LAKE JAMES

NORTH CAROLINA

Proper 23 B + October 15, 2006 + St. Paul’s Church, Lake James

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

This morning, I’d like to share a story my Priest son told to his parish a few weeks ago – I don’t mind “borrowing” his material since I feel rather sure he, in his turn, borrowed it from someone else! The story has to do with a socially prominent family in which the father really ruled the roost! For his birthday, his children (all adults) decided to give him a book covering the extensive history of their family. They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work, but, before he began, they said “There is one problem – Uncle Harry. About a hundred years ago, the black sheep of our family, Uncle Harry, was executed in the electric chair for murder. Please, somehow present his story in a way which won’t embarrass our father or the family.” The biographer assured them that he could handle the story so that there would be neither shame nor embarrassment. When the book came out, the family immediately turned to that chapter, and this is what they read: “Uncle Harry occupied a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a great shock.” A creative use of words, to say the least! Words can have many meanings, depending on their context but also depending on the “filters” each of us has as we interpret what we hear. At one end of the spectrum, there are words which are usually most welcome such as someone saying “I love you” and at the other extreme, someone shouting out words of hatred. Still other words may cause an almost automatic shutting off of our hearing aids, and it is one of those words which I’d like to consider with you this morning. That word is “stewardship.”

I think most of us here know that Jesus taught that “it is more blessed (that is, it makes one more profoundly joyful) to give than to receive.” Do you think that’s true? I do, but only in relatively mature people. For example, while small children are apt to get some joy from giving a gift to mommy or daddy at Christmas, don’t they tend to be far more excited, and gain more obvious pleasure, from the presents they receive? As Charlie Brown comments so wisely in an episode of the “Peanuts” cartoon strip, “It’s hard to imagine Christmas without some greed!” But, if we grow in maturity, that changes. We find increasingly greater joy in providing pleasure to those we love than from the presents we receive. That doesn’t mean that we don’t enjoy getting gifts, especially from loved ones – we do, and should. It’s just that bringing them joy is even better!

If we think about giving and receiving, it’s obvious that there are various levels involved. For example, it can be quite nice to receive a Christmas gift from one’s employer, but that’s hardly in the same class as getting a thoughtfully-selected present from a loved one. Giving a contribution to a worthy charity should bring pleasure to the donor, but giving a special present to a dearly loved spouse or child is far more wonderful. The gift to charity is apt to seem almost abstract, while a gift to a loved one is direct and personal. Giving, and I mean significant giving, usually involved one or both of two things: one’s time and energy, and/or the use of money. Each is a way of giving of ourselves, and each involves something of which few (if any) of us have unlimited amounts.

Let me share some of my own difficulties with you concerning the giving of time because I suspect my experience is not very different from yours. I try to plan my schedule in a healthy and balanced way. There are the Sunday Eucharists here at St. Paul’s, and usually Monday Eucharists which I celebrate at St. James Parish in Hendersonville, the Daily Offices of Morning and Evening Prayer to be prayed, sermons to be prepared, and some quiet time set aside for personal prayer and reflection. Keeping abreast of events in the national Church and the world-wide Anglican Communion, and responding to communications about them from quite a few concerned people, time for family and friends, and the routine tasks of shopping, house cleaning, and so on – all these tend to fill the time rather completely. And, of course, when a schedule has been planned which seems to do a fairly reasonable job of including all those things, there are the unexpected events and emergencies which toss the schedule into the wastebasket. It’s not hard to choose between going to the bedside of a sick friend or parishioner instead of attending a professional lecture, but other choices are less dramatic, less clear. Do I go to a meeting of the deanery clergy or a meeting of the Board of Directors of a charity when both are set for the same time and date? Which should take precedence: preparing a sermon or spending time with a lonely, troubled transient who comes knocking at my door? That list of demands on one’s time is hardly unique to priests – the specifics may differ, but all of us have to choose how we will spend our time and energy, and sometimes, the choices are not only hard to make, but leave us feeling a bit resentful at having had to make the choice and uncomfortable because we couldn’t do both.

Just as our time and energy are limited, so is our money. Not only do we have our basic costs for such things as food, housing, and clothing, but all sorts of worthy causes may ask for contributions. We know there are real needs, and we do want to help, but for many of us, these are not the easiest of times. Job security may be an issue for some, while for others, living on a fixed income as costs rise is a source of considerable uncertainty. Although some of us have more money than others, and some may have more time available than others, the point of this sermon really applies to everyone here – it’s a sort of “one size fits all” homily and it can be summed up in one simple sentence: “Christian stewardship means sharing whatever we have (time, energies, and money) for God’s work in the world.” Christian stewardship has nothing to do with the budget needs of this parish. Even if the world around us was at peace everywhere, even if there were no dreaded diseases for which to seek cures, even if nobody was hungry or homeless, even if this parish had more money than we knew what to do with, my sermon would be the same!

We are so apt to think of our giving simply in the light of whatever the needs are of the cause we are asked to support. I don’t mean that the needs of others – individuals, charities, or church – are unimportant (far from it!) But that’s not what Christian stewardship is about! Christian stewardship is sharing what we have – whatever we have – be that great or small – and sharing as our response to God’s love!

One of the ways God often chooses to work is through people. There is a lovely story of a girl who went to church every Sunday, prayed daily, tried to be a good Christian, but sometimes, she wondered if God was real.

One evening as she knelt at the foot of her bed, she prayed “God, if you do exist, let me know. Touch me on my shoulder.” Almost immediately, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw her younger sister sitting on the bed, and asked her “did you touch me just then?” Her sister answered “Yes, I did.” When the older sister asked why she did it, the younger replied “because God told me to!”

Christian stewardship is the understanding that God wants to use us, everyone of us, our time, our abilities, our financial resources, to further God’s work in the world. Both the Bible and our Church teach that we should share a tenth of whatever we have – again meaning our time and our money. But if we give only out of a sense of obligation, we miss the point. To be what God intends it to be, our giving needs to be a joy-filled act. One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving! You and I need to give because that’s a primary way humans express love and also a basic way love is nurtured and grows. Unlike the family history which had to use words to mask the truth, the words “Christian Stewardship” have a clear, and wonderful meaning. So, in the near future, when you are asked to make a pledge of your time and money for the coming year, may your response be a true sharing of whatever it is you have, and may that sharing bring you the joy which comes with giving as your expression of love.

+ In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Reverend Alfred T. K. Zadig, Sr.

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