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Pentecost XXII, Proper 27B +God of creation, the challenges to make the world a new and better place to live are often overwhelming for us, and we feel helpless and fearful. We pray that you would inflame our hearts with the desire to do your will. Kindle within us the passion of your Holy Spirit that we may boldly heed and follow the call you set before us. In our service and stewardship, may your holy name be always praised, through Jesus Christ who came to serve and transform the world. Amen. Today is Stewardship Sunday. Historically a day that has been marked by some fear and not a little trembling by the stewardship committee, clergy, wardens and vestry alike. But I would ask you this morning, to put aside for a moment all of those old ideas about stewardship that may be inspired by guilt. One of the petitions of the Great Litany (BCP, p. 152) reads: "That it may please thee to strengthen such as do stand; to comfort and help the weak-hearted; to raise up those who fall; and finally to beat down Satan under our feet." Treat those guilt feelings as if they were inspired by the devil.because I believe that those old guilt feelings are part of what stands in the way of our giving back to God what rightfully belongs to God in the first place. I believe that they are a very subtle part of the Evil One's work among us. Those same thoughts and feelings are what stand in the way of our mission and ministry in our community and the world. And it is precisely those feelings that allow us to fall into complacency, to take on an attitude of "letting the 'someone else's' do it." Like a silent contagion, this attitude can infect hearts and spread throughout a congregation. It is the subtle allure, the siren song of ease and comfort that in reality hinders not only our financial stewardship, but our stewardship of our time, our talents, and ultimately, of the Gospel of Christ. It is from our stewardship of Christ's message of love, welcome and inclusion that all of our other stewardship and ministries must flow if they are to be authentic. A part of the incredibly Good News here at St. Margaret's is that the "Someone Else's" are no longer members of this parish. I would propose that we use the date of October 25 th .the day of the annual parish Rummage Sale.to mark their final departure from among us. Many of us have seen signs of their leaving for some time now, but the time leading up to and culminating in the Rummage Sale has me convinced that they are really and truly gone, as evidenced by the infusion of new talent and energy, along with the spirit of cooperation that united all of us in common purpose. So, to borrow and paraphrase the words of Tevya in Fiddler on the Roof, "God bless and keep the "Someone Else's".as far away from us as possible!" Seriously, though, how do we turn from giving to the Church out of an imposed sense of guilt into giving that grows with joy from the heart as a response to all of the gifts and blessings that we have received? There are concrete examples in the scripture lessons we have just heard. It is hard to imagine a series of readings that would be more appropriate for today. Now mind you, we did not tinker with the lectionary.these just happen to be the lessons appointed for this 22 nd Sunday of Pentecost.yet another example of the Holy Spirit's lively work in and among us! Initially we heard a reading from the much-loved book of Ruth. One of the most recognized passages from all of scripture would have been read last week, had it had not been pre-empted by the lessons for All Saints Day. You all know it as well as I do. In the NRSV it reads: "Do not press me to leave you or to turn away from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge; I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die - there will I be buried." That incredible story of love and commitment concludes this week when Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, seeks to arrange a meeting and marriage between Ruth and Boaz, thereby providing and insuring safety and security for both of them. Naomi's desire is to provide this stability is an incredible example of personal stewardship. As the story plays out, Ruth and Boaz have a son, whom they name Obed. This is important because Obed was the father of Jesse and Jesse the father of King David, to whom Jesus traces his royal lineage. Psalm 127 informs us that unless God builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless God guards the city, those who guard it keep watch in vain. In effect, if we do not trust in and rely upon God, letting go of our desire to control our own destiny, then all of our mission and ministry are but dust in the wind, and are as nothing. I would suggest that we view this as an example of stewardship of the sacred trust which God has placed upon all of us here at this time and in this place. The excerpt from the letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Christ has entered into a sanctuary not made with human hands, but into heaven itself where Christ now intercedes for us with God on our behalf. Christ is the paradigm of stewardship for humanity and Creation. Being truly human and truly divine, who better than Christ to intercede for us with God on our behalf, having