Lent 5

Stewardship treasure

Well, we’ve heard about the stewardship of our time and our talents, of creation and of our heath and now it’s the day we’ve all been waiting for, financial stewardship. 

This is the one aspect of Stewardship that is most associated with Stewardship drives and stewardship Sunday.  It is also the most uncomfortable for many people, perhaps because finances are culturally considered to be very personal.   Many of us don’t talk to our family about money, it is considered impolite to talk money at the table, then again same goes for religion!  However, the way we grow up with finances often determines how we feel about money as adults.

Growing up my family we didn’t have much;  we had enough for what we needed, but money could be tight.  As a teen, I received a clothing allowance and I was told that if I spent it all in spring…I wouldn’t have enough for new winter boots or a coat in the fall.  It was up to me to keep track of my money and ensure I had enough; so, I grew accustomed to saving and not spending. Just in case!

My husband’s relationship with money was different and I had a hard time adjusting to the idea of eating out or ordering in on a regular basis.  Growing up, we only ate out on birthdays, 4 times a year. 

To spend money so frequently on take out seemed wasteful…and dangerous…we might need it later!  In my mind there was always a furnace that could break...  What I realized, was that this mentality though practical, had taught me to be less generous and more fearful around money, and it’s a hard habit to change. 

Each of you will have your own story and your own relationship with money and finances. Your own understanding about how it’s should be used and it’s worth reflecting on what your response is to money and where you learned it from.

It is also likely that your learning about financial management did not come from church.  Growing up in the Anglican Church, I don’t think that I remember many teachings about money, especially not how to use your money.  Stewardship Sunday if we had it was once a year and in my memory was always very aggressive, a years worth of effort put into one dramatic Sunday.  However if we look at earlier days, biblical days money and faith went hand in hand very naturally. 

There are around 500 bible verses that speak about prayer…there are less then 500 verses about faith…but there are over 2,000 bible verses that discuss money and possessions[1] And in the gospels themselves… 1/10 of the verses are dealing with money.

The bible deals with money as a matter of fact, not only currency, but property, possessions and legal matters such as inheritance.  We recall Jesus talking about paying taxes, the pharisees discussing family inheritances, money lenders in the temple and details in the Parable of the Good Samaritan about providing money for the care of the injured.

What we don’t hear Jesus talk about is Tithing.  Tithing is a concept closely associated with Stewardship, the idea that you should give 10% to the Lord of all you have.

It is a popular expectation of church offerings, something many of us have heard of and few live in to.

Tithing has its roots in ancient Israel and has been a part of faithful stewardship for a good 3500, years give or take.

It has it’s roots in ancient Israel; after wandering the desert, the Israelites had conquered the land of Canaan and determined to divide up the land between them.  Now, there were 12 tribes each with large families, slaves and flocks to provide for.  So, they drew lots and divided the land among the 12 tribes…with the exception of the tribe of Levi.

The Levites were dedicated to the Lord’s service, which meant that they were to be priests and servers, rather than farmers and shepherds.   So, they had received no share of the land and thus no way of providing for themselves and their families. 

Therefore, the Lord commanded that each of the other tribes were to give 1/10^th of all they had to the Levites.  From these tithes the Levites would care for and maintain the house of the Lord, provide for their families and in tern give 1/10^th of what they received to the Lord in sacrifice.  This way those whose lives were spent dedicated to God would be provided for by all tribes equally.

Christians have adapted the tradition of tithing from its’ Jewish origins and it’s often used as an expectation of offering.  However, if we look at what Jesus taught, he went above and beyond the expectation of tithes.

For example we read in the gospels that Jesus, rather than telling the rich young ruler to give 10% of all he has, tells the rich young man “go and sell all you possess and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus was a radical and never tells us to give some, but all that we have.

When we read Jesus’ teachings, we find there is a great focus on charity, on giving to the poor, caring for the widow and the stranger. Jesus’ focus throughout his teachings was less focused on what amount to give…but more on how to live.  With God first in mind and in love and charity to your neighbour.

In the early Christian church, as recorded in Acts, we find that Christians had begun to try and live that out.  Selling their property and possessions, pooling it all for the benefit of everyone in the community and sharing all they had with the poor.  The early church took Christ’s command to sell everything and follow Jesus, literally.  The focus was to ensure a healthy and God serving community, and to care for those in need. 

Now that seems like a reasonable goal!  That the money that we give, as a community … should be enough to ensure a healthy and God serving parish with enough to share with the poor and those in need.

So, how much is that?  Well times have certainly changed and itinerant preachers and house churches are no longer how we operate.  In this parish at this time, we have two buildings to maintain, salaries and a diocesan pledge to cover, and all in all we need about $22,000 per month to break even.  This is only enough to break even…so $22,000 is not enough to care for our parish community AND those in need.

Now we are most fortunate, in that as this is a compassionate and generous community.   Many of you contribute and provide for those in need apart from your offering, in your time and in physical offerings.  I often see people put a box of cereal or can of beans in the basket for Winnipeg Harvest or St Matthews before coming into worship.

In this way, through your generosity, we are caring for those in need, even when the numbers show we aren’t meeting  budget.  For this I give thanks, and it is truly a blessing. 

We also have a vibrant volunteer base that at a very low estimate provides 11,000 hours of ministry every week!  We are called by Christ to give our all, and each of us have to discern what that looks like, being good stewards of our time, talent, heath and indeed discerning what good stewardship will look like from a chequebook perspective.

Today you received in your bulletin, a hand out which gives a perspective on what we, as a parish, contribute to the maintenance of this community.

I was honestly shocked that the majority of our members give less than $3 a week, and of course not everyone donates every week, but if we need $22,000 per month…this simply won’t add up. 

If the idea of giving is to ensure that this parish is a healthy, God serving community with resources to aid those in need… we’ll let’s just say that as it stands there is room for improvement.

Now some of us are truly restricted in the amount we can give to the parish; incomes are fixed, expenses are on the rise and for some there is no prospect of immediate change.  However, regardless of how much you give, being a good steward of our financial resources means taking a realistic look at what we have, and it also means doing everything we can to ensure that we are serving God with all that we have in all areas of stewardship.  Whether that is financially, or with our time or talents.

It is always a difficult task to discern what to give, but what I would hope, is that each of us take the time to discern carefully in what way you will increase your stewardship this year, based on your individual circumstance.…so that each of us are striving to improve our giving little by little, year by year.  Whether that means a dollar or a hundred or taking advantage of the groceries sales to stock up on non-perishables for the foodbank or volunteering with those in need.

What we all need to remember is that finances are, and always will be, a matter of faith.  How we decide to make use of our money is no different than how we decide to make use of our time or talents. 

We do it with God foremost in mind.  In the BCP service we have the prayer “and here we offer our selves, our souls and bodies to be a reasonable worth and living sacrifice…  and it reminds us that all we have, cash included is from God and how we use it reflects our relationship with God.

So, as we look at stewardship … remember those words. 

Our donation isn’t just charity, it is an offering… a holy thing… a gift to God for God’s work and from God’s blessing.  Big or little, all we give ensures that we have a healthy, God serving community and a good amount to give to those in need.

That is being a good steward, a good steward of our financial resources.

[1] Howard L. Dayton, Jr., Leadership, Vol. 2, no. 2.