As you may have gleaned from the lectionary readings this morning this is the Sunday most
commonly labeled as “Stewardship Sunday” in our church year. I want to start by saying that it’s
interesting that we only seem to have one such day assigned for a subject that really is pretty basic
to the life of a Christian. Perhaps our Treasurer, Dave Dixon, is on-target with his observation that
this isn’t always the most comfortably delivered or received topic that we deal with in the assemblies
of the faithful. I’ll have a bit more to say on that in a few moments.
David has observed that clergy would much rather talk about sex than money. In response, I feel the
need to point out that either a denial or a confirmation of that assertion could potentially land me in
trouble! It’s like one of those “have you stopped beating your wife” questions. They both can be
tricky issues, and frankly, they’re both intended for mature audiences.
This morning I will be talking about stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. In fact, we’re going
to be looking at this very important issue over the next two or three weeks in various ways. It begs a
cool and honest look at what we do with what we’ve been allowed to have. Actually, this is a pretty
good working definition of stewardship. Stewardship is simply what we do with the many gifts that
God has given us. It’s a concept that certainly isn’t limited to the giving of our money to the church
and to charitable causes. Stewardship is (or at least should be) a cord that runs through all we do,
think, and say as believers in the one God who in His love has entrusted many things to us.
The story of creation in Genesis reminds us that God brought human beings into the position of
being the vice regents of this earth on which he planted us. He created the first people in his own
image, giving them and all of us, their descendants, the ability to build, create, and nurture. God
delights in sharing the responsibility of caring for the plants, the animals, and the land that the writer
of Genesis says was created “very good.” And we continue to shoulder that responsibility in
preparation for the new heavens and new earth promised in Scripture when Jesus returns to this
garden planet on which he once walked.
Stewardship means caring for the children God has given us, bringing them up to live good and
healthy lives, loving their neighbors and the God who gave them life. Stewardship means nurturing
the relationships, which God, in his omniscient choreography, has brought into our lives. It means
building relationships into communities, which are the God-ordained model for loving our neighbor.
And this is what brings us to stewardship as it applies to Hope-in-the-Desert Church. It first
must be said that we live in a culture that makes this whole thing a bit sensitive.
We in America rightly feel that this is the land of opportunity. We feel that we’re blessed with a place
in which we have the freedom to make our way in this life. Ingenuity and hard work are generally
rewarded with a living that’s more comfortable than that of many of our forebears in countries where
they didn’t enjoy our freedoms.
Consequently, we’ve developed an ethic in which our perceived worth as individuals is often
intertwined with our material success. Often it’s assumed that when we “make it” financially, we’ve
been rewarded for our hard work and creativity. And conversely, whether consciously or
unconsciously, those who have less may be subject to a bit more judgment by society in general.
So what’s come to happen is that our money is a reflection of our self worth, and we’re inclined to
guard and protect it as a result. We may be fearful of what will happen if we don’t protect our
money, and distrusting because of all of the people out there who are eager to help us part with our
money. This is probably a major reason why the topic of financial stewardship is such a touchy one.
But as is usually the case, the Scriptures have something to teach us about all of this, and in this
next few weeks that’s what we’ll mainly where our teaching will come from.
In today’s scripture readings there are some interesting and pretty surprising principles that seem to
emerge. The Old Testament reading from First Kings and the Gospel reading from Mark both
involve faithful widows who support God’s work through their giving. What’s interesting to me is that
these are people who we might most often think of as recipients of charity, rather than givers. This
of course was in a time when there was no government-provided safety net. There was no Medicare
or Medicaid; no Social Security, pensions, or General Assistance. Actually, many of these kinds of
benefits came right out of historic Christianity, originating with collections for widows and orphans,
and charitable health care in the monasteries that were forerunners to the hospital system.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. You see, in our readings both these widows are put in the position
of responding to God’s call upon them. The widow of Zaraphath is absolutely destitute. When Elijah
encounters her she’s gathering sticks to make a fire with which to cook one last meal for herself and
her son. And in a move either of stunning audacity or incredible faith, Elijah says to her, “Do not be
afraid. Go ahead and make your fire. Bake the cakes, but bring me the first of it. Then share the
rest with your son.” He goes on to reassure her, “The God of Israel says, ‘Your jar of meal and your
jug of oil will not run out until the Lord once again brings rains upon the earth.”
And how does the widow respond? “You lazy bum, how dare you ask this of me? The least you can
do is to help me gather some firewood!” No, the text says that she went and did as Elijah directed,
so that she and her household ate for many days.
