What is Required?
First Congregational Church of Evanston
October 15, 2006 (19th Sunday after Pentecost)
Mark 10: 17-31, Psalm 95:1-7
Rev. Dr. James E. Roghair, Interim Minister
Mark 10:17-22 (NRSV)
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up and knelt
before him, and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit
eternal life?”
18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but
God alone.
19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder; You shall not
commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness;
You shall not defraud; Honor your father and mother.’”
20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these since my youth.”
21 Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said, “You lack one thing;
go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.”
22 When he heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had
many possessions.
Stewardship Season in the Church
“Oh, no!” someone said, “I think this is the beginning of the stewardship drive at the church. I hate it when they keep talking to us about our money. Why can’t they just let us alone?” Perhaps some of you were tempted to roll over and go back to sleep?
How ‘Stewardship’ Fell on Hard Times
Stewardship committees have a hard time! The word ‘stewardship’ was placed in American Protestant churches a little over a century ago, by regional and national church leaders as a euphemism for ‘fund-raising.’ They felt that instead of talking about actually raising funds – they could substituted a word, and people would feel better about it.
They were very successful in the substitution. What has happened is that the word ‘stewardship’ has lost most of its meaning. So if you ask church people what stewardship is, they can tell you that it is fund-raising!
I am afraid that the church has not heard — maybe the church doesn’t believe the Canadian theologian Douglas John Hall whose 1990 book title was The Steward: a biblical symbol come of age. Stewardship, as theology, has relevance to the issues of the secular world – such as stewardship of the earth and the concern for global warming, or the use of natural resources. Stewardship provides a natural link between the world and the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The question of stewardship is really the question of how we live as followers of Jesus Christ. I want to give you a couple of glimpses of what that might mean for us – using the biblical story of the rich man who came to Jesus, and some observations I have made while living with the Native Americans.
Later in the service you will hear the first of a series of Minutes for Mission – testimonies by some of your fellow church members of their love for the church, and our challenge to be stewards of this gift we know as First Congregational Church of Evanston.
Then at the conclusion of the service, in the adult forum, you will be invited to reflect on some of the thoughts that arise out of this sermon, or out the article which I wrote called “The Gift of the Whale,” or thoughts from your own experience.
A Word about the Words
But first a word about the words: A ‘steward’ is “one called to exercise responsible care over possessions entrusted to him [or her] (Webster’s 3rd New International Dictionary. Chicago: Britannica. 1961).” A ‘steward’ is not an owner, but one who cares for property as responsible representative of the owner. Christian faith acknowledges that God owns all of creation – everything humans appear to possess. God’s call to humanity is to be the grateful and responsible managers.
‘Steward’ is first of all a noun. To be a ‘steward’ is to hold an office on behalf of another. God calls human beings into the office of steward to care for what is God’s. In performance of that office, we are called ‘to steward’ (a verb) what is God’s. So, we are called to be ‘stewards,’ and our response is ‘to steward.’ You and I are key to making a sentence.
We don’t have a choice about being called to be stewards. That call comes from God. The choice is whether we will respond faithfully. If we approach God’s gifts with gratitude, recognizing our giftedness, we will begin to be faithful.
‘Stewardship,’ then is another noun. It might be thought of as the object of the sentence: We are called as stewards to steward a stewardship. But just as the ‘steward’ implies both God’s call and our choice to respond, so is ‘stewardship’ both that part of creation we are called to look after and our choice to really do it. God woos us to be faithful stewards.
I am to take responsible care of specific gifts of God’s – the specific time I have – the specific talents and resources I have. My family is a stewardship, our work or profession is a stewardship, your church is a stewardship. Our stewardship is localized. Do I act faithfully to the particular stewardship assigned to me?
The Rich Man Came to Jesus
Lets look at the stewardship of the rich man who approached Jesus. He came with a pretty clear view of himself. He was morally superior, even defying Jesus to teach him something he didn’t already know. He was certain that he had kept all of the commandments. And yet he was still asking Jesus about eternal life.
Jesus sized him up immediately. Jesus refused to accept the man’s flattery – only God is good, Jesus reminded him. Not claiming goodness Jesus preempted the man’s assumptions about himself. Jesus saw a man was a greatly in love with himself and the things he had amassed. Jesus saw a need for a radical break. He needed to accept the giftedness of life.
