This is the first of several sermons on stewardship. Yes, it coincides with the fact that pledge cards for next year are being sent out to every household. Yet it will be a sermon series not merely because of pledge cards. It is a sermon series because the topic of stewardship includes not only the household tithe for next year’s budget, but really the entire attitude we have toward the One, Holy Church and her local embodiment, this very church of Saint Paul in New Smyrna Beach where we are worshiping. To flesh that out will take a number of Sundays.
I want to begin by noting that one of the primary themes of Saint Mark’s gospel is creation. It is Mark’s argument that Jesus of Nazareth initiates a new creation, and is Himself the new creation: that the new creation is embodied in Him. Saint Paul picks this up in his teaching, that everyone who is in Christ is a new creation. The first words of Mark’s Gospel account are: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” and this was an intentional move by Mark to immediately bring to mind the Book of Genesis, which starts in a similar way, “In the beginning…”. Christ is the true beginning of the new creation, which is in Him. At the end of his Gospel, Mark describes the women at the empty tomb as full of astonishment. That is a translation of a Greek word, the root of which is our word “ecstasy,” but it has to do also with creation. That is shown by the fact that this same word “ecstasy” used to describe the holy women at Christ’s resurrection is the new word that Moses used in Genesis to describe Adam when God fashioned Eve from his rib, and Abraham when God was making a covenant with him, both moments of new creation.
If Christ is the new creation, and every person who is in Him is a becoming a new creation, our human destiny, our vocation, the way God called (and calls) us into existence, is to become partners or agents of Christ’s new creation, ambassadors for Christ, that God makes His appeal to the world through us, His Church. Another image for this is that God has called us to be gardeners of His creation, the growth of the world and the people of the world into His new creation in Christ. And what do gardeners do but help things grow? It is patient work. It is work based upon hope—hope that the conditions will prevail and the flowers and fruits will bear forth. And indeed it is that thinking about the harvest that fuels the patient, arduous work.
Understanding the stewardship of this parish means seeing ourselves, seeing this congregation, as gardeners. God has brought each and every one of us here, to this Parish, to be gardeners of His new creation. God wants us to help Him bring about the increase of the harvest. God has called each of us forth to do in this Parish what gardeners do in their garden: help it grow. The Church asks of her members, and this church is asking of each one of us, to continue and even increase our tithes—to continue and even increase our offerings to the Parish of our time, our talent, and our treasure. Our tithe is not merely of money: it is of time, talent, and treasure. This is the patient work of the gardener in the time before the flowers and fruits come: tilling the soil, planting seeds, watering, pulling weeds, pruning, fertilizing, and all the rest. Without that work, there will never be beautiful flowers, ripe fruit—and so without our tithe of time, talent, and treasure, the garden here will not grow, but its holiness will wither away.
I said a moment ago that it is that image of the harvest that fuels the patient, arduous work. What such images can inspire us now to continue and even increase our tithe to the Parish? As your Rector I witness many inspiring images, and I know I am not alone in seeing them. We have a beautiful church, a truly holy house of God’s sacred presence and power. We have truly reverent worship, with real devotion to the Eucharist. We are a church that outwardly shows our inward adoration of God. We have a strong sense of outreach to those in need. We have daily activity on our church campus, in our Liturgy, our Fellowship ministries, our Preschool ministry. We have a growing and lively Atrium for our youngest members. These are images that keep us inspired.
Let me share another image that fuels me. It is that we are a parish that wants to learn about God. This is fresh on my mind because we started a new Bible study session on Saturday mornings, which came out of our Summer book study, and because I am soon to announce the subject of the Advent Sunday study. We are getting great turnout at these and our other formation opportunities. We are a parish that wants to learn about God, and we have the resources to provide a godly pedagogy that is wholesome, engaging, and comprehensive.
This is a very important thing. The importance is underscored in the concluding prayer in the Liturgy for Holy Baptism. To the newly baptized person, we ask God to give him “an inquiring mind and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love Thee, and the gift of joy and wonder in all Thy works.” As your rector, this is what I want our parish to support: a congregation with inquiring mind, discerning hearts, a courageous spirit that perseveres to know and love God, with the gift of joy and wonder in all of God’s works, and in God Himself, as He is known in the power of the Holy Spirit through His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. The secret of parish growth is spiritual growth in the existing congregation. This is because spiritual growth is the result of the Holy Spirit’s power. And the Holy Spirit acts especially in groups of people that decide to want to learn more about God. The questions that arise in these groups are heard not only by the priest or formation leader, but more importantly these questions are heard by God. And God always responds to the faithful, always responds to those who show they love Him and want deeper relationship with Him.
Having brought to mind all these different images of what our parish is and what it can be, let us put them together: A reverent, merciful, adoring congregation in a beautiful church with strong desire to know God—what an a garden, brothers and sisters. Implant this firmly in your mind and hearts as you receive this week the 2025 pledge cards. Growing this garden demands the patient work of time, talent, and treasure. But God wants His garden to grow, to flourish abundantly through Jesus Christ, Who with the Father and the Holy Ghost lives and reigns, ever one God, world without end. Amen.
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