Two things leap out at us from this story. First, the widow obeys God and gives the first fruits of her
meager belongings to His work. Elijah wasn’t asking for the first of the cakes because he was
selfish, or because of male entitlement, or anything like that.
Instead he was demonstrating a principle that should be woven into the DNA of human beings—that
all that we have comes from God, and that it is right for us to return a portion—the first portion—of
this to the God who provides for us. This is all thru the Bible.
And the second principle is this: As we’re faithful stewards of what we’ve been given, God will be
faithful to meet our needs. Do you see the circular nature of this? It’s built into the stories scattered
throughout Scripture. The cycle goes like this: God provides for His people; His people respond by
being faithful stewards and giving from what has been given to them; and then God blesses them
and provides for them in greater abundance. If it’s hard to digest this, think in terms of love. God
loves us, we return that love to God and our neighbor, and God blesses us with even more love. It’s
a pattern present from the earliest days of God’s interactions with His human creation. And our part
in this dance flows from a heart oriented with faith and love toward the One who promises to care for
us, and then delivers on that promise.
Contrast this with the scene we begin with in our Gospel reading. Jesus is teaching in the temple,
and points out the elite of Jerusalem, the scribes. These are ones like we mentioned a few moments
ago, who get recognition and status from having great wealth and power. They give impressively
from their wealth, but with entirely the wrong motivation. There’s a showmanship to their giving—
one that brings glory to self rather than to God. Again, it’s a matter of the heart.
So Jesus sees a very poor widow dropping two small copper coins into the treasury. And as
happened so often, he’s moved right down to his heart. He calls out to his disciples and says, “I’m
telling you, this poor widow’s gift makes these great contributions by the fat cats look like chicken
scratch by comparison! Those guys gave out of their riches, but this faithful woman gave her all.”
Now it’s tempting to call the widow’s gift “sacrificial giving,” and in a way I suppose that’s accurate.
But I’m wondering if the woman herself would call it sacrificial. Maybe it would be more accurate to
say that she gave trusting in the goodness of God. The text doesn’t say what happened afterward
to this nameless woman. But I’d bet dollars to donuts that the Lord saw to it that her needs were
also amply met, and with more than dollars and donuts.
Just as an aside, there’s something else kind of interesting about this story. This all takes place in
the Court of the Women at the Temple in Jerusalem. This where the temple treasury receptacles
were kept. As we’ve seen in some other stories involving Jesus, the Temple was a pretty corrupt
place in some ways. It’s leaders totally missed the point about who Jesus was. There was
mismanagement of money, favoritism and some decidedly mistaken theology.
Yet here Jesus seems to accept the rightness of contributing to the treasury. In fact, in Matthew 17
Jesus performs a miracle to ensure that he and Peter pay the temple tax. Perhaps this has
something to say for those of us who may be inclined to withhold our tithes and offerings fearing that
some of it might find its way to an institution which has shown some significant problems of its own.
Maybe this is a place to ask the question that has become cliché in Christian circles: “What would
Jesus do?” What did Jesus do? Just a thought.
I mentioned a few moments ago that through the centuries the Christian Church has been a primary
driving force in charitable work, health care, and many other institutions designed to promote the
health and welfare of all people. Our commitment to giving back to God through our pledges here at
Hope-in-the-Desert helps move us toward being better and better at this, as well as ensuring that we
pay all the basic bills for this beautiful worship space and for the people who earn their livings by
serving God amidst the wonderful people He’s brought here.
Next Sunday we’re going to do something we do very rarely. I’ve asked our Treasurer, David Dixon,
to spend the lion’s share of pulpit time to give us a financial picture of where we are and where we
hope to go in the coming year, as we firm up our ministries and look ahead to expanding our work in
this corner of God’s kingdom. As we endeavor to be doers of the Word and not just hearers, this is
one place where the rubber really hits the road.
I want to close simply by warmly commending the faithful people of this congregation. I’ve said it
before and this won’t be the last time I say it, but you people continue to amaze me. We’re a new
church with a new tradition—a successful tradition of stewardship in which we’ve accomplished many
things that more than a few people thought we would never accomplish. With God’s help, I think we’
ve only seen the beginning. This is a very exciting community to be a part of. I encourage us all to
be here next week as we sharpen our focus on what can be if God is behind it all.