Go, sell all that you have, Jesus told him. Notice, Jesus didn’t just invite him to give things away. The man might have been able to consider that. But the man was encouraged to take his things into the marketplace – to dicker with folks about their value. He was to accept the wisdom of the marketplace about the value. Then he was to give up that value to the poor.
The man could not do that. He owned many things. Those things and his moral superiority, defined who he was. He did not define himself by his giftedness from God. So he went away grieving – defeated by his stuff. His stuff owned him. And Jesus felt compassion for him, because the man could not see himself as a steward of the gifts of God.
Do we ever get caught in the predicament of this man? Are we so pulled down by the things that we can’t see ourselves as stewards?
The Gift of The Whale
While working among the Iñupiaq Eskimoes of Northern Alaska, I learned that the people had ancient beliefs about their relationship to the animals that are very similar to the Jewish and Christian understanding of stewardship. They believed that the whales – water people – and the humans – two-legged people – are part a one circle of life. They believed that the whales cared for their human brothers and sisters, voluntarily gave themselves up to the human community as food.
So, the human community was respectful of the whales for the gift. The whale that was taken was not the property of the individual crew who happened to be the successful hunters, but the whale was the gift to the whole community. The successful whaling captain was honored – not because he was now rich in the things of life, but because he had a responsibility to the whale and to all of the people of the village to share what was given to him. He was a steward of the gift.
The total economy of the subsistence whaling was based on gift – the whale’s gift, the whaling captain’s gift, the community receiving the gift. There was no buying or selling of the whale meat, but always sharing. And the people thanked God for the gift.
Theology of John Calvin
I found a certain compatibility between the Christian theology and the way the Iñupiaq think. John Calvin (the theological giant of the Reformation) and the prevailing Iñupiaq folk beliefs. Calvin, in the Commentary on II Corinthians 8, speaks of the Old Testament manna, which God sent as food to the hungry Children of Israel in the desert, as a symbol of all that we have in life. Calvin says, “. . . in the manna, as in a mirror, there is presented to us an emblem of the ordinary food that we partake of (Calvin 1948, 296).” The Israelites went out to gather the manna from the ground each morning. And each day it was a gift of God.
If used judiciously, there was always enough, but if it was hoarded, it spoiled. Manna was the food God provided, but also the lesson God taught. The people learned to rely on the God’s Providence and not to be anxious.
The biblical manna is much like the whale of Iñupiaq experience – a cause for stewardship. Although whale hunters labor in dangerous conditions to harvest the whales, they are always aware that the whales they receive are a gift, not just the result of their good work. The whale is not obligated to give itself to the human community, nor does God owe the community anything. It is always a gift to be treated with respect — not to be hoarded nor owned by anyone, but to be shared.
For Calvin all wealth is gift to be used for assisting others. Calvin quotes Martial: “What you have given away is the only wealth that you will always retain.” This is also summed up by the words on the tombstone of Robert Doncaster: “What I gave, I have; what I kept, I lost.” Calvin asserts that we owe everything to God, not merely a portion of what we have, and anyone who gives to the poor lends to God (Calvin 1948, 291f).
Furthermore, “. . . money always puts man[/woman] to a test. By want God tests some men[/women] to find out whether or not in poverty they truly put their trust in him. Do men[/women]. . . working for their living . . . believe that it is their working strength alone which can make them live (Bieler, 1961, 31)?” Wealth is a test of community. Calvin’s idea is that wealth is always flowing from those who have it to those who need it. That is the way the community is supposed to work.
What We Learn from Gifts of Manna and Whale?
The gifts of both whale and manna emphasize our human reliance on the Providence of God, as does the story of the rich man Jesus met. We share this life with other human beings and with creation — as a community relying on God’s grace. The church of Jesus Christ is one of those gifts we share.
Stewards of the Church
By word and by example we may prove to be stewards of God. The challenge to be a steward of the church– like the challenge to be a steward of all of the things in our lives – is very real.
- What can we learn from the man who spoke to Jesus?
- What can we learn from our Native bothers and sisters?
- What can we learn from ancient Israel, and the theology of the faith?
Conclusion – the Gifts of God for the People of God
A contemporary liturgy for the communion service invites us to the table with the words “The Gifts of God for the people of God..”
We can say that about everything in our lives. We can particularly say it about the church. First Congregational Church is a gift of God for the people of God. How do you act as a steward of that gift?
Amen.
Last Updated: Wednesday, February 6, 2008