Stewardship is More than Money

Psalm 8
Colossians 3:12-17


Rockville United Church
The Rev. Suzanne Rudiselle

October 8, 2006

Steward: “a person who manages another’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another. A person who has charge of the household of another; one who waits on others and is responsible for their comfort.” (Webster’s New World Dictionary)

I hope you read the title of the sermon and saw that this is not about money! Not yet! Hang on - it’s coming another day. Today we’ll look at some of the ways we are called by God to act as stewards - managers, agents of other parts of our lives.

I have a star named after me. It’s quite an honor. However, it cannot be seen with the naked eye, and not even with a telescope in this area. With a little luck and a clear night with high magnification you can see it from the polar cap! It is Lynx RA 7h 4m 10s D61’ 18’ found in North Circumpolar Region on the SC2 constellation chart. Doesn’t that make your head swim? It’s awesome! There are so many stars that we have yet to see them, let alone name them, and that’s only part of God’s creation.

The Psalmist speaks with that same awe and wonder at what God has done in creation. His words not adequate as he attempts to describe the heavens and the earth and our assignment of caring for it. He can only say, “O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”

This is the God who has charged the human creation with caring for and managing the rest of the earth. We are called to be stewards of this creation. How are we doing? It’s an “inconvenient truth” that we have been contaminating the air and water, raping the land, diverting rivers, literally moving mountains in our ever- increasing attempt to control nature. We use corrupted fertilizers and ignore time honored practices of land use for the sake of expediency. We spew toxins into the atmosphere and heat the globe. What kind of stewards are we?

We are called to be stewards of God’s other creatures, but many species are disappearing at an alarming rate under our dominion. We’re responsible for them, and we’ve become callous as we take away more and more of their natural habitat, so that they have a shortage of water and food and shelter. Then we wonder why coyotes and bears are in our neighborhoods. As we contaminate the rivers we see mutants and dead fish; diminished clam and oyster beds; over-fished waters in the name of free enterprise. Barren hillsides loose soil where once there was forest. What kind of stewards are we?

We are called to be stewards of relationships with others, which flows from the relationship we have with God. This weekend friends came for a visit. They came knowing that another friend would probably die while they were here. They have been with her, tending her, bringing small gifts which evoke memories and smiles, and most of all bring themselves as an offering of friendship and love. Sometimes it is painful to care for another. It’s the discipline of loving the enemy as well as working for good of the down trodden that is hard! Being a steward of and for others requires compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, forbearance, forgiveness, love, all those gifts of the Spirit.

Sometimes it’s just a challenge to deal with the cranky ones. A family went to a restaurant and the 6 year old who offered to say grace. “God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if we get ice cream for dessert. And liberty and justice for all! Amen!”
Some around them smiled or laughed, but one woman spoke in annoyance, “That’s what wrong with this country. Kids today don’t even know how to pray. Imagine asking God for ice cream!”
The little boy burst into tears and asked, “Did I do something wrong? Is God mad at me?” His father assured him that he did a fine job and God was not mad. Then an older man came to the table and winked at the boy, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer.” “Really?” the little boy asked. “Cross my heart”, said the man and then he whispered, “Too bad that woman never asked God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”

Of course the father bought ice cream for dessert. The little boy stared at his for a moment, and then got up and walked over and placed his sundae in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, “Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes, and my soul is good already.”

Just as Jesus refrained from giving his disciples authority over other people, we are given only the power of Christ’s transforming love to share. His charge to them, and to us, is to go out as witnesses, empowered only to serve others, by alleviating suffering and espousing truth, forgiveness, and love. And for that we are given the fruits of the Spirit – and perhaps some ice cream to share.

We are called to be stewards of our bodies. Please sit up straight, breathe deeply, promise to exercise regularly, and never ever again eat delicious jelly filled donuts and luscious double chocolate cake! We know we should practice wellness and let peace rule your hearts, for our bodies are connected with our hearts and minds and spirits. They are the skin that we’re in and we need our bodies to be in good working order - temples of God for the work in God’s earthly realm. God has given us the possibility for whole- body- happiness. Our hearts and brains and guts are packed with neurons, which flood our bodies with powerful hormones, generating an electromagnetic field which connects us with others. Our bodies are filled with joy in meditating and allowing the Holy Spirit to touch our spirits, in making love, in eating Popsicles, or jumping on a trampoline
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I am soon going to my 50th reunion and I am planning to be a good steward of my body. The day before the event I will go on a starvation diet knowing that my accumulated weight and collection of cellulite will dissolve in 24 hours. Or do I need a corrective here?

