October 2024
Dear Friends in Christ,
Stewardship month has officially begun! There will be moments in some of our upcoming services where we will hear from members of our church family about what is needed to support the functions and ministries of Good Shepherd for the next year as well as some testimonies about how our church has served its members and community.
There are two terms to reflect on while you pray over your annual pledge. The first is simply the word “steward.” At the beginning of all things God called the first humans to be stewards of all creation. What does that mean? Obviously part of that is working to protect and care for everyone and everything we share this world with, but is there more to it than that?
Another thing of note is that the history depicted here is the basis for the annual Jewish holiday of Purim. If you’ve never witnessed a Purim celebration, I’ll just say that you’ve never seen a true party. It’s wild. There are elaborate comical costumes, noisemakers of every kind, and a huge, sumptuous feast. The command to keep this holiday is the conclusion of Esther’s book. The lesson here is that part of the guidance God offers is that life should be enjoyed—with days of feasting and gladness.
A steward generally refers to someone who has been entrusted to care for something that belongs to someone else. While many voices in society impel us to consider the things we have as our own, Christianity teaches that everything—our money, our homes, our possessions, even our lives—is the property another. We are simply caretakers of these things while here. Recognizing our Divinely mandated responsibility to devote these to the service of things beyond ourselves radically reshapes how we use the resources God has blessed us with.
The other term to reflect over is this year’s theme: “Walk in Love.” It’s a phrase lifted from St. Paul that’s become truly ubiquitous to the Episcopal Church—so much so that it’s also the title of one of the most popular books explaining our faith to those who want to know more. Those who read the Flocknote every week might remember I dedicated a whole letter to those three words not long ago. This week I’m briefly thinking over what “Walk in Love” teaches about our call to be stewards.
The full quote that I recite every time I preside is: “Walk in love as Christ loved us and gave Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God.” Paul is saying that Jesus painted the perfect picture of what stewardship looks like in giving everything He had for the sake of the whole world. Living into that charge as fully as He did is something none of us can likely bring ourselves to do. Still, we should be inspired by His amazing sacrifice to practice our own acts of sacrifice by turning our minds away from our own desires and testing the limits of our comfort and safety by serving something beyond ourselves.
The invitation is to, as we are continuously molded over time into the image of Christ, to slowly become better stewards. As we come to more deeply believe in the promise of eternal life, we come to understand that we are participating in it more fully and more joyously with each little act of stewardship.
Please take this month to prayerfully reflect how God is calling you to use the time, talent, and treasure you’ve been blessed with to serve your church and all of creation.
Blessings,
Fr. Steve
