Now be honest with me, how many of you twitch just a little when you hear the word “stewardship?”
Any facial tics?
Today is one of three Sundays in which we’re going to take a look at this thing called stewardship.
To start with, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve allowed myself to be jaded in some ways around the
whole concept. It brings back memories of some hard sell tactics by clergy in certain churches, and
even worse, by certain televangelists who’ve abused this very central teaching in the Christian faith
in what I think are indefensible ways.
I heard a firsthand account of one church in either New York or Baltimore that actually locked the
doors of the church until their giving goal for that Sunday was met. Others on TV have touted the
mystical powers of a holy handkerchief blessed by the pastor’s prayers, and it can be yours only
$29.95! What do you suppose we could bless for $600,000?! It’s almost become like Pavlov’s dog—
you know, the dog that was conditioned to salivate every time a bell was rung. Well, for some of us, I
suspect, when the stewardship bell is rung, instead of drooling we glaze over and start glancing at
our watches.
But actually this whole thing has been good for me personally. Because the prospect of preparing a
couple of talks on stewardship has forced me to dig a little deeper than some of my surface
reactions. That digging has revealed some things that I’ve found to be surprisingly important for
those of us who call ourselves Christians. It really has a lot to do with the passage from Colossians
we heard a few minutes ago.
Here’s what St. Paul writes: “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for
in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.” How do
you suppose this idea fits with what our culture tells us? “All things have been created through him
and for him.”
Now, I want to dissuade us from dismissing these words as mere prose written in a heady moment of
inspiration. Having studied the scriptures closely, I’m comfortable declaring that each sentence is
both inspired and carefully crafted. Paul is very deliberate about what he’s saying. I’m not going to
go into the complexities of the relationships within the Holy Trinity this morning, or of the special role
Jesus the eternal Son had in setting the universe into motion. That would take a little too long. Like
about a semester in seminary.
But what I do want to focus on is this idea that Creation, life, and everything else comes from God.
The Lord is the be-all and end-all of absolutely everything. Or, in the offertory words of the Rite I
Eucharist, which originally comes from the First Book of Chronicles, “All things come of thee O
Lord…”
There’s a quote from a famous person that underscores this truth. Listen to these words: “The
orderly arrangement of the whole universe is a kind of musical harmony whose maker and artist is
God.” Are you curious as to what contemporary thinker said this? These are the words of St.
Gregory of Nyssa, who lived in the 4th Century. Gregory was one of the people who really fleshed
out the doctrine of the Trinity from Scripture, and wrote eloquently of the different functions of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He was one of many who concluded that the creation originated with the
Father and proceeded through the Son. This is what Paul’s talking about when he says, “All things
have been created through Him and for Him.”
Are we exhilarated at the beauty of a fall day? God created all matter, and from His palette, over
time, He painted on the canvas of the universe the stars, the planets, the living organisms, the
molecules, the atoms, and the quarks, all things seen and unseen, everywhere. And He created
within us the ability to experience soaring hearts and breathless awe in response.
Are we impressed with ourselves when we work out and look good in the full-length mirror? The
Psalmist writes, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” He doesn’t say, “I’m a self-made man and I’m
darned proud of it!” He acknowledges that it was God who designed our muscle cells to be
responsive to nutrition and oxygen, and placed our organ systems in a delicate balance, and that
while our life lasts on this earth, it’s God who sustains it. Now, I’m not saying it’s bad to appreciate
your own hard work, but only that this might be an opportunity to thank God for some of what He’s
given us in the first place.
In fact, it may be very reasonably argued that, without God’s sustaining power and love, all of
creation would collapse into nothingness. The author of Hebrews writes, “The Son is the radiance of
God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
Jesus is not only our Savior, but the One through whom we were created and have our being.
We’ve just come through the Thanksgiving holiday, which some have called the “lost holiday.”
Christmas decorations go up around Halloween time, of course, and these days this whole idea of
Thanksgiving is just an afterthought. But the original intent of Thanksgiving was truly to give thanks
to God for providing everything we have, especially in hard times. It reminds us of a time when
acknowledging that “all good things come from God” came a little more naturally, I think.
This is where I’d like to segue into some more personal words that are prescribed by our capital
campaign consultants for this morning. This is the morning in which the vicar is supposed to present
the story of his own stewardship journey. I have to admit, when this expectation was first made clear
to me, my stomach tightened up a little. Generous financial giving has been a challenge for us,
especially in recent years.
Our family stewardship journey has had a few ruts and potholes. It began when we basically lost our
life savings on a couple of successive houses we sold at a loss. It continued when we went off to
Ambridge, Pennsylvania to attend seminary. Some of the funding we expected for those three years
didn’t materialize, and we went into significant debt. We’ve been trying to scramble our way out ever
since.
