signing our name. That is our pledge for 2009. Generous giving helps us simplify our lives. Generous giving helps us remember what is important. Generous giving helps us remember that we are not self-made. Generous giving helps us remember we are dependent on God. The Stock market is helping us simplify our lives by reminding us that the stuff we collect over a lifetime can be gone in a week. Clearly God is wanting me to remember that there were thousands I could have or should have given that has now vanished. Stewardship has nothing to do with how much we make or even the market. Stewardship has nothing to do with what we think we can afford. It has everything to do with our relationship with God. So on whom do you depend for your life? What will you give to acknowledge that dependence? Will it express not just your due or the least you can get by with? Will it express your hopes and dreams for the future for what God can do through you and your community here at Saint Augustine's? Will what you give be a bold declaration of your faith and of your trust in your creator? Copyright © 2008 St. Augustine by-the-Sea
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