experienced in the flesh what it is like to be human? This ultimate act of sacrificial stewardship happened once as an offering for the sins of us all. Christ being the perfect example of what our stewardship and our all-inclusive ministries in this broken world must be. The gospel story of the widow's mite.the poor woman who out of her poverty gave everything that she had is another with which we are all familiar. And she got it right.she realized that in her poverty, what little she did possess did not in fact belong to her at all, but was a gift from God. Her sacrifice and the leap of faith that had to have preceded it are exemplified by the fact that she gave everything she had out of her poverty. Can you imagine that kind of faith? This poor woman's gift was made from a theological perspective of joy and abundance, rather than out of a theology of guilt and scarcity. The lesson for us is that there are people who are poor, who cannot give thousands of dollars a year, but who never the less give sacrificially to support the Church. There is a natural tendency for us to "ooh" and "ah" over the multi-million dollar contributions of something like the Gates Foundation, for example, to charitable works, and view those gifts as somehow superior to our own. Don't get me wrong; the Gates Foundation has enabled some wonderful works of philanthropy. And it really does seem significant until you realize that what the Gates Foundation gives away is in actuality less than 1% of his monthly income. The poor widow in the story gave 100%. At St. Margaret's, we have an unusual and unique connection to the story of the Widow's Mite. Hanging on the wall of my office is a copy of a survey map dated February, 1884, ten years prior to the construction of the original church building. The area mapped is a 7.52-acre parcel of land, just outside what was then the boundary of the District of Columbia, belonging to a Col. George Bell. This parcel of land was (and is) recorded and known in survey records as the "Widow's Mite." Do you see the connection? What that means for us is that this parish church is literally built upon the Widow's Mite! As you pray about your personal financial stewardship commitment, I would invite you to hold that thought in your heart, and pray very earnestly about it. One of the most difficult personal stewardship decisions I have ever had to make came at the first vestry meeting I attended as a newly ordained deacon. It was just over twenty years ago, and I had just been appointed as Curate of Emmanuel Church in Rockford, IL. I was seated with the rector and some vestry members around a table prior to the start of the meeting, and the senior warden, a wonderful woman by the name of Anita Ciceri, smiled, greeting me warmly in welcome and handed me a pledge card! This caught me off guard. In the back of my mind somewhere I knew that I would be expected to pledge.I was not totally unfamiliar with the concept.but I hadn't even received a paycheck yet! And after three very meager seminary years to be expected to sign a pledge card as one of my first expectations.I mean really! I looked at the rector for advice, and he suggested I just pledge what I could afford. But at that very moment I was given an epiphany. A single word came to me: "Tithe." Duh! What an obvious answer! Why was I even struggling with a decision? It was laid out for me in scripture, not as a part of my ordination vows, but part of the promises made at my baptism.all part and parcel of working and striving for justice and peace among all people. So in front of Anita, the rector, God and everybody, I signed my pledge card committing 10% of my as yet theoretical salary. yes, before taxes !.back to God. After the meeting, my rector told me that he thought I was nuts since I had no real idea of what the future would bring or what my expenses might be and that I could change my pledge to something more reasonable. But I didn't have to think about it. For me, there was and there is nothing more reasonable.or for that matter, more liberating. Since that day I have been committed to tithe. I know that Susan shares my belief in tithing. For 2004 we have joined with the entire vestry in adding another 10% of our tithe, as a gift in gratitude for our abundant blessings. Many of you are probably thinking, "Well of course they tithe.they are priests.they are supposed to." But tithing is not something we do out of priestly obligation; we do it as part of our Christian obligation. It is the minimum standard of giving that has been set forth time and again in scripture, affirmed by successive General Conventions of this Church, by this diocese and by our vestry. That is my belief. There are those who do not share this belief. Individuals have their own philosophy and beliefs about what they can and should give. That does not make one method of giving better than another. It makes my belief and my giving right for me in my relationship with God. What you give is in response to your relationship to God. Canon Hugh Magers, a priest who is a member of the Board of Directors of the Episcopal Network for Stewardship and very active with Hispanic Ministry development, in addition to being Director of Evangelism at the Episcopal Church Center in New York writes that ".one of the things that I have