May we always remember from where our blessings come, and may we enthusiastically keep our
place in the cycle of blessing that comes from giving and receiving. Amen.
commonly labeled as “Stewardship Sunday” in our church year. I want to start by saying that it’s
interesting that we only seem to have one such day assigned for a subject that really is pretty basic
to the life of a Christian. Perhaps our Treasurer, Dave Dixon, is on-target with his observation that
this isn’t always the most comfortably delivered or received topic that we deal with in the assemblies
of the faithful. I’ll have a bit more to say on that in a few moments.
David has observed that clergy would much rather talk about sex than money. In response, I feel the
need to point out that either a denial or a confirmation of that assertion could potentially land me in
trouble! It’s like one of those “have you stopped beating your wife” questions. They both can be
tricky issues, and frankly, they’re both intended for mature audiences.
This morning I will be talking about stewardship of the resources entrusted to us. In fact, we’re going
to be looking at this very important issue over the next two or three weeks in various ways. It begs a
cool and honest look at what we do with what we’ve been allowed to have. Actually, this is a pretty
good working definition of stewardship. Stewardship is simply what we do with the many gifts that
God has given us. It’s a concept that certainly isn’t limited to the giving of our money to the church
and to charitable causes. Stewardship is (or at least should be) a cord that runs through all we do,
think, and say as believers in the one God who in His love has entrusted many things to us.
The story of creation in Genesis reminds us that God brought human beings into the position of
being the vice regents of this earth on which he planted us. He created the first people in his own
image, giving them and all of us, their descendants, the ability to build, create, and nurture. God
delights in sharing the responsibility of caring for the plants, the animals, and the land that the writer
of Genesis says was created “very good.” And we continue to shoulder that responsibility in
preparation for the new heavens and new earth promised in Scripture when Jesus returns to this
garden planet on which he once walked.
Stewardship means caring for the children God has given us, bringing them up to live good and
healthy lives, loving their neighbors and the God who gave them life. Stewardship means nurturing
the relationships, which God, in his omniscient choreography, has brought into our lives. It means
building relationships into communities, which are the God-ordained model for loving our neighbor.
And this is what brings us to stewardship as it applies to Hope-in-the-Desert Church. It first
must be said that we live in a culture that makes this whole thing a bit sensitive.
We in America rightly feel that this is the land of opportunity. We feel that we’re blessed with a place
in which we have the freedom to make our way in this life. Ingenuity and hard work are generally
rewarded with a living that’s more comfortable than that of many of our forebears in countries where
they didn’t enjoy our freedoms.
Consequently, we’ve developed an ethic in which our perceived worth as individuals is often
intertwined with our material success. Often it’s assumed that when we “make it” financially, we’ve
been rewarded for our hard work and creativity. And conversely, whether consciously or
unconsciously, those who have less may be subject to a bit more judgment by society in general.
So what’s come to happen is that our money is a reflection of our self worth, and we’re inclined to
guard and protect it as a result. We may be fearful of what will happen if we don’t protect our
money, and distrusting because of all of the people out there who are eager to help us part with our
money. This is probably a major reason why the topic of financial stewardship is such a touchy one.
But as is usually the case, the Scriptures have something to teach us about all of this, and in this
next few weeks that’s what we’ll mainly where our teaching will come from.
In today’s scripture readings there are some interesting and pretty surprising principles that seem to
emerge. The Old Testament reading from First Kings and the Gospel reading from Mark both
involve faithful widows who support God’s work through their giving. What’s interesting to me is that
these are people who we might most often think of as recipients of charity, rather than givers. This
of course was in a time when there was no government-provided safety net. There was no Medicare
or Medicaid; no Social Security, pensions, or General Assistance. Actually, many of these kinds of
benefits came right out of historic Christianity, originating with collections for widows and orphans,
and charitable health care in the monasteries that were forerunners to the hospital system.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. You see, in our readings both these widows are put in the position
of responding to God’s call upon them. The widow of Zaraphath is absolutely destitute. When Elijah
encounters her she’s gathering sticks to make a fire with which to cook one last meal for herself and
her son. And in a move either of stunning audacity or incredible faith, Elijah says to her, “Do not be
afraid. Go ahead and make your fire. Bake the cakes, but bring me the first of it. Then share the
rest with your son.” He goes on to reassure her, “The God of Israel says, ‘Your jar of meal and your
jug of oil will not run out until the Lord once again brings rains upon the earth.”
And how does the widow respond? “You lazy bum, how dare you ask this of me? The least you can
do is to help me gather some firewood!” No, the text says that she went and did as Elijah directed,
so that she and her household ate for many days.
