October 29,2023

“Release”

Sermon by Rev. Trip Porch

 

October 29, 2023                                                                   Based on Deuteronomy 15:1-3; 7-11 and Matthew 19:16-22

Whenever I am counseling a couple who is engaged to be married, one of the topics I am always sure to cover in depth is money. Because it is one of those topics that even couples who have been together a long time struggle to talk about and because Money problems and differences in money management contribute to something like 20-40% of the divorces in this country.

So before couples get married, I always think it’s important to spend some time talking about money in depth. And frankly a lot of my process is similar to the process of this sermon series. We spend time remembering: How was money handled in the family you grew up in? Was it someone’s job to manage the money? If so, who? Was money something your parents talked about or was it always kept quiet? When did you start to manage your own money? How do you do that? Are you the type of person who has a daily    ritual of balancing their check book and checking your accounts or are you more laissez faire… are you more of a spender or a saver? 

I have the couple remember all this together, we compare and contrast their differences and similarities, and then because marriage is a full paradigm shift that changes who we are and how we navigate our world, we talk about how they plan to manage money in their marriage. We talk about what needs to change in order to live out this hoped for future, we talk about what assumptions or practices they need to unlearn and let go of in order to embrace this future vision of themselves together.

It is this part of the process that I think is the hardest. It is this part that we never accomplish in premarital counseling because it is a part of the process that is ongoing…

How do we unlearn something that is so embedded in us. Something that has been shaped by years of our life that has trained us to be the way that we are?

Releasing is an essential part of the change process, but it is a lifelong part that I don’t we ever truly finish.

Look at our gospel story for instance.

We have this young person coming to Jesus seeking the “eternal life” Jesus has been preaching about. 

But he is not just a young man, he is a rich young man, and a powerful young man. This is a person who has been steeped in privilege. Taught that he deserves what he has, and that the order and hierarchy of the world is just the way things are. He has everything and yet, he still feels his life is unbalanced, like something is missing and not quite right. 

Jesus sees what the problem is immediately. This man is possessed by his possessions, his wealth and influence has lead to an individualized and isolated life that has disconnected him from God and from his world. The solution? 

He looks at this man in love and tells him “Sell all of your possession and give it all away to the poor.”  Let go of the only way of life that you know and change your life completely, your economic status, your me-me-me focus, your power and societal standing, let go of it all, and go to share your wealth with the poor. How do you find eternal life? Let go of your ego that makes you think it’s all about you… and go live in a community where you can share what you have and also receive from others. 

This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible. I think it’s because this next part is so real… The man walks away grieving because he has many possessions.

This man’s money story is not wrapped up with a bow.. We don’t know how it concludes… He has come face to face with the reality of what is holding him back, he realizes what he must let go of in order to follow God but it’s not the easy answer he was hoping for, he has… “MANY” possessions and so he walks away grieving… he walks away chewing on this in deep reflection and conflicted… he walks away because he even though he knows the next step in his story is right, even though that he knows on the other side of it is eternal life …he knows that this is a paradigm shift that will change everything about himself will be difficult and long work and we don’t know the rest of the story 

Letting go is lifelong work… And it can be hard work.

But it’s also work that is holy and beautiful and God breathed. 

What part of your story do you need to let go of for you to embrace the changes God has for you? What piece of your money story has kept you from living the life God sees for you? What is the shift God is confronting you with, that may be life-long hard work, but will result in an abundant life?

In a moment we will begin an individual practice of prayer where we will invite you to reflect on what you need to let go of. You should have received a coffee filter and markers from the usher when you arrived. 

We invite you into a time of prayer to write, draw, or color on these filters in order to name before God what is it you need to let go of… what you need to release…

Before we begin, I invite you to hear and reflect on this quote from Howard Thurman...

Howard Thurman Quote

I must let go.

For so long I have held to the habit of holding on.

Even my muscles

Are tense; deeply fearful are they

Of relaxing lest they fall away from their place.

I cling clutchingly to my friends

Lest I lose them.

I live under the shadow of being supplanted by another.

I cling to my money, 

not so much By a wise economy and a thoughtful spending

But by a sense of possession that makes me depend upon it for strength.

I must let go—

 

I must let go of everything but God.

But God—

may it not be

That God is in all the things to which I cling?

That may be the hidden reason for my clinging.

It is all very puzzling indeed. 

When I say

"I must let go of everything but God"

What is my meaning?

I must relax my hold on everything that dulls my sense of Him,

That comes between me and the inner awareness of His Presence

Pervading my life and glorifying

All the common ways with wonderful wonder.