noticed over time in myself and in most other priests is that at some level we are uncomfortable around parishioners who are in a different place financially than we are. I tend to feel guilty about what I have when I am with those who have less than I do.and I am inclined to be envious of those who have a lot more. What this has meant for me in the past is that there is always a barrier to jump in order to be present in a priestly way when I am with someone, rich or poor." ( Networking Newsletter of The Episcopal Network for Stewardship) Along with Canon Magers, I believe that I am being healed of these thoughts and feelings. And I believe that it is in giving, in particular tithing, that is accomplishing the healing. Canon Magers also reflects that being a priest can sometimes lead to a spiritually hardened heart. "We are exposed to so much Scripture, countless times of prayer and Eucharists without end it seems. It makes us resistant to being moved by God's presence. It is my belief that one of the primary ways that God enters my heart is through money: Not the money that I get, but the money that I give." It is no accident that Jesus said, "Where your treasure is your heart will be also." When we put 10% or 15% of our income back into God's hands, at least that much of our heart follows. Something else happens; the meaning of money changes. It is no longer a way of keeping score, but a way of opening our hearts to the needs of others and the love of God. Sadly many people will try to use their gifts and the promise of gifts to manipulate others, to impose their personal will and beliefs upon groups of people, or of late, the entire church. Some of the threatened fallout over the consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson last weekend has been the public pronouncements of those who are threatening to withhold money from their parish, their diocese (to "punish" their bishop) or the national church. Or they are including a note with their check stating to the effect "Not a penny of my money is to go to the diocese or the national church. Period." The problem with this is that when someone designates donations against this or that entity is that there is always collateral damage. It is like bombing a large city: you hit a lot of things that you did not intend to destroy. You really didn't mean to have the diocese eliminate the funding for our mission work in South Africa or cut the programs offered by Charlie's Place , our homeless breakfast and social services program. It wasn't your intention to force your bishop to downsize the diocesan youth ministry. You just wanted to register your vote by sending a message. (Adapted from Barbara Crafton, Geranium Farm). The widow in the Gospel lesson for this day was not sending a message. She was fresh out. She is a figure of pure need in this ancient story - in scripture, there is none with greater needs than a widow or an orphan. Voting is voting. Giving is giving. Giving is NOT sending a message. To send a message you use the telephone, write a letter or send an email. (Grafton) A gift you just give. And when you give a gift, you take your hands off of it or it is not a gift at all. In the end, your personal stewardship is a gift back to God from the gifts that God has given you. Nothing more.nothing less. You don't have to give a gift. It is not a tax. But sharing the fruits of one's labor dignifies the giver and recipient alike. It joins them together and ennobles them. And it has the potential to surprise. As this parish goes forward and continues growing into Christ, members and leaders alike will learn things we did not know. We will discover that we are able to do things of which we had never dreamed, and we will dream things that before now were unimaginable! All that the widow could imagine at the moment she stood in the Temple with her last two coins was her own death. This was the last of the money.there was no more. She dropped the two coins into the box and heard them hit. She did not know or even care what happened to them. We do not know what happened to her. But we do know that the early church made special provision for widows and orphans. The church has always understood the care of the poor and those who suffer as part of its work. This has always been true no matter what the ecclesiastical politics might happen to be. In the end, Jesus didn't leave us with much in the way of specific political advice. Feed the hungry, visit those in prison, clothe the naked and visit the sick. He did not mention that you send a message with your care of those who suffer. Not one solitary word. So let us pray.pray that God who created the vineyard in which we dwell, will bless us this day with faithfulness. Pray that our God, who has set us free from sin and death, may open our hearts to repentance and to receive the gift of salvation. And finally that God, whose Spirit empowers us with grace, will help each one of us to live in this world as stewards of God's love, that we may all be given hearts to love and hands to serve , that we may share with all peoples the abundance which we have been given. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. (Adapted from a stewardship prayer by Vienna Cobb Anderson). References:
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