Introduction
I am going to admit something to you. I love movies. I know, pretty shocking. Ok, ok. I love action and adventure movies. Still not so shocking. Ok, ok.
The action and adventure movies I deeply love, but am somewhat embarrassed to admit that I love are the Fast and the Furious movie series. What can I say… I love Vin Diesel. Or more specifically, I love Dominik Toretto—the character in the Fast and the Furious films played by Vin Diesel. And it’s not because I enjoy bad writing, contrived drama, and predictable endings, nor because I am a car guy—although I do have grandiose visions of tricking out my minivan with some “Fast and the Furious” modifications. I told you, this is embarrassing.
I love the Fast and the furious movies, and others like them, because they demand I suspend disbelief and watch these movies for the thrilling entertainment they are meant to be. I mean Dominic Toretto can outrun a heat seeking missile in his souped up Dodge Charger and then redirect it to blow up a cold war nuclear submarine!? I could watch that all day long!
Today’s movie plots are getting more over the top. The situations are more impossible. But yet somehow the mere mortal finds a way to make the impossible possible, and win. We don’t know how, but we sure love the ride we will go on to see how the mere moral will win. This is called the “willing suspension of disbelief” as it is known in the theater and drama world. It is what we are willing to do for a couple of hours when watching a film or play, where the impossible is in fact impossible, and the hero wins the day.
But maybe the Fast and the Furious isn’t your thing—that’s fine. I can make my point by reminding you a lot of us are Cleveland sports fans. “Just wait til next year” we say. We have been honing this skill of suspending disbelief for our entire lives, right?
And that’s what I want us to do today—use our skill and capacity for “willing suspension of disbelief”. We do it with movies and sports, but do we suspend our disbelief when it comes to what God can do? Do we suspend our disbelief when it comes to what God asks us to do? Do we suspend disbelief when it comes to what we and God can do together? That’s where we tend to stop, isn’t it? That’s where we tend to let “reality” creep back into our minds and hearts and spirits.
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We live in a different world today than we did two years ago. And as a result the place in the world the church holds is different—and it’s not as prominent—though it is needed more than ever.
So can we suspend disbelief that though the state of today—church, country, world—is dire and chaotic and the forces against the efforts of good are strong—can we suspend our disbelief that God is still at work creating? Can we believe God is indeed creating order out of chaos; creating good out of bad; creating much out of little?
Can we—like we do with movies and our sports teams— know that no matter how dire the situation may seem, in the end God will make the impossible, possible?
Because that is what we have to do—everyday as people of faith. And it’s what we have to do before we complete and turn in our estimate of giving card. We have to suspend the disbelief that we, with God, can make the impossible, possible.
Move 1
Our text for today is a story where the people of God are led to suspend disbelief, and becomes a powerful story for the church especially when it is experiencing a crisis. The story of Tabitha, who is given the designation disciple, can reassure a faith community that while Jesus may have “left the building” so to speak, which happens at the Ascension in chapter 1, his power is still at work in the church through the presence of the Holy Spirit.
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Tabitha was dedicated to good works and acts of charity, particularly toward the widows in her community. She cares for them by making sure they have what they need: food and clothing—but not just any clothing, beautiful clothing—while also making sure they are not forgotten, which is a real fear and possibility. So when she dies, the church—especially the widows—experience a crisis. “What are we going to do?” is the question they are left asking in panicked disbelief.
So they call Peter who comes and prays. When he finishes praying, he looks at the body and says, “Tabitha, get up!” and to everyone’s disbelief, she does! Showing, proving, suspending the disbelief, that the resurrection power of Jesus still at work.
Now this is a great story, but to the fully ingrained audience—just like a good action adventure series that believes nine disbelieving stories are better than one—there is more to this story of Tabitha. If this story was just about proving the power of Jesus was still at work through the resurrection of a dead body, well then any body would do just fine. But it isn’t just anybody, it is Tabitha’s life that is restored—the one who was devoted to generosity! Her ministry was so important the church could not afford to have it stopped by her physical death. And so she is raised back to life to continue her acts of generosity, of faithfulness, of love.
We can see generosity as life-giving, but even beyond that, we can see that for the church to be the church, it has to be like Tabitha: devoted to generosity, faithfulness, and love. And to be like Tabitha, we have to suspend our disbelief that God can make the impossible, possible.
Move 2
In the Old Testament, God’s prophets indicated that the widow, the orphan, and the disenfranchised should be cared for by the community. In the New Testament, the church is the new community of caring. Today, the church is at its best when it practices the life-giving practices of caring, sharing, and generosity. What this required then, and what it requires still, is for the mindsets within the church to change from the transactional to the relational.
Giving is a transaction. Stewardship, generosity, suspending disbelief…that is relational. And moving from transaction to relational is at the core of stewardship. It is at the core of generosity.
Yes, our giving is a transaction—check to bank; online automatic withdrawal to deposit in a different online account. But what spurs the transaction is the relationship.
