"Oh, boy - here it comes: the sermon about money, when the pastor strives to extract some from the faithful members". Well, not exactly. My sermon is not about money, but about something more important! TRUST: "In God We Trust".

This is a sermon about stewardship (you've been warned). Stewardship = Faith Raising not Fund Raising.

I am persuaded: When faith in God is alive and growing, money is not an issue, not a "taboo topic." If our faith is truly where it belongs - in God and not in our money or possessions or assets - then stewardship is a joy rather than a burden. And by faith, I mean more than simply believing that there is a God - I mean actually putting your trust in God, putting your life in God's hands.

Without real faith, it's hard to be a giver:

- Giving seems risky

- Giving means giving away what we treasure most

- We are grudging givers at best.

Without faith in God, we're Tippers, not Givers - giving the leftover instead of the first fruits.

With faith, we recognize that everything we have belongs to God anyway - and furthermore, we trust that God will keep on providing, so we can be confident, joyful, generous GIVERS.

First Reading from Genesis - a wrestling match. This is how some people view stewardship: a wrestling match between them and: Church, God over their hard earned cash. Reminds me of that story about Ley (who was, like me, both a Swede and a Lutheran - wrestling for 7 cents).

In our First Reading, Jacob is wrestling with an angel (or perhaps with God) - but not for money. What Jacob wants is a blessing: "I won't let you go till you bless me." Silly Jacob: he still doesn't get it! Still doesn't see the rich ways God has blessed him his whole life through! Jacob is as shortsighted and forgetful as you and I. We say: "Count your blessings" - but how often do we actually take time to do so? We know so very well what we don't have. Do we realize the blessings we do have?

Walter Brueggemann (O.T. Professor) - "Blessing is the force of well-being active in the world, and faith is the awareness that creation is the gift that keeps on giving."

That's a good theology of stewardship: 1) Recognizing God's Blessings (gratitude) - and, 2) Trusting God the Giver - to keep giving.

"In God We Trust". Every coin in your pocket, every bill in your wallet carries this message. But do we? How much do we trust God? How far?

Psalm 121 - "My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth." "The Lord shall watch over your going out and your coming in, from this time forth and for evermore". Do we believe this? Do we act like we believe it? Do we depend it?

When you pray: "Give us this day our daily bread", do you believe that day after day it really is God who provides all you need? Do you trust God to take care of you?

The truth about us is, we believe - but we are torn. We're torn between our trust on God's abundance, and our belief in scarcity. From the first chapters of Genesis to the preaching of Jesus, the scriptures proclaim God's abundance and God's faithfulness. But the world tells a different story: the world teaches the myth of scarcity. There's not enough to go around, so you better grab what you can and hold onto it, because you can't count on tomorrow. The myth of scarcity would have us believe that you can never have enough, that meaning is found in getting/spending/acculumlating, that giving is for chumps.

I believe many Christians (especially American Christians) suffer from this ambivalence: We want to trust God, we also buy into the myth of scarcity.

So we say: "In God we Trust" - and then tack on a "BUT". You've see the signs in some establishments - "In God we Trust - But all others pay cash". We think:

- "In God we Trust, but God helps those who help themselves"

- "In God we Trust, but it's every man for himself"

- "In God we Trust - but the one who dies with the most toys wins."

How do we live our lives - really? Where do we finally place our trust? Lincoln's picture is on the penny - here's a story from Lincoln's life: When the Civil War was raging at it's worst, a minister said to President Lincoln: "I surely hope the Lord is on our side." Lincoln replied: "I am not at all concerned about that, for I know that the Lord is always on the side of the right; but it is my constant anxiety and prayer that I and this nation should be on the Lord's side."

God is with us - are we with God?

Our giving is a pretty good measure of our trust in God. Does our giving (yours and mine) demonstrate our trust in God's abundance - or does it reflect our belief in scarcity? - Do we operate out of faith or fear?

Martin Niemoller was a German Lutheran pastor who heroically opposed Adolf Hitler. In 1933 he attended a conference where Hitler spoke. Niemoller stood at the back of the room and looked and listened. He said nothing. When he returned home his wife asked him what he had learned that day. Niemoller replied: "I discovered that Herr Hitler is a terribly frightened man." And so he was. Hitler was driven by the myth of scarcity to try to conquer and control the world. He was driven by fear.

We live in anxious and uncertain times, but we can live by faith, not by fear.

I know of a family with several children where one parent is seriously ill and the other is out of work. Their resources are just about tapped out. Times are hard. Yet let me share with you what one of their children recently wrote: "I should be more grateful because not everybody is as well off as I am. I want to do more things to help others." That's faith talking! Faith that wants to do more, give more - not less.

We can talk a lot about the how of giving - 10%, 1%, proportionate giving, growing giving. But we won't get to the "how" until we are clear on the "why" of giving.

Today's Gospel ends with a question - and I leave you to ponder that question:

"When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on earth?" - or only fear?

Why give?

In God We Trust - no ifs, and or buts.

Amen.