"Teach me, O God, how to free myself of dearest possessions,

So that in my trust I shall find restored to me

All I need to walk in Thy path and to fulfill Thy will.

Let me know Thee for myself that I may not be satisfied

With aught that is less."

 

~ excerpted from a longer piece by Howard Thurman (1899-1981) in Deep is the Hunger. 

WE GATHER IN AWE AND PRAISE

PRELUDE                                 “Come Unto Jesus”      Orson Pratt Huish, arr. Martineau  

INTROIT                                   “This Is the Day”                                         Pablo Sosa

WELCOME                                                                                                Rev. Trip Porch

  One: This is the day that the Lord has made

  All: Let us rejoice and be glad in it

*CALL TO WORSHIP 

One: With grace, Jesus said:

All: “Give one coat away.” (Luke 3:11)

One: With honesty, Jesus taught:

All: “Sell what you have, give that money to the poor.” (Matt. 19:21)

One: Faith has always involved letting go, releasing, setting free,

Dropping our nets, giving to others, and following.

All: So in this hour of worship, may we release that which binds us.

May we worship with open, untamed, and porous hearts, so that we can walk freely with God.

One: Let it be so.

All: Amen.

*HYMN NO. 697                                                 “Take My Life”                                         HENDON

*PRAYER OF CONFESSION                                                                            Mike Ayers

Gracious God, We admit to holding tight to that which is familiar and safe, that which we know and understand. Though you are always beyond us calling us forward, We confine you in a box to avoid the shades of gray and the risky outward motion that comes with faith. We put ourselves in boxes labeled with safe expectations and societal norms. We put others in boxes labeled “worthy” and “unworthy.” We put all that we have in a box and pray we won’t run out. So in this moment, we confess to holding on too tight to fear, greed, and worldly structures. Forgive us for missing the point. Open our eyes to a new way— to a holiness that opens boxes, unclenches fists, provides shades of gray, and holy release. Gratefully we pray, Amen.

*ASSURANCE OF PARDON

*RESPONSE OF PRAISE No. 585           “Glory to God” vs. 1                   MACHU-PICH 

*PASSING OF THE PEACE                                       

         One:   The peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all,

All:      And also with you.

WE LISTEN FOR GOD’S WORD

ANTHEM                                           “Pilgrim’s Hymn”                                           Stephen Paulus                                          

PRAYER OF ILLUMINATION

SCRIPTURE: Deuteronomy 15:1-3; 7-11   MSG

CHILDRN’S MESSAGE                                                                                                     Marie Boozer

SCRIPTURE: Matthew 19:16-22  CEB

SERMON                                                        “Practice of Release                                      Rev. Trip Porch

WE RESPOND TO GOD’S WORD

*HYMN (insert)                                      "Lord, What Must I Do?"                                           LYONS

*AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

We believe that on the first day, God released love and creativity over a void; and that void became mountains and rivers, sunsets and starry nights. We believe God released God’s people from the grips of slavery, liberating us day in and day out. We believe God laid down with death and was released from its grip, knowing suffering and freeing us from this fragile life. And we believe God invites us— day in and day out— to release our fears, let go of assumptions, tear down walls, throw open the doors, and walk closer to love. May it be so. Amen.

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE   followed by  The Lord’s Prayer as printed on the screen.   

TIME OF OFFERING                 “I Know My Father Lives”                              Reid N. Nibley

The children will pick up donations for the NSI food drive at this time.               

*OFFERTORY RESDPONSE      “Giving God, We Pause and Wonder”                      NETTLETON

God, we know we cannot pay you For your love in Christ your Son.
Gifts and tithes are just a "thank you" — Ways to pass your blessings on.
We have learned that, in our sharing, We receive more than we give.
By your Spirit, make us daring In this joyful way to live.
                                                                                                            Tune: John Wyeth's Repository of Sacred Music, 1813
                                                                               Text: Copyright © 2005 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved. 

*PRAYER OF DEDICATION   in one voice

*HYMN NO. 684                           “Faith Begins by Letting Go”                                   LUX PRIMA

MOMENT FOR STEWARDSHIP                                                                      Marie Boozer      

TIME OF COMMUNITY SHARING

CHARGE AND BENEDICTION

CHORAL RESPONSE                           “Go Forth for God”                                    Kenneth Dake

POSTLUDE                                                      “Baptism”      Crawford Gates, arr. Summer Decker Nelson

Acknowledgments: Unless otherwise indicated, all texts and music are printed and broadcast under OneLicense.net license #A-702452

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