On The Altar
A few summers ago, I took a class on preaching at Sewanee. Designed for experienced clergy, this class was intended to help students not only hone their skills but also understand more deeply the theory and practice of preaching. Although most of the participants were Episcopal priests, one or two had come from other traditions, and we benefitted from their perspectives.
I remember vividly when a Lutheran classmate approached the ambo to deliver a sermon he had written. He had a coffee mug in his hand and asked casually where he should put it while he preached. “Anywhere but the altar,” I said jokingly, in part poking fun at my more liturgically fastidious classmates. His chuckle suggested that he understood that I was only halfway kidding, but, when he placed the mug on the altar and heard the cries of abject horror that arose from the class, he realized instantly that I was serious.
As you may have observed, my piety tends to reflect the low-church side of the Anglican tradition, but even I know not to use the altar as a side table. Whether you call it an “altar” or, because of your Protestant proclivities, prefer to call it the “holy table,” we all recognize that what happens on that piece of liturgical furniture is special. The altar itself has been consecrated—set apart for holy use—by a bishop, and, if we were ever to discard it and get a new one, we would offer prayers of deconsecration before it could be used for any other purpose.
The altar or holy table is the place where our offerings are given to God for holy use. Like the altar itself, once something is given to God, we do not ordinarily take it back but instead use it in a way that glorifies God. For example, after church on Sundays, the flowers on the altar, which have been beautifully arranged by our Flower Guild, are not given to the people who donated them but are rearranged in smaller bouquets that are then taken to parishioners who are homebound or in the hospital.
Every week, you have an opportunity to place something of value on the altar in order that you might give something to God for holy use. When the ushers pass the offering plates down the pew, they are not asking you to pay for the service in which you are taking part but are giving you the chance to put your offering on the altar. After the ushers have finished collecting the congregation’s offering, they bring the plates forward along with the bread and wine, which will be consecrated for Holy Communion. In effect, everything that the ushers carry up to the altar, whether the bread we are about to receive or the money that we will use to carry out our ministries, is to be dedicated to God for God’s holy purposes.
What happens if you do not carry any cash or have not brought your checkbook with you? I rarely have more than a dollar or two in my wallet, and my checkbook stays in my office. Our family makes a monthly contribution to St. Paul’s through our bank’s online bill pay. We tell the website how much to send each month, and the checks are written and mailed without us ever seeing them. In theory, the we can do the mental gymnastics required to associate our online gifts with what is placed on the altar, but, as you would expect, Leslie Alexander, our Parish Administrator, does not bring the checks we get in the mail and place them on the altar before depositing them in the bank. How can my giving become a more intentional spiritual practice?
For starters, if I have any cash in my pocket, I will eagerly put it in the offering plate, no matter how small that contribution may be. Even if my principal gifts are made online, I never pass up the opportunity to give a little extra back to God. If I am visiting another church, where I do not regularly give, I may look for their online giving platform and see if I can make a contribution with my smartphone. Last Sunday at the 7:30 a.m. service, I put one of our Give cards in the plate for the first time, and I found it more meaningful than I expected.
You may have noticed that, last fall, in addition to the familiar Welcome, Connect, and Doodle cards, we began placing Give cards in the pews. In part, that is to help people know how to make an online gift. The QR code and web address for our Tithely giving platform are printed on the card so that you can make your gift from your pew. More than that, however, the Give card is designed to give you something you can physically put in the offering plate as a way of connecting your electronic gifts with a physical act.
Spiritual practices are often enhanced by physical gestures. In my life, I want giving to be a spiritual habit, but I do not want it to become so habitual that it loses its meaning. Physically engaging with the offering plate helps with that. Whether it is an extra few dollars or a Give card, placing something tangible into the plate and onto the altar helps me associate my financial contributions with the giving of myself back to God. During the annual giving campaign, I invited you to think about making a commitment that allows you metaphorically to climb into the offering plate and present your whole self to God. Even if that is too much of a mental stretch, touching the plate and placing something into it helps the offering feel more real.
As a genuine low churchman, I may think that most Episcopalians place too much emphasis on ritual at the expense quality preaching and personal experiences of faith, but I think there is something powerful about the ritual act of presenting the offerings of our lives and labors to Almighty God and placing them upon the holy table. Like all physical gestures during worship, the offertory is an opportunity to enhance a spiritual practice through a physical movement. We do not need to place something on the altar in order to set it apart for a holy purpose, but doing so make that purpose clearer and draws us more fully into it.
The next time you are in church and the offering plate comes down your pew, grab ahold of it and feel it in your hand. Put something into it, whether a check, some cash, a Give card, or anything else that symbolizes your gifts to God. Watch the plates be carried up to the altar by the ushers and placed upon it by the priest. And recognize that there, upon that holy table, is a part of your life—something you have given back to God in thanksgiving for all of God’s blessings and as an attempt to give more of yourself into God’s service. I bet you will be able to feel a difference, and that represents an opportunity for spiritual growth.
Yours faithfully,
Evan D. Garner