But upon reflection, there are two things that came out of this time that I hope some here might find
helpful this morning. This first is that, despite some of the hardships we encountered, there was
more than ample evidence of God’s provision. Before we ever even tootled off to Ambridge, I was
very concerned about what the housing options there were. If you’ve ever been to Ambridge,
Pennsylvania, you know why I had these concerns. Michele had been praying for a livable four-
bedroom house with a fenced yard for the boys and Freddy, our beloved rez dog, along with a
fireplace and a garage, all for an affordable price. After visiting Ambridge I was searching for a way
to break it to her that she just might need to lower her expectations a tad.
Well, at our postulancy interviews in El Paso we “just happened” to meet another couple at the
refreshment table. They were on the verge of graduating from Trinity, and Michele and I engaged in
separate conversations with Susan and Don, respectively. Within about a minute, Michele was
tugging at my sleeve, and excitedly said that Don and Susan were going to be leaving a four-
bedroom house with a garage, fireplace, and a fenced yard which they were renting for $500 a
month and they’d like for us to take it over! It was the parsonage of a Lutheran church that hadn’t
had a full-time pastor in years. It’s amazing how many coincidences happen when you put yourself in
the Lord’s hands.
But there’s more to the story. About midway through our middler year, that year that often brings
incredible hardships to seminarians, both in terms of academics and practical living issues, we were
given notice that we’d have to vacate the house, as the Lutheran church had just decided to hire a
fulltime pastor. Several other things were not going well at the time. For instance, the rector of the
church at which I was doing my field education training was abruptly given a no-confidence vote by
the vestry, and had no other realistic alternative but to leave the church. This had happened the
very same week. Oh, and all of this was a little over a month after 9/11. So I did what any good,
trusting Christian would do. I went into complete panic. I know I didn’t act on this, but I had this
impulse to start running around in circles screaming, “We’re all gonna die!!”
Well, I won’t go into all the details of what happened in the ensuing weeks, but at the height of all my
self-imposed stress another seminarian and his family who were graduating left to us an even bigger
house on a hill overlooking Ambridge for the same $500 a month. The yard wasn’t fenced, but
Freddy survived just fine. In fact people around the neighborhood got to know him as he periodically
wandered off and introduced himself to various households. Actually, I think he may have the gift of
evangelism.
There are many other stories I could share about interesting coincidences and happenstances that
helped us to survive and even thrive in seminary. I see these as more or less immediate, divine
responses to situations that were pretty pressing. And I’ve come to really believe that all good
things come from God, in His time. If we’re faithful to obey, the Lord will bless us. The final solution to
our debt problem has been a little slower in coming, so we haven’t been able to do quite as much as
we’d like in our giving. I suspect the same may be true for some of you.
And that’s the second thing that I hope might speak in some way to someone here this morning. I
would like very much to have half a million or so dollars in savings or in some portfolio, so we could
maybe give a hundred thousand. This simply isn’t the case, so we have to work from where we’re at,
and exercise both sacrifice and a realistic faith in doing what we can. Michele and I have prayerfully
committed to give $3000 to the capital campaign over the next three years, over and above our
regular giving to the church for its normal operations. I know it may not sound very impressive given
some of the moving and generous gifts that are already being pledged from within this amazing
congregation. But we offer it humbly and hopefully. I also plan to donate a special chalice and paten
that was given to me by a priest friend in Gallup some years ago. I pray that, in some small way, the
Lord will use these as little acorns that will grow into mighty oaks for His kingdom.
And I want to encourage everyone here by saying that whatever way we can all help can be used
mightily by the Lord as we look ahead to building our new church home. Some may not be able to
give financially at all, and that’s OK. Please let me say this again, and read my lips, “It’s OK!”
There’s one thing I’d like to stress in conclusion. When we consider this whole life of stewardship, we
will do well to remember this: The Lord made all good things. “All things have been created through
Him and for Him.” He crafted us to appreciate his good creation, and to give glory to Him. Like a chef
who’s created a delicious meal, or an artist who’s painted a masterpiece, or a composer who’s
written his magnum opus, God delights in our appreciation and gratitude.
Whether our response on behalf of His kingdom consists of giving money, or time, or energy, or
especially, prayer, or all of the above, our grateful and joyful hearts will make this a pleasing aroma
to God, like incense rising up to heaven. As we remain focused on how we may be used by God in
this special time at Hope Church, may we be ever mindful of His goodness, and responsive to His
grace.
Amen.
Any facial tics?
