Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost/Stewardship Sunday

October 17-18, 2009

“The Gift that Keeps On Giving”

Ecclesiastes 5:10-20

Grace, mercy and peace be unto you from God our heavenly Father, through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

              “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this is also vanity.  When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes?  Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.”

              “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness” – John D. Rockefeller.  “The care of [a great fortune] is enough to kill anyone; there is no pleasure in it” – W.H. Vanderbilt.  “I am the most miserable man on earth” – John Jacob Astor.  “I was happier when doing a mechanic’s job” – Henry Ford.  “Millionaires seldom smile” – Andrew Carnegie.  It would seem that the author of Ecclesiastes was on to something about those with money not being satisfied, or content; that the endless pursuit of wealth is vanity.  Perhaps it is vanity because the accumulation of wealth tends to lead to a very self-centered use of that wealth.  As the writer of our Old Testament lesson continues, “There is a grievous evil that I have seen under the sun: riches were kept by their owner to his hurt, and those riches were lost in a bad venture.  And he is the father of a son, but he has nothing in his hand.  As he came from his mother’s womb he shall go again, naked as he came, and shall take nothing for his toil that he may carry away in his hand.  This also is a grievous evil: just as he came, so shall he go, and what gain is there to him who toils for the wind?  Moreover, all his days he eats in darkness in much vexation and sickness and anger.”

              This was, in a sense, the problem for the rich young man in our Gospel lesson a week ago.  When Jesus told him to go, sell all his possessions and give to the poor, He was showing the young man that his wealth had become his god.  That was proven to be true when, as St. Mark told us, “he went away sad, because he had great wealth.”  Jesus then continues in today’s Gospel lesson, saying, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!...It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”

              Now, you may be thinking these passages don’t apply to you because you don’t consider yourself to be wealthy.  Well, by American standards, many of us may not qualify as wealthy.  But you don’t have to look very far to see those who are in poverty, or close to it.  It’s easy to talk about people in third-world countries, and the extreme poverty there; we only see pictures of that occasionally on television.  It’s in our own country.  Travel to the Appalachians as we did on our mission trip last year, or the Native American reservations out west, or the inner cities of America, and you’ll see real poverty.  For that matter, take a drive through parts of Michigan City that you may not normally go to, and you’ll see people at poverty level.  We keep hearing that the economy is in recovery, and I suppose that’s true in some places; but that recovery doesn’t seem to have hit northwest Indiana yet.  In these circumstances, many of us would have to take a look at what we have, and consider ourselves to be very blessed. 

              But for all of us, material possessions can become an idol, a god for us; they can become vanity in our lives.  It would seem that for those who have much, and for those who have little, contentment can be very elusive.  The temptation is always to want more than you have, until you reach the point at which the accumulation of wealth and possessions becomes the driving force in life.  It’s no wonder the Bible talks so much about money, and possessions, and what we do with them.  Clearly, it’s a topic God wants us to hear about, and an area of our lives that we often don’t want anyone to know about.  In fact, if we’re honest, we’d be happier if God Himself would mind His own business when it comes to such things.

              So here’s the bottom line, which we already know, but it bears repeating – everything you have is not really yours.  Everything: car, house, clothes, shoes, jewelry, television, computer, stereo, money, anything else you can think of; none of it is really yours.  All of it belongs to God.  It belongs to God because He created you, He blessed you with certain talents and abilities that allow you to earn money and buy all those things, so everything you have is a gift from God to you.  It’s all a blessing from Him.  And when we approach things from that standpoint, it changes everything.  We no longer ask, “What should I do with my money?”  Instead, we ask, “What should I do with the money God has given me?”  Or, “What should I do with the talents God has given me?”  Or, “What should I do with this day that God has given me?”  Everything starts with God and His undeserved actions of grace and mercy toward us.  And that means everything we have, and every blessing we receive, is the result of Jesus Christ, and His work of redemption.  It all flows to us from the cross.

              After Jesus told the disciples that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God, they asked the natural question, “Then who can be saved?”  “Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man it is impossible, but not with God.  For all things are possible with God.’”  In Christ, we are reconciled to God, our sins forgiven, and able to receive His blessings with praise and thanksgiving.  It is the forgiveness, life and salvation won for us by Christ in His death and resurrection, and delivered to us through His Word and Sacraments, that transform every aspect of our lives.  Through the lens of God’s grace, we understand our possessions in the way of the author of Ecclesiastes: “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.  Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil – this is the gift of God.  For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.”  This same idea was stated by the author of the book of Hebrews, who wrote, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for He has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” 

              Be content, because God has placed you where you are in life.  He gives all of us certain talents and abilities, and we all have a vocation that He calls us to.  We talk in the Church of pastors being called by God to serve, and that’s certainly true, but in the sense of vocation, all of us are called to something.  And in these vocations, these callings, God places us where we are in order to be His witnesses, and to use the material possessions He blesses us with to His glory and for the good of His kingdom.  That doesn’t mean we have to sell all our possessions to be followers of Christ.  We can use some of what God gives us for rest and leisure activities, as well as for our daily needs.  But we should certainly be giving something  back to God as a sign of our thankfulness to Him, not only in terms of money, but also in the use of our talents and our time.

              This topic of stewardship can make us uncomfortable for a variety of reasons, but it really doesn’t need to.  What you give, what you’re able to give, is between you and God.  It’s an act of worship to give an offering; an act of thanksgiving to God to give of your time and abilities for service to others, both in the Church and through various charities in the community.  God has blessed us with all that we need to sustain this body and life; and most importantly, He has blessed us with forgiveness, life and salvation through Jesus Christ.  Our redemption through Him is the gift that keeps on giving, and inspires us to serve others with His love and mercy by giving freely of our time, our talent, and our treasure.  Freely you have received; freely give.  And to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be all the glory, both now and forevermore.  Amen.

The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep both your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  Amen.