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Sermon - St Simon and Jude - 28th October 2007
St Alban's Epping 7:00 am, 8.00 am and 10:00 am
Readings: Deuteronomy 32:1-4, Psalm 19:1-6, Jude 1-3, 17-25 Luke 6:12-16
Today while we celebrate the lives and witness of Saint Simon and Saint Jude, we are also called to reflect upon the stewardship of all that we have been blessed with from God and how we use that, whether it be our money, talent or circumstance.
It is good that we read in Jude the last two verses as I think that it is a reminder that as we think about what we have that is reminds us that all our existence depends upon God.
“Now to him who is able to keep you from falling, and to make you stand without blemish in the presence of his glory with rejoicing, to the only God our Saviour, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, power, and authority, before all time and now and for ever. Amen.”
As I prepared for this sermon I discovered the following story.
“Things were not going well that Sunday ... The young minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building. To further complicate things, he found out that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play.
"Well, here's a copy of the service," he said impatiently. "But you'll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances."
After the choir's anthem, the minister came to the pulpit and said, "Brothers and Sisters, we face a great challenge today ... The roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected, and we need $4,000 more. Now, any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up."
At precisely that moment, the quick thinking substitute organist played a stirring rendition of the National Anthem!
And that is how the substitute organist became the permanent organist.”
Another thought that came to me is that St Jude is the patron saint for hopeless causes. I trust that me speaking about stewardship is not a hopeless cause, because it is very important that we consider the stewardship of all we have regularly. All our circumstances are never fixed they are constantly changing.
Later in this service one of the Churchwardens will address the support that this parish needs from you and me to maintain and develop the ministry of bringing in the Kingdom here in Epping.
God's creative force is the foundation of our stewardship. In creating all things, God has made it possible for humankind to give back to God what is already God's. Stewardship is an everyday occurrence. It needs to be the lifeblood of how we see the community around us: our family, our work, our friendships, and our ministry.
Too often we have overlooked or tried to avoid this important fact. It is hard to ignore the fact that Jesus said more about money and wealth than any other single issue. One sixth of all his recorded words dealt with this one subject. One third of his parables were devoted to it. Jesus knew, better than most, the deep relationship that exists between a person and their wallet. He knew that to win our hearts he had to first win our treasure.
The Bible begins with the words,
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”
and so establishes the fact of God's ownership of all creation. God is the owner. Everything belongs to God. We use what we have on trust from God.
This basic fact of life is repeated over and over again in both the Old and the New Testament. Moses warned the people,
“Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands … When you have eaten your fill and have built fine houses and live in them, and when your herds and flocks have multiplied, and your silver and gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then do not exalt yourself, forgetting the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, … Do not say to yourself, ‘My power and the might of my own hand have gained me this wealth.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, so that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your ancestors, as he is doing today.”
Jesus told parables to teach the same truth,
The Kingdom of God “… 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. … (on his return the master said to the faithful servant) “Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
When the Bible talks about the art of giving, it focuses on the giving of money. That ‘s not surprising, as money has become for humanity a kind of sacrament, an outward and visible sign of our inward and spiritual state. Te way we use our money is usually a reflection of our overall pattern of generosity.
In Paul's second letter to the Corinthians chapter 8 we read of the generosity of the Macedonian church.
We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches of Macedonia ; for during a severe ordeal of affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in this ministry to the saints and this, not merely as we expected; they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us.”
It should be noted that there are five important points concerning their generosity. They first made a personal commitment to faith in Jesus. Then they gave sacrificially. They gave of their own free will and did so anonymously. Finally they gave proportionally as God blessed them and as they prospered. This parish community is and has been very generous in it giving to special appeals. That is wonderful. However it is the regular committed giving that ensures that the day-to-day ministry activities of the parish continue unencumbered by the lack of funds. Our expenses are kept under tight control, none-the-less the gradual increase of inflation we all must seek to reassess what we give to the church.
In conclusion I read a personal Christian Giving Creed, called “My God and My Money”.
“God is the Creator of all things and He calls me to live in a positive relationship with Him. He has entrusted us with His creation and my lifestyle must reflect my responsibility for this trust. He has forgiven my failures and has set me free to enjoy a purposeful life as one of His people.
I must therefore:
* exercise a wise stewardship of the natural resources of the world.
* not knowingly cause another person to lose so that I may gain.
* live happily with money as a useful commodity that will never gain mastery over my life.
I am pleased that God calls me to be a giver because I have a personal need to give and I am an incomplete person unless I give. I therefore believe that:
* I am accountable to God for the way in which I acquire and use all of my income and assets.
* I must give regularly and meaningfully to the work of my church and the life of my community.
* The scriptures teach me the principle of percentage giving and I know that my chosen percentage will be dependent on my faith and love for God and my neighbour.
* I must make a habit of reviewing my chosen percentage to ensure that it reflects my growth in faith and is a joyful response to God and His love.
* I am called to make bequests for God's work so that my stewardship continues after my death.
* I should keep myself informed of the financial affairs of my church and community and I hope that I will be challenged regularly with new opportunities for commitment and service. At the same time my motive for giving will always arise out of my faith and will not simply be a response to man-made goals.
May God give me the grace and the strength to do all of these things and may my life be a prayer to him.” 1
1. This sermon constructed with the assistance of www.worship-that-works.org , Christian Giving A Study, Genesis Publications Ltd, Zillmere, Qld and other sources.