Stewardship Isn't Only About Money...Or About Church

Imagine me shouting from this mountaintop...

The Rev. Kathi Johnson

C Lectionary 28 – 9 October 2016

Texts: Luke 17:11-19 and 1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (Stewardship text for the day)

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas

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Today, we begin several weeks of teaching, preaching, and conversation about stewardship. If I could shout one thing about stewardship from the mountaintops, this is what it would be: STEWARDSHIP ISN’T ONLY ABOUT MONEY! OR ABOUT CHURCH!

In my newsletter article for this month, I wrote this: “When I first became aware of the Little Free Library movement, I was struck by their use of the word ‘steward,’ which they use to describe someone who has and keeps up their own LFL. For the little libraries around the world (similar to our own Bunny Box), these stewards are vital caretakers – making sure the libraries are kept in good repair, well-stocked, and ready to service their communities.

We use the word ‘steward’ in the Church more than the world does, and for good reason. As Christians, we believe that everything we have – our time, our talent, and our possessions (as one prayer says) – is a gift from God, and we are simply the caretakers of these things. God is always faithful to us. Does our use of time, talents, and possessions show that we honor God with these things?”

Stewardship, then, is about how we take care of - or steward – the gifts and resources that God has given us, both here at Our Redeemer, and in our daily lives.  Stewardship isn’t only about money. Or about church.

Look at the story of the ten lepers healed by Jesus. It’s not about money at all, but about ten people healed of their illness. If I ask you, which one of the ten is the best steward, what do you think?

In this case, the gift to the lepers was healing, and the one man who turned back to Jesus used this gift to praise God in a loud voice, throwing himself at the feet of Jesus and thanking him.

[Side note: Luke adds the comment: “He was a Samaritan.” Uh oh – another story where the despised one does the right thing!]

The Samaritan was freed from his ailment by Jesus – freed to praise and thank God – freed to re-enter society and to return to his family.

I have a few questions for you to ponder and respond to in writing if you can. The first question is “What gifts has God given to you?” and I’d like you to jot down a few things. (Hint: think about spiritual gifts, relationships, abilities/skills, financial resources and possessions, time, interests/ideas.)

The next question is: “In what ways are you a good steward of what God has given to you?” (How do I use what God has given me in good ways? How do I take good care of what God has given me?)

Hopefully, this has given you the chance to think about the gifts from God that you have received and how you use these gifts well. Maybe there’s room for improvement in some areas – and that’s good to reflect upon, too. I invite all of us to spend time over the next few weeks, especially, thinking about those areas that need improvement, and praying about that. For today, though, we are celebrating the ways in which we are already good stewards.

Going back to our Scripture for today: the first two verses of our New Testament lesson from 1 Corinthians is our stewardship text for today: [Paul writes to the Corinthian church:] “Think of us in this way, as servants of Christ and stewards of God’s mysteries. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found trustworthy.”

Paul names two points of identity:

·      First – we are servants of Christ

·      Second – we are stewards of God’s mysteries

The Greek word that Paul uses that we translate as “servant” indicates the one who rowed the boat. So, Paul says that we are all servants who row the boat together. This room we’re sitting in – we often refer to it as a sanctuary – technically, in church-speak, it is called a “nave.” The word “nave” is related to the word “naval,” like “navy” - as in, related to ships. Many older church buildings were built to look like upside-down ships because, as Christians, we are all in this boat together.

But Paul also calls us “stewards of God’s mysteries” – and you may be wondering what “God’s mysteries” are that we are the stewards of. It refers to the gospel of Jesus Christ – we are the stewards of the good news that Jesus came to live and die as one of us, to be raised to life again, giving his new life to us. We are the stewards of this good news! We are the ones responsible for carrying the message of God’s love and grace and forgiveness.

So – back to our questions – as best as you are able, think about what gifts God has given to your own congregation (or faith community - if you have one), and jot those down.

Every single church has one gift in common, and that is the gift of the love of God. In our Lutheran tradition, we remember and celebrate that love through the gifts of the Sacraments of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion – and in any number of other ways.

So, now we come to the last question: “In what ways are we good stewards of what God has given to us?” This means, as a congregation, how are we faithfully sharing the good news of God’s love for all people in Christ Jesus? Jot down your ideas for your own context.

It is my hope and prayer that we will all use these weeks of focusing on stewardship to think about the many gifts that we have from God – both as individuals and families – but also as a congregation. Let us celebrate those gifts, and then reflect upon our stewardship of them, always giving thanks to God for his great love for us, for all humankind, and for all creation.

Amen.

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