Its Stewardship Sunday so far as the Sunday Lectionary goes, a reminder from the Lord that we have been entrusted with time, talents and treasure for a lifetime and must answer for it at death or at his Return. The Zephaniah passage challenging complacent living is a pointer to the Gospel.
Archbishop Rowan Williams once said: “What we do with our money proclaims who we think we are – whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not. All our actions in some degree reveal us; why should our economic life be different? Why should this too not be an area in which we help to shape our eternal destiny, a matter of sin or holiness?”
In my travels up and down the Diocese both as Diocesan Mission & Renewal Adviser and now as retired priest with permission to officiate I’ve come across many instances of good stewardship linked to the generosity of the people of God throughout Sussex alongside a great deal of energy and hard work invested in maintaining and beautifying our churches including here – there’s an army of folk in this place who give their time and their talents to sustain its life and its witness.
I looked up what the diocesan website says about stewardship - here’s a couple of paragraphs:
‘The major source of the Diocesan Board of Finance's income comes from the generosity of parishes through the Parish Share. Parish Share represents approximately 80% of the Diocese’s total income. In addition, the Diocese generates investment income from historic endowments and from letting out vacant properties.
‘The majority of the Diocese’s expenditure is spent on the clergy who serve our parishes. The cost of providing ministry across the diocese represents approximately 80% of total expenditure. This covers clergy stipends, NI, pension, housing, and the costs of training current and future clergy. It also includes money spent on supporting ministry through the work of the Archdeacons, Rural Deans, Continuing Ministerial Development and the payment of removal and resettlement grants. The remaining expenditure is spent on parish support services such as the provision of buildings advice, supporting church schools and safeguarding services, as well as a contribution to the National Church’.
In those words the Diocese recognises it is predominantly through the generosity of folk such and you and I that the Church of England in Sussex keeps its roof on and pays its clergy including pensioners like myself. Another thing that strikes me as former diocesan officer and parish priest at Horsted Keynes is the range of motivations people have in giving their money and their energy to the Church.
So may I ask: why do you do it? Give money or time or talent, I mean, to support St Mary’s?
Former diocesan colleagues did some careful research about this
Some people, they found, place great value in buildings (Come to a place like this you can see why). Is that you?
Others are drawn in by the church’s service to the community
Others are motivated by the church as a centre of evangelism – the sharing of Christrian faith and values. Is that you?
And others place great value in the act of joining together for worship. Where worship is ‘done well’, congregations are growing. Perhaps that is you?
Different people – different motivations – different things that are precious or valuable to people.
Let me tell you what I value about the Church.
Firstly, the church helps me to know God, the God who seems to do something quite remarkable - quite inexplicable – at Easter. Luke quotes Peter “this man Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, God raised from the dead.” (Acts 4:10b). Now raising from the dead is not something that happens very often and when I read about God raising people from the dead I’m tempted to think that God is winding the clock back a bit, restoring life – putting things back to how they were before death. But no – what is happening in Jesus is God is winding the clock forward – not back. This is what it will be like for everybody, says Paul, when he talks about Christ being the first fruits – the forerunner - as it’s a Christian’s destiny to have life after death - not restored life, not life like we know it here, but something new “Look out for the new thing I am going to do” (Isaiah 43v19)
The second thing I like is what Jesus offers us. Forgiveness. Reconciliation. Distrust turning to trust. Paul keeps on making this contrast. Do you put your trust in the past, or do you know Christ Jesus? I particularly love the bit you get in Luke’s gospel – just after Easter – about Jesus walking with his disciples on the Emmaus Road here is a Jesus that is prepared to walk with us a whole day – a whole lifetime probably – in the wrong direction before he gently turns us round and points us back to where we should be heading. The only ultimately meaningful thing in life is what conquers death - and Jesus offers this!
And the third thing I value is salvation - the extraordinary relationship between God and humankind that somehow Jesus Christ makes possible for us even while we’re still here, enjoying, as it were, life before death. As today’s second reading voices it: ‘God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that… we may live with him’ (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10). The assurance of this salvation is a lot to do with the Holy Spirit. After resurrection – if that wasn’t dramatic enough - Jesus promises something else, someone else who’ll make us feel as if we’ve been born again. And in the power of this Holy Spirit, we’ll recognise how we relate to God - Not foot soldiers, with God as our commanding officer; Not slaves, with God as our master, but as children, with God as our Father, someone who loves us beyond reason as many human parents do. That love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
‘It is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away’.The Parable of the Talents is a reminder all we’re about as mortal beings flows from God who in giving us life lends us time, talents and treasure in the hope we will, like the good steward in the parable, one day hear his words: ‘Well done, good and trustworthy [one]; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your [Lord]’. (Matthew 25:23)
Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour and the majesty; for everything in heaven and earth is yours. All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.