Today is one of three Sundays in which we’re going to take a look at this thing called stewardship.
To start with, I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve allowed myself to be jaded in some ways around the
whole concept. It brings back memories of some hard sell tactics by clergy in certain churches, and
even worse, by certain televangelists who’ve abused this very central teaching in the Christian faith
in what I think are indefensible ways.
I heard a firsthand account of one church in either New York or Baltimore that actually locked the
doors of the church until their giving goal for that Sunday was met. Others on TV have touted the
mystical powers of a holy handkerchief blessed by the pastor’s prayers, and it can be yours only
$29.95! What do you suppose we could bless for $600,000?! It’s almost become like Pavlov’s dog—
you know, the dog that was conditioned to salivate every time a bell was rung. Well, for some of us, I
suspect, when the stewardship bell is rung, instead of drooling we glaze over and start glancing at
our watches.
But actually this whole thing has been good for me personally. Because the prospect of preparing a
couple of talks on stewardship has forced me to dig a little deeper than some of my surface
reactions. That digging has revealed some things that I’ve found to be surprisingly important for
those of us who call ourselves Christians. It really has a lot to do with the passage from Colossians
we heard a few minutes ago.
Here’s what St. Paul writes: “[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for
in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones
or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him.” How do
you suppose this idea fits with what our culture tells us? “All things have been created through him
and for him.”
Now, I want to dissuade us from dismissing these words as mere prose written in a heady moment of
inspiration. Having studied the scriptures closely, I’m comfortable declaring that each sentence is
both inspired and carefully crafted. Paul is very deliberate about what he’s saying. I’m not going to
go into the complexities of the relationships within the Holy Trinity this morning, or of the special role
Jesus the eternal Son had in setting the universe into motion. That would take a little too long. Like
about a semester in seminary.
But what I do want to focus on is this idea that Creation, life, and everything else comes from God.
The Lord is the be-all and end-all of absolutely everything. Or, in the offertory words of the Rite I
Eucharist, which originally comes from the First Book of Chronicles, “All things come of thee O
Lord…”
There’s a quote from a famous person that underscores this truth. Listen to these words: “The
orderly arrangement of the whole universe is a kind of musical harmony whose maker and artist is
God.” Are you curious as to what contemporary thinker said this? These are the words of St.
Gregory of Nyssa, who lived in the 4th Century. Gregory was one of the people who really fleshed
out the doctrine of the Trinity from Scripture, and wrote eloquently of the different functions of
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He was one of many who concluded that the creation originated with the
Father and proceeded through the Son. This is what Paul’s talking about when he says, “All things
have been created through Him and for Him.”
Are we exhilarated at the beauty of a fall day? God created all matter, and from His palette, over
time, He painted on the canvas of the universe the stars, the planets, the living organisms, the
molecules, the atoms, and the quarks, all things seen and unseen, everywhere. And He created
within us the ability to experience soaring hearts and breathless awe in response.
Are we impressed with ourselves when we work out and look good in the full-length mirror? The
Psalmist writes, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” He doesn’t say, “I’m a self-made man and I’m
darned proud of it!” He acknowledges that it was God who designed our muscle cells to be
responsive to nutrition and oxygen, and placed our organ systems in a delicate balance, and that
while our life lasts on this earth, it’s God who sustains it. Now, I’m not saying it’s bad to appreciate
your own hard work, but only that this might be an opportunity to thank God for some of what He’s
given us in the first place.
In fact, it may be very reasonably argued that, without God’s sustaining power and love, all of
creation would collapse into nothingness. The author of Hebrews writes, “The Son is the radiance of
God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
Jesus is not only our Savior, but the One through whom we were created and have our being.
We’ve just come through the Thanksgiving holiday, which some have called the “lost holiday.”
Christmas decorations go up around Halloween time, of course, and these days this whole idea of
Thanksgiving is just an afterthought. But the original intent of Thanksgiving was truly to give thanks
to God for providing everything we have, especially in hard times. It reminds us of a time when
acknowledging that “all good things come from God” came a little more naturally, I think.
This is where I’d like to segue into some more personal words that are prescribed by our capital
campaign consultants for this morning. This is the morning in which the vicar is supposed to present
the story of his own stewardship journey. I have to admit, when this expectation was first made clear
to me, my stomach tightened up a little. Generous financial giving has been a challenge for us,
especially in recent years.
Our family stewardship journey has had a few ruts and potholes. It began when we basically lost our
life savings on a couple of successive houses we sold at a loss. It continued when we went off to
Ambridge, Pennsylvania to attend seminary. Some of the funding we expected for those three years
didn’t materialize, and we went into significant debt. We’ve been trying to scramble our way out ever
since.
