Sermon preached by The Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson
22nd Sunday after Pentecost
If you’ve been to church the last few weeks, you may have noticed that when it’s been my turn to preach, my sermons eventually wound around to the topic of stewardship. You may be happy to know that this sermon is the last of the three! Not that you should be happy, mind you. We need to hear about money in church, just as we need to hear about forgiveness, relationships, sin and redemption, the ethical conduct of our businesses, and every other aspect of our lives. If it’s important in life, then it has to do with our faith. So money is important to us with respect to our relationship with God. Three of the Ten Commandments have to do with money, including the first and the last, and 16 of Jesus’ 38 parables deal with money. If it is important in scripture, and if it is important in our lives, then surely everyone must agree that the topic has a definite place in what we talk about in church.
Closely related to that is the Church’s need. The Church needs our money in order to do what God calls us to do. We need it to maintain our buildings, to keep the lights and air conditioning on, to pay salaries, to buy curriculum, to reach out to the poor and needy, to spread the Gospel. To give to the Church is to give to God and his work.
One of the things those of you who have been around for awhile may have noticed is that three years haven’t passed before we started talking about stewardship again. In fact, we had a stewardship Every Member Canvass just last year. The reason for this is that our strategic plan, “Take Your Place,” calls for it. It was decided by the leadership of this parish during the strategic planning process that an annual pledge drive is needed. Every year we have many new members, and the circumstances of those who have been among us, even just as short a time as a year ago, may very well have changed. An annual drive gives us a much clearer picture of what this parish’s income will be. And so we are asking each one of us to pledge annually.
Throughout my ministry I have found that there are several kinds of givers in the Church. There are those who don’t pledge and who only give when they come to church. The average gift of such givers is a dollar for each visit. I’ve often wondered if we ought to have a two dollar Sunday some time!
Then there are those who realize that the Church operates even when they are not there, and so they make a pledge. The pledgers fall into a variety of categories. There are those who look at all of their expenses and ascertain what they won’t miss and then pledge accordingly. After the basic necessities are paid, the club dues, golf expenses, and vacations are taken into account……Let’s face it, when it comes to money, there isn’t a whole lot that we won’t miss!
Then there are the pledgers who are very methodical about their giving. They find out what the annual budget is and how many members we have, and then they divide the amount of money we need by the number of members and that’s what they give. They consider that their “fair share.” They are the kind of person who might describe themselves as a “dues paying member.”
Then there are the pledgers who are upset about something. They don’t like the national Church. But the diocese has made it possible for those people who don’t want any money to go to the national church to opt out. There are those who are upset that you can opt out. Both groups cut their pledges. Or perhaps they’re upset about something here at Redeemer. They don’t like the way the parish spends its money, or they don’t like something else. The church is too hot, or too cold; we spend give too much away, we don’t give enough away; the sermons are too long or too short.
Don’t misunderstand me, I realize that the Church is not a perfect institution, and most of you know that I don’t agree with a great deal of what has happened to the Church at the national level. I also realize that this parish isn’t perfectly run. I know that because I am the person in charge of running it, and I am not perfect by a long shot. But this parish is a good, faithful parish and the work we do is good, faithful work and it deserves the support of our members. The fact of the matter is that it is fairly easy to be involved here and to have input on where our money goes and how it is spent.
Then there are the pledgers who realize that the tithe is what they should give to the Church—that is, ten per cent of their income. But their circumstances are such that they find it impossible to tithe. So they think and pray about their giving, and they discern what portion of their income they feel it is possible to give, and that’s what their gift is. Their intention is to work toward a tithe by gradually working up to a tithe.
And finally, there are those who do tithe in this parish. I am one of them because I believe that that is what is required of me as a Christian and I also believe that I couldn’t stand up here and urge you to tithe without being a tither myself. You can’t sell soap if you don’t take baths. I base my tithe on what I bring home as spendable income. Some of our most faithful givers are those with low incomes. We have widows, on modest incomes, who give ten per cent. They remind me of the poor widow in the Gospels who put two pennies in the offering and who Jesus said gave the most of all, because she gave all that she had.
The scriptures are clear that the tithe is the minimum standard of giving for the people of God. In fact, the tithe belongs to God. Everything above a tithe is an offering. As we conclude this year’s pledge campaign, I want to tell you a few things. First of all, whatever you give and for whatever reason, I am grateful for your gift. What I have said about tithing has to do with my priestly obligation to tell you what is good for your souls. Secondly, a pledge is simply your statement of what you intend to give. It is the best way that you can help the vestry know what income we can expect in the coming year. If you have already pledged, thank you. If you have not, please do pledge as soon as possible. Third, whatever you give, do it with a grateful heart, in thanksgiving for all that God has given you, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Well, that is the third and last stewardship sermon for this year. I can’t say that this will be the only time you’ll hear about stewardship until next year’s drive, for so much of the Bible has to do with this crucial topic. May God bless us as we seek to be ever better stewards of his creation.