Stewardship is Selfless
Psalm 146 and James 2:1-5, 14-17
Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
September 8, 2024
Often when we think of stewardship, we think in terms of pledges because the obvious is that the church needs funds to operate. Without your generous contributions, we would not be sitting here in a cool sanctuary with the lights on providing the ability to Livestream to those who are not able to drive here on a Sunday morning.
Without your generous contributions, we wouldn’t have new steps to walk into the sanctuary or pews to sit on and bulletins to hold.
We would not have beautiful music to listen to or staff to prepare the bulletin we use to guide us through our worship service.
The very interesting thing about all of these items is that they are used in our service for when we praise the Lord, as the Psalmist so clearly tells us we are to do over and over again.
Another way to think about your pledges and your gifts are they are being used to praise the Lord, and the reason I often say, when thanking you for your gifts, that they are used for the glory of God.
Your gifts are also used in mission, and we are especially great at feeding people through your many gifts to Break Bread Together, as well as many gifts from our community.
Today, I want us to think beyond our pledges and our monetary gifts, and consider how we volunteer in the church and in the community. Before we do this though, let’s look at our scripture in James.
James, in his description of not showing favoritism, is actually drawing the reader away from those who do not necessarily need our attention, the ones who are finely clothed, and turn our attention to those who are poor, those not clothed.
He reminds his audience, that while we are focused on the ones that have material wealth, God has chosen the poor to be rich in faith and heirs to the kingdom, because it is the poor that love him. And, often those clothed in diamonds and gold need help as well. James, however, is speaking to the problem of favoritism.
Now I want to be clear here, I am in no way saying that God does not also love the wealthy or that the wealthy do not love him, because God is the God of all who love him and know him.
Yet, when we look back to our Psalmist’s writings, he says, “Do not put your trust in those from whom there is no help.” Princes and mortals can only offer you their worldly possessions and nothing beyond, while God can provide eternity.
As the Psalmist drives home his point, he reminds us of God the Creator. A prince may build a castle or a kingdom, yet God made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them.
This is where one can safely rest their faith, in the One that does not die. The One that always brings help and hope and food.
The One that sets prisoners free and opens the eyes of the blind. We do not have to be prisoners of our anxieties, our fears or our sins because we have been set free from all of them. Our eyes have been opened, and we are no longer blind to the One who provides all we need beyond this world.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down with burdens that are more than they themselves can carry because they are too hard or too painful for one to carry alone.
When we look back on our lives, whether you are the youngest in the congregation or the oldest, we can reflect on a time or many times when something was too big for us to handle in our humanness, and we are here because the God of all generations either delivered us from it, healed us from it, or got us through it. Praise the Lord!
Now, getting back to stewardship. The Lord loves those who are righteous, those who do the right thing.
While we have faith that God provides, those provisions do not come without actions, or as James refers to them, without works.
While stewardship requires funds to support its missions, if only monetary gifts are given and nothing more is done to put those gifts into action, then the gifts pile up and no one would have any benefit from them.
The action comes when we are the hands and feet of Jesus, as we have talked about before.
I chose a few photos for our bulletin cover this morning that reflect just a few actions we can volunteer to do. If you notice, in each of these photographs, everyone is “reaching out.”
It is through reaching out that we connect with people, and in turn, they connect with us.
There is one more photo in the bulletin following the Postlude, where a group of people are not just reaching out, but they are also huddled together with heads bowed indicating they are praying.
Perhaps they are praying for one of those in the huddle among them. Perhaps they are praying for another person not in the huddle, a family, an event, or the world.
How powerful can our stewardship be when we join together in the works James is referring to in his writings? One person can do great things, and a group of people can do even greater things when they have faith in our God of Heaven and earth, the God that reigns forever for all generations.
James is passionate that our faith be translated into practice, and there is a task for everyone.
As I have said many times, and will continue saying, this congregation lives into their faith through actions, and so you might wonder why I am bringing it up again today. You might be saying, haven’t I done enough already? Maybe you are listing in your head all the things you have already done just this week, or this month or this year.
The reason that I am talking about it again today is twofold. First, I wanted to be able to again say how grateful I am to all of you for the work you continue to do in this church, in this community and in the world.
Second, it’s stewardship month, and while we as a church sometimes get hyper-focused on pledges because we want to be able to afford and provide this space for worship, and all that makes it possible to praise the Lord during our service. Pledges without action would be fruitless, and James obviously wanted the people he was speaking with to understand its importance.
Reflections from one of my commentaries on James states that “Among James’s readers, there were clearly some who considered that believing “that God is one” qualified them to be considered among God’s people, or that believing in “our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” was itself sufficient to consider themselves members of the kingdom proclaimed by Jesus. The propensity to find a refuge in religion and a resting place within a community of faith remains constant and keeps James’s exhortation perennially relevant.”
While all we say during our worship service is important for us to remember and lead us to living as a “good” Christian, coming here and saying those words each Sunday without leaving here with actions that support them during the week, becomes a posture of piety.
May we all be mindful if we tell someone in need to “go in peace,” that we reach out long enough to connect with them, and when we see a need, be able to at least offer something to help bring them a moment or two of that peace we speak about.
Stewardship truly is a selfless act. In fact, stewardship is a lifestyle we choose to live doing the work of Christ’s disciples, even today.
(Silent Reflection)