To be baptised means becoming part of the Body of Christ. It means becoming a son or daughter of God, party of the community that we call Church. With belonging comes both the opportunity and obligation to participate in the life of the faith community, to serve as needed, and to support her financially. This is why the Christian community speaks of a stewardship of time, talent and treasure.
All is gift from God, and we called to use each of those gifts in service. In 1 Peter 4: 10 we are told:
“Each of you should use whatever gifts you have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God’s
grace in its various forms.”
The invitation to stewardship is firstly an invitation to acknowledge your own giftedness, in three
areas of your life.
Firstly, we all have time, which is actually one of the world’s most limited resources. To commit time
to anything is a value statement. When we commit time to going to the gym, or date night with your partner, or movie night with children, or coming to mass or adoration or the school of prayer here at church, or volunteering to make soup for the homeless, or visiting the sick and elderly, we are saying something about what we value. How much of your time have you committed to things of faith, whether it is prayer at home, coming to mass, or other church events, or acts of service?
In addition to your time, you have been gifted with talents. Your talents may be in organisational matters, or communications, or in financial management, or fundraising, or in leading prayer, or in music, or reading aloud, or making people feel welcomed, or in gardening, or in teaching, or in a whole range of other things. These are also gifts that come from God. Do you use your giftedness, whatever it may be, in service to the members of your faith community? If you have a talent that you think could help the Church community in ways that we are not currently doing, bring your idea, and your time and talent forward and I will help you to establish the group or ministry or service in the parish.
The last of our giftedness that we have to share is our treasure. There are four types of people when it comes to the giving of their treasure. The first provides no financial support at all because they believe that they are entitled to whatever it the church provides. They do not believe that they are obligated in any way to support the community. We should just be grateful that they are here. A second gives what is in the purse in or in their wallet on the day that they attend church. There is no planning or prioritising of their support. If they haven’t been to the bank or don’t have any cash, they will give nothing. Good people, but maybe just a little thoughtless. The third is very similar to the second. This person is happy to contribute only as long as they are receiving something in return, and only in that moment of reception. It is like paying to attend a movie or a show or buying a meal at a restaurant. Payment tendered for services rendered is after all the rule for a consumerist society.
There is a fourth type of giver. This is someone who has prioritised their spending and ensures that in
their budgeting they have included support forthe church community. They also ensure that they
support the church whether they are in the church that weekend or visiting family or friends
elsewhere or away on holiday down at the coast. They believe they should be supporting the church
all the time and not just when they are physically present. Many of those have found that a recurring
debit order is the easiest way to do that.
The entitled, the thoughtless, the consumer, the dedicated giver – which one are you?
Each year we are encouraged to do an assessment of our lives, to reflect on how our life circumstances may have changed, and whether this year we are able to contribute more, or maybe have to contribute less of our time, talent and treasure to the community. I hope that the invitation to stewardship will lead you to reflect more deeply on how and where your call to service will be lived out.