Two things leap out at us from this story. First, the widow obeys God and gives the first fruits of her
meager belongings to His work. Elijah wasn’t asking for the first of the cakes because he was
selfish, or because of male entitlement, or anything like that.
Instead he was demonstrating a principle that should be woven into the DNA of human beings—that
all that we have comes from God, and that it is right for us to return a portion—the first portion—of
this to the God who provides for us. This is all thru the Bible.
And the second principle is this: As we’re faithful stewards of what we’ve been given, God will be
faithful to meet our needs. Do you see the circular nature of this? It’s built into the stories scattered
throughout Scripture. The cycle goes like this: God provides for His people; His people respond by
being faithful stewards and giving from what has been given to them; and then God blesses them
and provides for them in greater abundance. If it’s hard to digest this, think in terms of love. God
loves us, we return that love to God and our neighbor, and God blesses us with even more love. It’s
a pattern present from the earliest days of God’s interactions with His human creation. And our part
in this dance flows from a heart oriented with faith and love toward the One who promises to care for
us, and then delivers on that promise.
Contrast this with the scene we begin with in our Gospel reading. Jesus is teaching in the temple,
and points out the elite of Jerusalem, the scribes. These are ones like we mentioned a few moments
ago, who get recognition and status from having great wealth and power. They give impressively
from their wealth, but with entirely the wrong motivation. There’s a showmanship to their giving—
one that brings glory to self rather than to God. Again, it’s a matter of the heart.
So Jesus sees a very poor widow dropping two small copper coins into the treasury. And as
happened so often, he’s moved right down to his heart. He calls out to his disciples and says, “I’m
telling you, this poor widow’s gift makes these great contributions by the fat cats look like chicken
scratch by comparison! Those guys gave out of their riches, but this faithful woman gave her all.”
Now it’s tempting to call the widow’s gift “sacrificial giving,” and in a way I suppose that’s accurate.
But I’m wondering if the woman herself would call it sacrificial. Maybe it would be more accurate to
say that she gave trusting in the goodness of God. The text doesn’t say what happened afterward
to this nameless woman. But I’d bet dollars to donuts that the Lord saw to it that her needs were
also amply met, and with more than dollars and donuts.
Just as an aside, there’s something else kind of interesting about this story. This all takes place in
the Court of the Women at the Temple in Jerusalem. This where the temple treasury receptacles
were kept. As we’ve seen in some other stories involving Jesus, the Temple was a pretty corrupt
place in some ways. It’s leaders totally missed the point about who Jesus was. There was
mismanagement of money, favoritism and some decidedly mistaken theology.
Yet here Jesus seems to accept the rightness of contributing to the treasury. In fact, in Matthew 17
Jesus performs a miracle to ensure that he and Peter pay the temple tax. Perhaps this has
something to say for those of us who may be inclined to withhold our tithes and offerings fearing that
some of it might find its way to an institution which has shown some significant problems of its own.
Maybe this is a place to ask the question that has become cliché in Christian circles: “What would
Jesus do?” What did Jesus do? Just a thought.
I mentioned a few moments ago that through the centuries the Christian Church has been a primary
driving force in charitable work, health care, and many other institutions designed to promote the
health and welfare of all people. Our commitment to giving back to God through our pledges here at
Hope-in-the-Desert helps move us toward being better and better at this, as well as ensuring that we
pay all the basic bills for this beautiful worship space and for the people who earn their livings by
serving God amidst the wonderful people He’s brought here.
Next Sunday we’re going to do something we do very rarely. I’ve asked our Treasurer, David Dixon,
to spend the lion’s share of pulpit time to give us a financial picture of where we are and where we
hope to go in the coming year, as we firm up our ministries and look ahead to expanding our work in
this corner of God’s kingdom. As we endeavor to be doers of the Word and not just hearers, this is
one place where the rubber really hits the road.
I want to close simply by warmly commending the faithful people of this congregation. I’ve said it
before and this won’t be the last time I say it, but you people continue to amaze me. We’re a new
church with a new tradition—a successful tradition of stewardship in which we’ve accomplished many
things that more than a few people thought we would never accomplish. With God’s help, I think we’
ve only seen the beginning. This is a very exciting community to be a part of. I encourage us all to
be here next week as we sharpen our focus on what can be if God is behind it all.
May we always remember from where our blessings come, and may we enthusiastically keep our
place in the cycle of blessing that comes from giving and receiving. Amen.
A Cycle of Blessing
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost
November 8, 2009
The Rev. Daniel Tuton
The Rev. Daniel Tuton
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