“Stewards
of All Life”
Stewardship Sermon Series
©Thomas B. Cundiff
“For where your treasure is, there your heart
will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Isaiah 58: 6-9a
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover them,
and not to hide yourself from your own kin?
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up quickly;
your vindicator shall go before you,
the glory of the Lord shall be your rearguard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.
Matthew
6: 19-21 --- Concerning Treasures
‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your
treasure is, there your heart will be also.
I.
Does anybody remember watching
the television game show “The Family Feud?” I’m not sure if it’s still on the air. “The
Family Feud”, originally hosted by Richard Dawson, debuted in 1976. In recent years it has been hosted by television
personalities like Al Roeker and Steve Harvey.
This show as an icon of American television history, will forever be associated
with dueling families and the catch-phrase:
“Survey says”.
The
basic premise of the show: family members
are asked a question to see who can come up with the best answers out of 100
people surveyed. Points are rewarded and
the winning family wins some money. While
some answers can get pretty goofy, there are a few thought-provoking questions
with serious answers asked from time to time.
Like
this one:
“One hundred people
were asked: What item, if stranded on a deserted Island , would you take with you? You play the game. What would you say? “What one item, if stranded on a
deserted Island would you take with you?”
One respondent said: Underwear. You wouldn’t want to be caught ‘naked’ on a
deserted Island . Another response: a “Pocket-Knife”. I would think a person who is
handy with a knife could secure food, build things, defend himself/herself,
etc. I knife was a good answer worth a
few points. The response: “Matches” Ding!
Good answer. With matches you can
create fire to cook and stay worm or to stave off predatory animals. These
are all great answers.
Weirdly, in the context of what I
would like to talk about this morning, I would have to say I would take with me: “The Bible”.
That is what any good pastor would take on a deserted Island – sure! The Bible!
Why the Bible? It might not be practical but I assume there
will be a lot of time for reading and reflection on a deserted Island – so the Bible offers comfort and
hope. The Bible teaches about those who,
historically, lived in exile, on desert lands, hopeless. The Bible teaches those who are stranded or lost
and alone how to survive, if not physically, spiritually! If stranded and isolated on a deserted Island , perhaps I would turn to our text
this morning that talks of “treasures”. As
a transition into my sermon today: What
treasures would you want to have with you if stranded on a deserted island?
I.
Breaking
our scripture today into three sentences: The first sentence:
‘Do not store for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves
break in and steal’
It has long been said,
particularly to those who might like to hoard their money or possessions, there
is no need for all of the earthly treasures we tend to accumulate—at least when
it comes to what God gives us. When we
die we cannot take anything with us. We
do our best to provide for those who survive us but we cant’ take anything with
us. Ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
In contrast, it’s hard
to part with our ‘stuff’ – all the bits and pieces of ‘material goods’ that
make life a little bit easier for us.
Thinking
about the ‘stuff’ we like to acquire: I
was watching one of those home improvement shows last week. This family had so many appliances in his
$30,000 gourmet kitchen. I
don’t know how there could be room in this kitchen for any cooking with all the
‘stuff’ – two dishwashers and two trash compactors; a garbage disposal and toaster and blender and juicer; a flat-screen television, refrigerator and
wine cooler and a radio and computer; a six burner stove, two ovens (one a
convection oven), a large commercial size microwave and yes, throw in two
kitchen sinks – one just for washing
vegetables. I was wondering how much
POWER it would take to run all these appliances. I would hope they wouldn’t all be turned on
at once!
Now I am moving out of
my church office: Nancy and I had a
serious conversation about the burden of having too much stuff if something
were to happen to either one of us. In
thinning or weeding out my stuff these past few weeks: Do I really need a copy of every worship
bulletin and newsletter and sermon—going back 28 years? The only things I kept were my cross
collection, some books, pictures and mementos, a collection of hymnals and Bibles! Wow! I
still have a lot of stuff!
While it is only
natural to keep some things, the question must be asked: What do we keep and use that is
spiritual? And this stewardship question: What do we use to give back to a God who in
the end gives us everything? What time
do we give back to God? What talents do
we share? What do we contribute
financially? All questions that relate
to our being stewards of all God has given us.
The second sentence
from our scripture:
‘….but
store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust
consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal.’
This is down-to-earth
and practical scripture. Thinking in
terms of what we store in our minds and hearts….moth nor rust can never consume
any of the fond memories I have in being your pastor. Nobody can break in or steal our most
meaningful experiences. As I said to you
a couple of weeks ago, you will be in my heart as I pray to be in yours! Fond memories cannot be retired! What we can do? Create new memories!
The third sentence –
core stewardship theology:
‘
For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
There are dozens of references,
mostly from the Psalms, as to what God places in our hearts:
Psalm
51: 10 “Create in me, God, a clean
heart….”
Proverbs
3:5 “Trust the Lord with all your
heart….”
Matthew
5:8 “Blessed are the pure in
heart….”
Philippians
4: 7 “The God of peace will guard
our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
John
14: 27 “Let not your hearts be
troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
What do we give God
from the heart? Nobody has figured out
how to send out quarterly statements that measure what we give from the heart.
Truly, God wants to be
part of all that flows through us physically and mentally and spiritually. God wants to be part of all that flows through
our hearts – which is symbolic of life itself.
For whenever we make reference to the HEART we are really talking about
–
The Psalmist proclaims: “The
earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it”
(Psalm 24:1). As people of faith we’re called to be stewards over creation—literally—everything. This is what some have called “Advanced
stewardship” is in recognizing the gifts we give must go not only to support
the church but also the poor and disenfranchised of the world. Tithes and offerings that go to promote, in
the name of Jesus, the work for justice and peace among the suffering of he
world.
This is a scriptural
mandate, “advanced stewardship”, found in the book of Isaiah that
proclaims:
“Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free……
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free……
…
to share our bread with the hungry,
and bring the homeless poor into our homes;
when you see the naked, to cover them …
and bring the homeless poor into our homes;
when you see the naked, to cover them …
… to let our light break forth like the dawn?”
“HERE I AM”, is what Isaiah
says in serving the people with justice in giving freedom to the oppressed.
“HERE I AM” is what we
say as members and friends of this church, in ‘loosing the bonds of injustice,
undoing the thongs of the yoke.”
“HERE I AM” is what we
say to the children of this community we serve through programs of this church
and community programming. “HERE I AM” is what we say with the donations we invest in helping the hungry served through the East Side Soup Kitchen.
“HERE I AM” is what we
say with contributions and physical labor in helping to build or refurbish Habitat for Humanity homes.
“HERE I AM” is what we
say with every nickel and dime and check that goes into the offering plate –
with every act of kindness offered those in need.
“HERE I AM” is what we
say to God with open hands….heart in our hands….in giving glory to God, Soli
Deo Gloria….Glory to God alone!
As a church of stewards
of an all in life God has given us, we reach out to others with the greatest of
all gifts: THE GIFT OF FAITH KNOWN TO US
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.
“HERE I AM” is what we
offer God, through faith in Jesus Christ, knowing that we can and do and will make
a difference in the lives of others…now and in the future.
Perhaps the most
valuable of all treasures we carry with us at all times: FAITH THAT GOD WILL ALWAYS TAKE CARE OF US….AS WE WORK AS STEWARDS OF GOD’S
GIFTS TO CARE FOR THE WORLD OF PEOPLE WHO NEED TO
EXPEREINCE GOD’S JUSTICE IN RECEIVING GOD’S LOVE—ALWAYS IN THE NAME OF JESUS
OUR LORD.
Amen.
