Planning Your Legacy:  “It’s Been Nice to Know You!”
Rev. Marti Zimmerman
All Saint’s Celebration

Scripture -- Ephesians 1:15-19

NRSV
I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints,
and for this reason I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you,
what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power.

The Message:
That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you— every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank.

I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory— to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him— endless energy, boundless strength!         

Prayer

Joe didn’t make it to church that day. His seat was empty and we who loved his Sunday hugs, knew the end must be near. 

King called after the last service and said,  “you better come soon.” I dropped by on my way to the airport for a fall break trip with my daughter. We spoke of Marion, of life and death, of faith and God’s grace, then we prayed together.

I left with tears, knowing our next meeting would be on the other side of death. As I walked down the stairs, Joe’s strong voice called out, “It’s been nice to know you!” He died that afternoon,  after friends and family helped him spend time in the garden, then lie down for a nap.  Joe was one of several spiritual mentors who passed from this world to the next in the last year. 

On All Saint’s Day the Church --surrounded by a cloud of witnesses of those like Joe, takes time to remember the lives of the saints. Saints are not perfect people,  but rather folk who are examples “of Christina holiness of heart and life…people who have done much good in the world.”

(p. 32.  Daniel T. Benedict, “Do United Methodist Believe in the Saints?”  Interpreter Nov-Dec. 2001)

Saints are people whose faithful stewardship of the gifts and resources God has given them, allows them leave a legacy. A friend Rev. Harvey Martz once wrote,  “the Greatest use of life is to spend it for something that outlasts us.”  (stewardship letter 2004) Joe left a legacy.   

His friend and pew partner Naomi,  wrote “I know what a wonderful, caring person you have always been always putting other first over and over again.” His stain-glass creations still grace the Celebration Hall windows. He showed us what it means to keep the promise “in sickness and in health” as he cared for Marion through her years of Alzheimer’s. 

What legacy will you leave behind?  Martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador wrote,“We plant the seeds that one day will grow…We lay foundations that will need further development…It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.” Legacy’s require dreams.  And choices.  And discipline. 

Paul Taylor plans to leave a legacy. He is in his mid-fifties,  married with two adult sons,  now on their own. Twenty-eight years ago he started a small business  that has grown and become very successful over time.  His income is now in the top 10% of American wages. Yet he writes that his wealth is the result of choices,  especially the decision to live a moderate life-style.  He sees this as faithful discipleship.

“Throughout our married life my wife and I have maintained contact with those in our community  who are less-privileged than we are.  Knowing their reality has helped us to choose a far lower consuming life-style than we could have chosen.  Our Christian roots…also helped reinforce the need to balance self-interest with broader community concerns when it came to deciding how to spend.”

Paul Taylor is thinking about what to do with the sizable pot of cash that will remain in this world when he passes to the next.  He wonders, should it go to his kids, already “privileged” with health and a college education, years of caring parents, and rich store of memories of trips and activities?  Or should the money be shared with those whose circumstance leaves them hopeless?

Paul Taylor took John Wesley’s, the founder of Methodism’s advice when it comes to money.    ”Earn all you can”.  -  Taylor’s business has provided jobs and services that have brought him great wealth.  

Yet he is always aware that he is simply a steward of resources that really belongs to God.“Save all you can.” 

Wesley grew up the son of a poor parson in England.  His dad spent time in debtor’s prison, leaving the family to fend for itself. Wesley knew what it meant to live hand to mouth,  paycheck to paycheck. And so when organizing the early Methodist’s,

Wesley  encouraged them to prepare for the hard times which will surely come.   Taylor learned how to make a budget and how to stick to it!  Each raise did not mean increased consumer spending so money was left-over for college funds, retirement and emergency savings. He and his wife Cara were able  to invest in the future by living within their means.

Financial advisors suggest you pay yourself each month in the form of savings or investments.   A good target is 10% of each month’s income if you are young,  not the current minus one % American norm. If you are over 50, according to Business Week,  10% is not really enough to get you prepared for retirement. 

John Wesley knew that “Save all you” can meant hope in the midst of crisis. Earn all you can,  save all you can,  give all you can. Give all you can. John Wesley encouraged tithing.  Tithing is simply the biblical 10% of your salary.  Or grain or olives or wine production if you lived in Old Testament times. Tithing reminds us that we are stewards of someone else’s resources.  A 10 % tithe is God’s,  to use for the people and activities that God loves, like feeding the hungry, helping to build Habitat homes  for the homeless, clothes for the naked, cures for the sick, support for widows and orphans, the vulnerable of our time, baptizing and teaching opportunities in Christ’s name. 

As a result of his Bible study and mission experiences, 95% of Paul & Cara Taylor’s financial legacy will support several Christian organizations involved in working with the poor and caring for the earth.

Paul say he has learned from scripture that God seeks good stewards.  A steward is someone who increases and uses well the resources with which they have been entrusted by God. Many of us want to leave legacy’s to our children. Many of us will soon receive such inheritance from our parents. But research shows that whether you receive $500 or $500,000,  it will all be gone in 18 months, and there will be little to show for it. Legacies hard-earned are squandered.

Do you plan to leave a legacy?
What will you do with the inheritance entrusted to you by hard-working generations?
If you have not done so,  it’s time to plan for your legacy. What resources do you have choices over?
Do you follow the 10, 10, 80 rule for 10% tithe, 10% saving, 80% spending.

If we use up all that we receive on ourselves,  we are mismanaging God’s resources. If we plan,  we have the opportunity to work with Christ to bring hope with a financial legacy that has great impact for the Kindom of God. 

Our scripture from Ephesians spoke of remembering those whose lives had been spent for others.  The writer thanks God for their witness,  and invites us to see with the eyes of our hearts…the hope to which God has called us for a rich inheritance among the saints. 

We don’t know the day nor hour when we will join Joe in the next world. But whether death comes unexpectedly this day or at a distant hour,  the Gospel invitation and Joe’s witness invites us is to live life full,  planning for and leaving a legacy full of hope that causes other’s to give thanks to God for a life well lived, that we might call out to one another, “It’s been good to know you.” 

Let us pray.

Ephesians 1:15-19  NIV

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

That power is like the working of his mighty strength,

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