Celebrating Our Gifts Through Our Living (a stewardship sermon)

Deuteronomy 14: 22-27

Roger Lynn

November 3, 2019

Stewardship Emphasis

(click the "Play" button above to listen to the audio for this sermon)

I need to begin by letting you know that this is a stewardship sermon. Take a deep breath and relax. It will be over soon. And contrary to popular opinion about such matters, you might even enjoy the experience. There will be references to joy and laughter, so stick around.

Stewardship is based on the understanding that all we have is a gift from God and as such we need to be intentional and responsible about its use. This is true not just for what we give away, but also what we keep. Put another way, stewardship is about everything we do with everything we have, and everything we are. This means that stewardship is about so much more than just raising money to underwrite the church’s budget. It is about remembering our connection with God and celebrating that connection. It is about appreciating the gifts we have been given and discovering ways to put them to good use.

So, before we start talking about money (don’t worry, we’ll get to that in due time), let’s begin by talking about life. If stewardship is about recognizing all of life as a gift, then perhaps a good place to start is by doing an inventory of what we’ve been given and then celebrating those gifts. If you have ever moved, or even just cleaned out a closet or the garage, then you have likely had the same experience that I have had on more than one occasion. In sorting through all of my “stuff” I discover treasures I forgot were even there. It is a humbling experience to be reminded that I don’t always manage to keep track of or even remember all of the ways in which I am blessed. Taking inventory from time to time can be a powerful spiritual practice.

Something akin to this process is being called for in Deuteronomy with the instructions regarding the tithe. “Set aside a tithe of all the yield of your harvest.” That means you’ve got to take inventory. You’ve got to pay attention to what you have. You can’t just tuck things away – in the bank, in the storage bins, in the back of a closet somewhere. At least once a year you have to look at what you’ve got. And because this inventory takes place within the context of a ritual of faith, there is at least a good chance that you will remember to view your “stuff” as the gift which it is. The world, and our place in the world, begins to look different when we view it from this perspective. I am less likely to take things for granted. I am less likely to move through my days with a frown on my face and a cloud over my heart. My whole life becomes my response to God. Every moment becomes an opportunity to orient my life in a God-centered direction.

But the ritual of the tithe does more than simply call for an inventory. You can’t just figure out your net-worth and then move on. You have to pause long enough to celebrate. You have to enjoy the gifts which God has given. It is really quite a sad state of affairs that remembering to celebrate and rejoice needs to be regulated and legislated, but the truth of the matter is that if it isn’t we very often just get busy and distracted and we forget. So to help keep us from forgetting we find bits of wisdom like this passage from Deuteronomy. Take the tithe from the harvest and throw a party. The tradition of potluck dinners at church can be traced at least back as far as Deuteronomy. Enjoy life. Take time to really let the goodness of God sink in. In the midst of the food and the music and the dancing, remember that it is just a little glimpse of the ways in which God’s abundance is manifest in your life.

The thing I really like about this model for stewardship is that it is built on such a positive foundation. It isn’t about what you have to do, “or else...”. It does not begin with a message of threat or guilt. It provides the opportunity to remember how rich we are, not merely in financial terms (which may or may not be true for any particular individual at any particular moment), but in terms of all the ways in which our lives have been enhanced by God’s active presence with us. It encourages an attitude of true and genuine gratitude and celebration out of which true and genuine generosity is much more likely to emerge. There are times when we are told that we have an obligation or a duty to give, and therefore we should feel guilty if we don’t. Such an approach can sometimes get results (at least in the short term), but there is no real life in such giving. In contrast, the approach from Deuteronomy leaves us with a strong awareness of the abundance of life and the goodness of God. Any giving which results from such an approach will naturally be life-enhancing rather than life-detracting. It will be a joyous and heart-felt response.

So this week, in preparation for Stewardship Commitment next Sunday, before you sit down with your household budget and a calculator and figure out how much you can give to the church in the coming year, I invite you to spend some time doing an inventory. Take a look at your life (not just your checkbook, but your whole life), and take note of all the ways in which you have been blessed. And then maybe even throw a little party. It doesn’t have to be a big, blow-out bash. You don’t have to travel all the way to Jerusalem. Just enough of a celebration to remind yourself that all of life is a gift from God, and God’s gifts are given with the intention that they be enjoyed and celebrated. Raise your glass and offer a toast to God. It is only after we have explored ways to celebrate our gifts with our living that we will be prepared to respond to God’s goodness with our giving. I invite you to make this the year that stewardship becomes a spiritual exercise for you. May we discover and celebrate the ways in which God is moving abundantly in our lives.