Giving It Away for the Kingdom

This week each person was asked to bring something for our alter that symbolizes ministry to them. The ministry of Mainesburg United Methodist Church. Our personal call and ministry. Mine is a bit odd, a tea cup. 

Many of you know that I am not a coffee drinker, but I’d like to tell you the story of how I became a tea addict. The first mission trip I ever took was overseas, to Vladimir, Russia. Through our time in Russia wasn’t spent playing with children at an orphanage or painting walls, though these are wonderful things to do for the Kingdom of God. Our time was spent drinking many, many cups of tea. Talking with people about their city, families and dreams. For it was only with such conversations over tea that we were able to be trusted enough to talk about faith and the love of Jesus Christ.

So tea for me reminds me of the time I spent in Valdmir over two Easter breaks during college. And tea reminds me of the ministry I was involved in at St. Paul’s UMC in State College at Abba Java Coffee House, making myself available to students to have discussions over cups of tea. But the tea cup also reminds me of today’s scripture passage in the Gospel of Luke. For a teacup can only hold so much before it runs over the brim, transferring the steamy liquid outside of the cup to items around it. So it is with our faith. God has filled up with good things, with blessings, that we should not try to contain, rather it overflows out of us to bless others. The funny thing about overflowing is that we still have what we started with in the cup. We are still blessed, we have simply passed on the blessing to others. 

One of the most profound questions I have ever been asked about overflowing is if I am giving away myself or Jesus? Am I so full of the love of Jesus Christ that his love flows out of me for others, or do I simply try to get through each day giving myself away. For when we give away Jesus, we are sharing for the sake of the Kingdom. But when we are simply giving away ourselves, it is often to make ourselves look better and can lead to being burnt out.

We have gathered together today to celebrate how this church has poured out the love of Jesus Christ, giving away the bounty we have been given by God for the Kingdom. You have heard about some of the ministries of this church, ministries that God has called us to for the sake of this community. You have heard about new ways we envision reaching out with other churches spreading the good news of the Gospel. The Church universal does not exist for its own sake, or for its own glory. It exists to over flow the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Mainesburg United Methodist Church gets it! Gets that it is better to give then to receive! Gets that its not about merely paying the bills or surviving but about being the hands and feet of Christ! Praise God!

We give this love away, because it is not ours to possess. And we share our blessings because they were showered down upon us by God in order to bless others, a more perfect gift. Every time I think about how much God has blessed me I want to shout in praise and thanksgiving. And when I think of how this church has responded so generously because of the gifts we have been given together, I want to sing a song and weep with gratitude. Friends, I am so thankful to be serving a church that understands its not about us, but about God working through us for the Kingdom. Believe me, not all churches get it. And I brag about you whenever I get the chance! You may not realize it all the time, or fully see what God is doing, but God is working in and through us! May we celebrate that today and feel energized for the ways we will be called to bless others in the future. And in all we do and say, may we praise God, the one who makes our cups overflow! Amen! Amen! Amen!