But upon reflection, there are two things that came out of this time that I hope some here might find
helpful this morning. This first is that, despite some of the hardships we encountered, there was
more than ample evidence of God’s provision. Before we ever even tootled off to Ambridge, I was
very concerned about what the housing options there were. If you’ve ever been to Ambridge,
Pennsylvania, you know why I had these concerns. Michele had been praying for a livable four-
bedroom house with a fenced yard for the boys and Freddy, our beloved rez dog, along with a
fireplace and a garage, all for an affordable price. After visiting Ambridge I was searching for a way
to break it to her that she just might need to lower her expectations a tad.
Well, at our postulancy interviews in El Paso we “just happened” to meet another couple at the
refreshment table. They were on the verge of graduating from Trinity, and Michele and I engaged in
separate conversations with Susan and Don, respectively. Within about a minute, Michele was
tugging at my sleeve, and excitedly said that Don and Susan were going to be leaving a four-
bedroom house with a garage, fireplace, and a fenced yard which they were renting for $500 a
month and they’d like for us to take it over! It was the parsonage of a Lutheran church that hadn’t
had a full-time pastor in years. It’s amazing how many coincidences happen when you put yourself in
the Lord’s hands.
But there’s more to the story. About midway through our middler year, that year that often brings
incredible hardships to seminarians, both in terms of academics and practical living issues, we were
given notice that we’d have to vacate the house, as the Lutheran church had just decided to hire a
fulltime pastor. Several other things were not going well at the time. For instance, the rector of the
church at which I was doing my field education training was abruptly given a no-confidence vote by
the vestry, and had no other realistic alternative but to leave the church. This had happened the
very same week. Oh, and all of this was a little over a month after 9/11. So I did what any good,
trusting Christian would do. I went into complete panic. I know I didn’t act on this, but I had this
impulse to start running around in circles screaming, “We’re all gonna die!!”
Well, I won’t go into all the details of what happened in the ensuing weeks, but at the height of all my
self-imposed stress another seminarian and his family who were graduating left to us an even bigger
house on a hill overlooking Ambridge for the same $500 a month. The yard wasn’t fenced, but
Freddy survived just fine. In fact people around the neighborhood got to know him as he periodically
wandered off and introduced himself to various households. Actually, I think he may have the gift of
evangelism.
There are many other stories I could share about interesting coincidences and happenstances that
helped us to survive and even thrive in seminary. I see these as more or less immediate, divine
responses to situations that were pretty pressing. And I’ve come to really believe that all good
things come from God, in His time. If we’re faithful to obey, the Lord will bless us. The final solution to
our debt problem has been a little slower in coming, so we haven’t been able to do quite as much as
we’d like in our giving. I suspect the same may be true for some of you.
And that’s the second thing that I hope might speak in some way to someone here this morning. I
would like very much to have half a million or so dollars in savings or in some portfolio, so we could
maybe give a hundred thousand. This simply isn’t the case, so we have to work from where we’re at,
and exercise both sacrifice and a realistic faith in doing what we can. Michele and I have prayerfully
committed to give $3000 to the capital campaign over the next three years, over and above our
regular giving to the church for its normal operations. I know it may not sound very impressive given
some of the moving and generous gifts that are already being pledged from within this amazing
congregation. But we offer it humbly and hopefully. I also plan to donate a special chalice and paten
that was given to me by a priest friend in Gallup some years ago. I pray that, in some small way, the
Lord will use these as little acorns that will grow into mighty oaks for His kingdom.
And I want to encourage everyone here by saying that whatever way we can all help can be used
mightily by the Lord as we look ahead to building our new church home. Some may not be able to
give financially at all, and that’s OK. Please let me say this again, and read my lips, “It’s OK!”
There’s one thing I’d like to stress in conclusion. When we consider this whole life of stewardship, we
will do well to remember this: The Lord made all good things. “All things have been created through
Him and for Him.” He crafted us to appreciate his good creation, and to give glory to Him. Like a chef
who’s created a delicious meal, or an artist who’s painted a masterpiece, or a composer who’s
written his magnum opus, God delights in our appreciation and gratitude.
Whether our response on behalf of His kingdom consists of giving money, or time, or energy, or
especially, prayer, or all of the above, our grateful and joyful hearts will make this a pleasing aroma
to God, like incense rising up to heaven. As we remain focused on how we may be used by God in
this special time at Hope Church, may we be ever mindful of His goodness, and responsive to His
grace.
Amen.
Through Him and For Him
(Colossians 1:11-20)
(Colossians 1:11-20)
November 25, 2007
Fr. Dan Tuton
Fr. Dan Tuton