Today, is the culmination of our congregation’s annual stewardship campaign. On this Consecration Sunday, we ask people to reaffirm their commitment to be stewards of all God gives them. Yes, this involves a financial pledge, but in includes so much more.
Stewardship can be an unpopular topic. We like our privacy. We tire of the media voices inundating us with requests for money, and honestly, we’ve seen far too many over-paid people asking for our support. Thankfully, real stewardship is far more than a financial pledge, so far beyond paying church bills. Stewardship is an attitude of the heart; a way of life that responds to the generous heart of God with a willingness to be generous ourselves. Real stewardship acknowledges that we are blessed and seeks to be a blessing to others.
On my first mission trip to Brazil, I attended a worship that changed my life and my understanding of Christian stewardship. Sitting in a cramped pew within a crowded church, I watched as people who clearly fit within my definition of poverty came forward to place their offerings in the collection box at the front of the sanctuary. I asked one of the young women who sat next to me why they did not pass plates like we did back home. She explained to me that they believed it was important for the young people of the congregation to see their parents, family and friends putting their faith into action by giving.
I went on to ask her what the significance was of a large basket that sat behind the collection box. I’d watched as people put their tithes in the box and then placed something in the basket. She replied, “Oh, those are our gifts for the poor.” The shock on my face must have been evident as I tried to make sense of the scene – poverty stricken people collecting gifts for the poor! The young woman smiled and said, “You don’t get it do you?” I replied, “Apparently not/” Her face beamed as she said, “We have everything, because we have Him. How can we not share what God has given us with those who need it too?”
I was speechless, and moved with deep emotion. Earlier, I’d been lamenting things I, and the church I served, did not have. Now, I was sitting in the face of the most powerful sermon on stewardship I’d ever experienced. Here were people who understood that what really mattered was more than a collection of things, but a connection with people and with the heart of God.
This year, as our church celebrates its Consecration Sunday, I pray that we can capture some of that same awareness and generous spirit. I hope I can as well, as I still have much to learn. Maybe, as we embrace how richly God provides for our lives, we can embrace the opportunity to share richly with others, for that is where the real blessing lies.
