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Sermon by Nutt Powell
Cathedral of St. Paul, Brookline, MA
Radio program of 12 November 2000

22nd Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 27 - Mark 12:38-44

This is a stewardship sermon.

Of course every sermon is implicitly a stewardship sermon, because sermons are how we talk about God, God's gifts to us, and what we're going to do.

Stewardship is the "gifts and doing" part of that equation.

However there is nothing implicit about this sermon and stewardship.

There will be no need for you to infer the message.

Indeed, because this is on the radio, I'll begin with sound bites. Truth be told, these sound bites probably are sufficient.

#1 - Stewardship is faithraising, not fundraising.
#2 - Stewardship is learning about living by giving.
#3 - Stewardship is a 12-step program for humans.

Let me repeat this holy trio.
#1 - Stewardship is faithraising, not fundraising.
#2 - Stewardship is learning about living by giving.
#3 - Stewardship is a 12-step program for humans.

Ponder these a moment, because I won't explain them. A good sound bite stands on its own.

The key words are: faithraising, giving, 12-steps. They will be helpful as we consider today's Gospel text.

It is apparently a stewardship text. The poor widow, giving everything. And the contrast with the "rich and famous", ostentatiously parading up and making their contributions, apparently large, but in fact of only marginal impact on their lives and fortunes.

But, does this mean what it says, literally? Are we also to "put in everything we have"?

I believe the answer is Yes.

Here is why I believe that.

Last week's Gospel was the 1st and greatest commandment and its next of kin
Love God, Love yourself, Love your neighbor.

The commandment is explicit:
Love God with ALL your heart, ALL your soul, ALL your mind, ALL your strength

ALL is the operative word.

All means ALL, everything, nothing held back, unabashed total unreserved love.

And that, my friends, is faith in action.

That, my friends, is stewardship.

Every moment, every action, every thing is a gift of and to God.

ALL means ALL. All means exactly what the poor widow did.

Each moment of our lives we give to God, everything that we have, everything that we are.

This makes stewardship THE standard of life.

Stewardship is not the 10% to the Church, and then get on with your real life.

Stewardship is your real life. All of it. The entire 100% .

It is all your time, all your talents, all your money, living your life with God and for God and because of God.

ALL means ALL.

It is getting everything clear and sensible, getting your life in order.

A young woman I know, Sue, made it clear to me. Sue is a young single mother. She works a check out counter. She has at best a modest income. Sue says, "When I get my pay check, if I write the first check to the church, there is always enough for everything. But if I write the first check for what I want, there isn't enough for anything, including the church."

And so there it is. God first, last, all ways.

And when that is how things are, there is abundance.

True life, the life worth living, comes from loving God first.

When first things are first, then everything makes sense.

Here are some examples:
The "tithe" means the best off the top, and from earliest Biblical times tithing had a literal connection to food. So take yourself and your kids to the grocery store. (Where better to literally see abundance!) Use coupons and buy the store advantage deals. You'll see that you can buy everything you need in your budget AND you'll have at least 10% more to take to the Food Basket!

I am in the housing business. Here are some examples from that world. If you're a carpenter or electrician or plumber, hammer for wire or pipe for Habitat for Humanity. If you're a lawyer, hammer the lenders! If you're a lender, recognize that the Community Reinvestment Act makes fundamental business sense and is the right thing to do.

Whatever your job, dedicate each action to God. Before each phone call, each meeting, each trip, each new assignment, each new customer, each new order to fill, say this small prayer, God be with me, and then be ready for God's being with you.

As in your job, so also your personal life. The happy moments, the sad moments, the times of crisis and the times of triumph. Every moment is God's, and is possible because of God, and is given to God. Every moment, even the angry one's with children or parents or former spouses, need to begin and end with the "God be with me" prayer.

In short, make ALL mean ALL in your life and work.

Our life of faith exists ALL the time. It is not like Sunday go to meeting clothes, worn only occasionally for rituals. Our faith is not given on the margin. We wear our faith every moment, every day. When we do so intentionally, when it is truly "God be with me" That is stewardship.

And here is the "Big G" Good "Big N" News. When you do that, when ALL really is ALL, then God is truly with you, and the more you give, the more you have.

Amen.