A message from the Stewardship Team
Our stewardship program for 2024 began Sunday, October 6th and will continue through the month of October. We ask that Pleadge Cards are returned no later than November 3rd.
This year we will be looking at four different aspects of stewardship: Stewarding Relationships, Stewarding Wealth, Stewarding Power, and Stewarding Courage.
On Sunday, we discussed stewarding our wealth which is the second aspect of Stewardship. The reading was from Mark 12 in which rich people made large offerings, but the poor widow made an offering of two small copper coins which equaled a penny. Jesus told his disciples that the widow gave more than all the others because she gave all she had to live on while the others gave out of their wealth. God wants us to know that material things don’t equal happiness–that there is enough for everyone.
Stewardship week #2
So often when members hear ‘stewardship season’ they automatically think about congregation and personal finances. Perhaps this is because congregations typically address stewardship in the fall as the congregation council prepares the annual budget, or perhaps it is because ‘money’ is frequently synonymous with ‘stewardship’ in the minds of many. Whatever the reason, Sharing the Good News is a holistic stewardship resource that, following the Revised Common Lectionary, takes a deeper look into stewardship of the whole self. With this 4-week series we will be invited to explore how stewarding all aspects of our lives is a way of living our faith and sharing the good news with the world.
Stewarding Wealth
Amos 5:6-7, 10-15
Psalm 90:12-17
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 10:17-31
“It is not from your own poverty that you give to the poor. Rather, you make return from what is theirs. For what has been given as common for the use of all, you have appropriated to yourself alone. The earth belongs to all, not to the rich. Therefore you are paying a debt, not bestowing a gift.” St. Ambrose of Milan
This notion that what we possess is not actually ours is foreign in the culture of the United States, particularly in the last hundred years. In reality, this is an ancient, deep knowing in the hearts of our ancestors. Yet even so long ago the man with many possessions was sad and grieved that Jesus asked him to sell all that he had and give the money to the poor. In this way, Jesus said, he would have treasure in heaven.
Treasure in heaven is what eternal life is all about. This text makes it rather clear that entering into eternal life does not start at death, but begins when humans can begin to trust God above all else. Having nothing but the love of God is not a place most people like to be. Security has become such an important value that we trust in our own provisions above God’s. With wealth we can make sure we have what we need: food, shelter, clothing, all the toys to keep us entertained, all the pleasures that the world can offer, and so on. Yet while we store up for ourselves treasures on earth, the majority of the world goes without. Without food, without shelter, without the security of peace.
As people of a global community, disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to steward wealth so that all people know the goodness of God’s eternal life. So that no one goes to bed hungry. So that none freeze on a park bench in winter. So that children grow to become the potential God created them for.
How we steward our wealth is how we share God’s Good News: that there is enough, that material wealth does not equal happiness, that God’s desire is for all to have eternal life.
Questions for Reflection
- How do you react when you hear these words from St. Ambrose of Milan?
“It is not from your own poverty that you give to the poor. Rather, you make return from what is theirs. For what has been given as common for the use of all, you have appropriated to yourself alone. The earth belongs to all, not to the rich. Therefore you are paying a debt, not bestowing a gift.”
- What would our world look like if Christians took seriously the call to trust more in God rather than our own wealth?
- When it comes to your own wealth, how do you make decisions about how much you give and to whom?
Excerpt used from “Sharing the Good News” Southeastern Iowa Synod