Tabitha had a relationship with the widows, and the garments she made were beautiful, which is a way of saying they gave dignity to the one who wore them—which is what they needed and deserved.
Stewardship is about more than the transactions we make with our money. It is a whole-life, relational response to God and God’s abundant generosity. Being devoted to generosity is the intentional and impactful deployment of our spiritual gifts that we have because of the relationship we have with Creator and Savior. Being devoted to generosity is a way of giving that flows from the heart in concrete ways in response to what God has already done. Being devoted to generosity is life-giving for both the practitioner of generosity and the recipient. Being devoted to generosity is how we suspend our disbelief.
Move 3
We live in a different world today than we did two years ago. And as a result the place in the world the church holds is different—and it’s not as prominent—though it is needed more than ever. This requires us then, to keep aware that we live in a different world today, and that “the way we’ve always done” church is not going to cut it. New, innovative ministries must happen, and new visions must be cast so we are ready to receive those in this different world today as they need to be received. Tabitha didn’t tell the widows what they needed—she listened to what they needed and responded accordingly, and faithfully and generously.
But no innovative ministry can happen; none of the visions cast before us can be seen clearly and to fruition, if we don’t have the resources to make them happen—transactional resources, yes; but also relational resources of body, mind, and spirit.
But here is where belief and disbelief really come into play.
Move 4
All pastors know, all too well, that giving is all too often a poll of the popularity of the pastor—a critique of his/her job performance; a 5-4-3 star—or less—Amazon-like rating of how well the product the pastor provided worked for you.
All pastors know, all too well, that giving is all too often a litmus test of the current programming of the church—whether or not enough time, resources, and verbalized promotion has been given to the budget line items to which a person is most interested.
All pastors know, all too well, that offerings offer the chance for church members to show how pleased or displeased they are with the minister, or what’s happening in the church, or what’s not happening in the church, or the general direction the church is going.
I could rail against this misperception and dangerous practice all day long. I could accept it as part of the landscape of this unique calling within our Starbucks ruled world—Star=Universe, Bucks=Money, Money Rules the Universe, and we live in a Starbucks ruled world. So maybe I just accept this practice and hope for the best.
But what I prefer to do is increase your confidence in this church and the ministry it does—so you feel empowered knowing your hard earned transactional giving and relational gifting of body, mind, and spirit are being used faithfully. I prefer to invite us to know and embrace and remember our offerings are our chance to give thanks to God for the magnitude of gifts God has given to us. I prefer to invite us to know and embrace and remember our pledges are our chance to suspend the disbelief that the forces against good will not win and that we do believe in the end God and God’s love wins.
The mindset and method of giving out of critique cannot be how we give to God and God’s church. The offering—the giving of our gifts and tithes; our resources of body, mind, and spirit—must always be seen as our chance to respond to the unbelievable blessings God has given to us, while affirming our belief that God will continue to bless us in the days to come.
Conclusion
Had we been told two years ago, none of us would have believed we’d be living in the world we live in today. But now our disbelief has not just been suspended—it has been shattered.
So instead of piecing it back together, let’s keep shattering it. Let’s keep living into the disbelief by seeing what God is still doing—bringing bodies that were dead, back to life; restoring dignity by seeing what is really needed; making the impossible possible. Let us suspend our disbelief that God’s love can and will win the day.
We may not know how, but when we are devoted to generosity, we can be certain it will be one fast and furious ride—yet it will also be a faithful one too. Amen.
Pastoral Prayer, October 31, 2021
Gracious God, we live in a scary world—not because of the day it is, but because of the conditions around us—where poverty and oppression haunt many, where vengeance and violence are a constant specter; where fear abounds because that which frightens us is real. We are caught in a real-life horror movie, and we often slip into the disbelief that it will ever end well. So we pray…
When our hearts ache for the victims of war and oppression, remind us you healed people simply by touching them. Give us faith in our ability to comfort and heal bodies and minds and spirits that have been broken by fear and violence.
When the injustice of this world seems too much for us to handle, remind us you fed thousands of people with only five loaves of bread and two fish. Give us hope that what we have to offer will turn into abundance, too.
When fear of the power and opinions of others tempts us to not speak up for the least among us, remind us you dared to turn over the tables of money changers. Give us the courage to risk following you without counting the cost.
When we feel ourselves fill with anger at those who are violent and oppressive, remind us you prayed for those who killed you. Give us compassion for our enemies, too.
When we tell ourselves we have given all we can to bring peace to this world, remind us of your sacrifice and remind us that the impossible is made possible when we lose a little more of ourselves in serving you and our neighbors.
Walk with us, Lord, as we answer your call to be devoted to generosity. Increase our ability to suspend disbelief that you are able to make the impossible possible. Give us the courage, the strength, the willingness, the faithful devotion to you that is needed in a world that needs your followers to believe you, and your love will win.
We ask for you to hear now the prayers we have to offer from our hearts to yours in this time of holy silence.
All this we pray in the name of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, who taught us to pray saying, “Our…