The 16th century reformers were attuned to this kind of growth. As they looked back to scripture they saw that the Mother Church had ceased growing and instead attained power and built hierarchies. They had lost the art of relationship. One could only relate to God through God's intermediaries - the priests, but Scripture had promised a different intermediary - the living Spirit of Christ who could work in and through anyone. The opening of Calvin's institutes paint a different picture of relationship than was common in those days of the church. Hear these words:

Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But as these are connected together by many ties, it is not easy to determine which of the two precedes and gives birth to the other. For, in the first place, no man can survey himself without forthwith turning his thoughts towards the God in whom he lives and moves; because it is perfectly obvious, that the endowments which we possess cannot possibly be from ourselves; nay, that our very being is nothing else than subsistence in God alone. In the second place, those blessings which unceasingly distil to us from heaven, are like streams conducting us to the fountain.

The knowledge that Calvin is so bold to claim for humanity is far reaching. This knowledge reduces our tendency toward hierarchical power, for he goes on to say that though our gifts indeed are obviously from God, our basest human nature is also readily observable as we turn our thoughts to God's light in the world. It is only through God's grace that we grow in our gifts and turn from our sin.

This comes as no surprise when we turn to today's reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians. Paul also knew that our spiritual gifts, our gifts of relating to each other and for building up the Body of Christ were all from God alone. Things like wise counsel, clear understanding, simple trust, healing the sick, miraculous acts, distinguishing between spirits, language for prayer and interpretation of that language all come from God. We are who we are because of our relationships to each other and because of our relationship to the fountain from which we come. There it is - that fountain image again!

We are significant, as Paul says, and Calvin would agree, not because of how great we are, but for what we are a part of. It is because we each contribute our unique gifts, and perhaps also our weaknesses, to the Body of Christ that makes it work together. It takes eyes and ears, hands and feet, internal and external parts to make us whole. But if we are an eye that wants the whole body to be sight - we lose our connectedness and become a monster. Maturity is not a measure of age. My favorite definition maturity, be it emotional or spiritual, is to know where one's self ends and another begins. Being part of this great fountain of life puts us in relationship with other "selves" just as valuable as we are and that both elevates and humbles us.

But today is a Stewardship Sunday - and in church parlance, stewardship is supposed to be a code word for money, though the word itself is much broader and more encompassing than that. I dare say, the Stewardship Committee may wondering when this sermon will get a little more down to earth with the tangible "gifts" that the church needs, especially the kind that go in the offering plate. But I think it is worthwhile to get in this concept about how God provides all our gifts - the ones that describe who we are and the ones that show up in our checkbook ledgers. Calvin is quick to say that we mess up our gifts - all of them. We begin to think of them as our own attributes of righteousness rather than see them for what they are - God's righteousness working through us. For this, he uses the analogy of our sight. We look around on our planet and think we've got a pretty good concept of the things around us - but if we look to the sun for just a minute, our blindness is apparent. Our human abilities are so fantastic, not because we are so great, but because they are freely given to us and because God really creates us with the purpose of using them for the benefit of the whole human enterprise. Well, if even my own innate abilities cannot really be called my own, that probably means my money and any success I have in material wealth is likely also not my own. So looking to Calvin and Paul for help, they both use this image that your Session has identified as iconic for our church - a fountain. These spiritual giants saw Christ as the fountain from which all things flow and to which all things return. The vision shared in our church also puts Christ in that central energizing position.

If you think of how our spiritual gifts flow from and to Christ, perhaps we can think of our material gifts in a similar fashion. Flow requires energy. Energy in the church frequently comes from the joy we get from sharing our gifts. Now when I say "sharing our gifts" - think - "giving them away." The gifts we are endowed with thanks to God are not like the eternal family fruitcake that gets passed around but never eaten. They are meant to be used over and over again. We are meant to grow in faith, love, and knowledge by sharing our gifts for teaching, healing, helping, organizing, praying, and being tellers of the best news ever heard.

So it only makes sense that we also grow when we give our material goods away. Yep, there I said it. It is a joy. It is a celebration. It is using your God given potential to be able to write a check, transfer stock, buy supplies for a needy family - whatever it is that God is calling you to empty from your pockets. In fact, I had a vision about pockets on my vacation last week. I realized that when you give in joy, no matter how much you give away, your pockets will always feel full. And the converse of that is also true, if you give out of fear, no matter how much you keep, your pockets will always feel empty.

Think about it. One of the most joyful times in the recent history of this church was the last Belize auction. People were there giving in joy - sharing their talents, opening their purses and wallets, laughing and celebrating all to help out our identified neighbors in a far away place. Imagine, just imagine, if we were all that joyful about this year's annual campaign. What if the fountain image took hold in such a way that we understood that what we were doing was all because of Christ, and we simply let the living water of Christ flowing through us? Money would never, ever, ever be a problem again. Giving tends to multiply giving. Even in death, some of the world's greatest philanthropists give almost in perpetuity to cancer research, to advancements in scientific knowledge for the purpose of knowing God's world better, to well-funded projects in spiritual endeavors and refreshment for pastoral leaders - the list goes on, but you probably recognize the names the Pew Trust, the Templeton Foundation, the Lily Endowment.

But it is also true that we can gum up the fountain with our fear. When we are afraid that the Session won't do what we want with our money... Well, I can think of several things wrong with how that sentence gets started. Fear diminishes us in all our capacities. It cripples our ability to use our resources wisely and puts us either in the position of aggressively exacting control over others or passively manipulating others by withholding our gifts. Let me tell you, churches die with money all the time. It's rarely a lack of funds that closes a church. It's a lack of energy, imagination, trust, and love. When I was on a commission to close a church in Pennsylvania, the Session's last responsibility was to figure out what to do with all the money. Maybe God needed it for other things, but it felt quite sad none the less.

So when it comes right down to it, it's all about how we relate to God and to each other. It's not about the big amounts that we'll get from the top givers - though we are grateful for those who have the ability to share in that way. What you give is between you and God anyway. What I'm more concerned about is each and every person in this congregation doing his or her part to advance the kingdom of heaven in this world. I pray that you will begin to see your gifts through God's eyes, as part of the divinely coordinated whole sustained by the fountain. I pray that you will find the joy that comes from giving yourself away a thousand times over. All possess the choice to live in love or in fear. May you always live in love.

My friends, there is not one thing that has ever been saved by throwing money at it, no church, no child, no catastrophic situation. Salvation belongs to God - though more often than not it comes through our hearts and hands. Human beings may be limited in their resources and power, but they are indeed limitless in nurturing the Body of Christ - our fountain of life.

Amen.