2022 10 09 Sermon
Using What God Has Entrusted To Me
Stewardship Sunday
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
Deuteronomy 8:2-18; Psalm 8; Luke 18:18-27
In God’s incredible creation, stretching from the tiniest atoms on earth to the unfolding mysteries at the edge of the universe, God has given humanity a special place. I like how Psalm 8 puts it: “O Lord, your majestic name fills the earth! Your glory is higher than the heavens. What are mere mortals that you should care for us? Yet you have given us charge of everything you’ve made.”
Of course, as human beings we often use that responsibility foolishly. It brings to mind one of my favorite TV characters, Homer Simpson, and his catch phrase—“Doh!”—which he says whenever he does something stupid. For over 30 years, The Simpsons as a show has been a keen observer of the human condition. In one scene, Homer walks up to a vending machine to get a candy bar. Rather than pay for it, he sticks his arm up through the slot to grab the candy bar and pull it out. But his arm gets stuck. Someone calls for an ambulance. When the paramedics arrive they are at a loss for what to do. One of them suggests amputation. Then another asks, “Have you tried letting go of the candy bar, Mr. Simpson?” His reply? “DOH!”
Like Homer, who was so focused on hanging on to the candy bar that he wouldn’t let go, sometimes we hang so tightly to our own achievements or possessions that we can forget that they don’t actually belong to us in the first place; that from a biblical perspective, they actually belong to God. This is not just a recent phenomenon. Moses reminded the Israelites about this, after they had wandered 40 years in the wilderness and were finally about to enter the Promised Land, where they would find everything they would need to thrive. Moses reminds them—just when you think you’ve got it made, “That is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God. When you are prosperous and have fine homes to live in, and large flocks and herds, and your silver and gold have multiplied, be careful!” Remember what the Lord has done to get you to this point. He rescued you from Egypt. He fed you in the wilderness. “He did this so you would never say to yourself ‘I have achieved this with my own strength and energy…God is the one who gives you power to be successful.”
As with the people of old, so it is with us. The Lord is the source of our talents, our strength, our energy, our brains, our abilities, our time. God is the ultimate source of our fields, orchards, flocks, and herds—of the wealth that we are more fortunate than most people in the world to have access to, and which allows us to live a comfortable life.
We are blessed to enjoy so many good things in life—so it’s good to take a step back and remember, as the Bible teaches, that none of it actually belongs to us. One way or another, it all comes from God, and belongs to God, who loves us and trusts us to be the managers, the stewards, the caretakers of all that God has provided. Since we have been given the freedom to exercise this responsibility, we can give God thanks and praise, and seek from the Lord the answer to this question: “How am I called to use what God has entrusted to me?”
Jesus met a person who struggled with this very question, who asked: “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” He wasn’t simply asking about his future in heaven; the sense of that phrase “inherit eternal life” is more like “how can I participate in the ways of heaven bursting into the present? How can I take part in a new way of being through faith in Jesus?” So Jesus starts by asking about the Commandments that have to do with how we treat other people. This is the easy part. The man answers, “I’ve obeyed all of these since I was young.” Then Jesus moves on to the harder part—how to fulfill the Commandments about putting God first. Jesus could sense with this man that his possessions had become the most important thing in his life—his idol; his god. So there’s just one thing he needs to do, then. “Sell it all and give the money away to the poor.” And the man became very sad, for he was very rich. He couldn’t do it. He was like Homer Simpson, who couldn’t let go of the candy bar.
Jesus doesn’t ask many people to sell all they have and give it all away. St. Francis of Assisi was one, for example (his feast day is October 4th). He came from a wealthy family and gave away everything he had, right down to the clothes on his back. For those few who receive that kind of call and follow through, we see a joy in life, and a joy in God, shining through. And even when we find smaller opportunities to be generous, we can experience how God has designed us to enjoy being generous; God has designed us to feel fulfilled when we give away some of what we have. And when we do, it’s actually a way of praising God!
For every St. Francis, there are millions more who are not able to give it all away—like, most of us, really—but it still raises the question: At what point do we become possessed by our possessions? When does the wealth, the strength, the energy, the abilities we possess become our god, our idol? Going back to Moses, that’s what he was warning the Israelites about, and it’s a question that is raised time and time again throughout the Bible. So, throughout the Bible, we find teachings on stewardship: the concept that everything in our lives, in one way or another, belongs to God; and God has given us the freedom and responsibility to manage these things and care for them, for God’s glory—and in doing so we can reflect God’s own generosity.
The Bible teaches a practical way to avoid being possessed by our possessions, and to find joy in being generous. It begins with dedicating 10 percent of your money, your resources, to honor and glorify God, and serve a greater purpose in the world with that 10%. This can be given through church, through other ministries, through charities, so many possibilities—anything that allows you to glorify God and contribute to the care and well-being of people and the planet. Through this kind of giving, it’s a way to be part of something bigger than yourself.
Next comes dedicating 10 percent to save for the future. Think of the story of Joseph in Egypt, and how over the course of many years, he was able to save up enough grain for the people to survive 7 years of famine. None of us know what the future will bring—but you can be prepared, as best you can, for whatever may come through careful stewardship, by saving a portion of the resources God has provided. Then after those responsibilities are taken care of, the 80 percent remaining is there to use in a responsible way for day-to-day living, and covering your expenses—food, clothing, housing, health, transportation, entertainment, things like that.
Maybe you’re not in a place in your life right now where you can give away 10 percent or save 10 percent—and that’s OK. That’s something you can grow into. Maybe you start by giving 2 or 3 percent, and saving 2 or 3 percent. Year by year you can grow the percentage a little bit, so after several years you could be at 10 percent. Maybe you’re in a place in life of real struggle, where you have to decrease your percentage of giving or saving—that’s OK, too. It’s not a magic number; it’s a scriptural goal to live into. Or maybe you’re in a place in life where you’re able to give and save more than 10 percent. And that is also OK! I find very often that people who get into a habit of giving, keep looking for more opportunities to give. They enjoy sharing their blessings with others, and having resources to plan for the future. Of all these different situations I mentioned, I’ve had times in my life for each of them.
Sometimes, living according to the way of Jesus and the teachings of the Bible can feel difficult, maybe even impossible, even if we know it’s good for us. So we need to remember that Jesus, who died on the cross for our salvation and rose again to open a new way of being in the world, through faith, for us all, also said something else to the man in today’s gospel—and it is a word for us as well: “What is impossible for people is possible with God.” Amen.