What does is mean to be stewards of our minds? Reorienting ourselves, meditating on God, on goodness, on what makes us smile. Even if we are not sure we believe in God, we can do what Matisse said to do, “I don’t know if I believe in God or not …But the essential thing is to put oneself in a frame of mind which is close to that of prayer.” Sometimes our connection with God is a matter of discipline, and training our minds and our spirits to be open, so that God’s Spirit has access to our hearts. Our spirit is that deep abiding part of us, that into which God puts a yearning for God’s own Spirit.

From the works of Jung, Hillman, and others we understand the soul/spirit to be the very depth of a person; the seat of emotions and ties; the failures and fears, a sense of home and body, all intimate connections, dreams, loves, and reveries. It is what makes us human and unique. Do we even think about taking care of our souls - our inner beings?

We all know these things. The question is how to be good stewards of anything when some days we have trouble getting up and planting our feet on the floor. Ann Lamott writes, “One secret of life is that the reason life works at all is that not everyone in your tribe is nuts on the same day. Another secret is that laughter is carbonated holiness.” (Plan B, Further Thoughts on Faith.) Another not-so-secret is that when the world is falling down all around us it is time to be still, center ourselves and trust in God.

There is more, of course. We tend not be attentive to anything except ourselves when we are empty. The needs of others are blurred from our vision, the ache in our inner being cries out for attention and yet we march on with a stiff upper lip. One Brit wrote that “Americans are joyless people.” We are in a hurry to do something for the sake of doing something, or feel pressured to produce heaven knows what. So we chalk it up to an imbalance of serotonin, and we take a pill!

Norwegians are happier than Americans, and a young Norwegian doctor explained why. “The disc jockeys in Norway speak so much more slowly.” I don’t get his logic but the point about speaking slower is indicative of our systemic haste. Schizophrenics fare better and suffer fewer relapses in India than in the US according to the World Health Organization because social connections are more healing than pharmaceuticals. The answer is, slow down and connect!

Slow down, yes. But the key to being a steward is in our connection with the Source of Life. We are chosen by God to be God’s people, holy and beloved. We are called to be stewards of our relationship with God, not just in praise and reverence, but also in regular communication, in living with integrity, promoting justice for all people, struggling to love, even as we have been loved. That’s our response - ability. Augustine said that you have to start your relationship with God over every day. Every Day! A wise missionary once said, “If we don’t sit first at Jesus’ feet, we have nothing to give to others.”

There are practical things we do to practice being good stewards. Keeping a Journal of Gratitude brings a significant increase in sense of well being. Developing compassion, practicing small acts of kindness is a blessing to others and a buffer against depression and selfishness. We might adopt the Kabbalah Jewish mystical tradition of making the mundane holy - seeing that everything we experience has a divine root; praying, not because we will change things, but because prayer will change us and move us to another place.

Perhaps we could use the prayer of Rosemary Cunningham, “O Great Creator, Bless them, change me.” Or the Jewish prayer ‘Baruch atah adonai elohainu, melech ha olam.”(“Blessed be the Lord our God, ruler of the universe”) which is offered 100 times a day with thankfulness, praise, and awareness of God as source of all that is.

Or the Muslim “Prayer of the Heart” a repetition of the hundred names of Allah, the merciful, the almighty, the compassionate, the omniscient, etc.

Or do as the Dalai Lama and a group of Tibetan monks do, demonstrating the effects of deep meditation: - training the brain to be more compassionate, peaceful, and positive.

For Christians it may be focusing on scripture, maybe the Beatitudes, or a parable or praying Jesus‘ prayer, or simply sitting and waiting for the focus to come clear - taking time to listen, smell, taste, really see.

A steward is a person who manages part of God’s property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of that loving God. A person who has charge of the household of God on earth; one who waits on others and is responsible for their comfort in the name of Jesus Christ. Let it be so.