Stewardship

1990 (Year A), 17 June /
Pentecost 2

St Matthias Stoke Newington

Corpus Christi is a celebration of our Unity, our unity as sharers in the body of Christ and our unity in longing for the kingdom of God. It’s a very profound unity. But as, you look around at this gathered congregation the first thing you will see is not our unity but our many, many differences... some are older, some younger, some are black, some white, some are fat, some thin. All of us have different lives and different stories to tell.

I was born in the north of England and as a young boy sang in the church choir. We had to go at least twice on Sunday, or we didn’t get paid. The evening service in particular was staggeringly boring. The sermon lasted at least 20 minutes, and for the most part seemed completely irrelevant to us.

To make time pass more quickly we used to make paper aeroplanes out of the sheets which had the hymn numbers on. Then we used to fire them up and down the choir stalls. Occasionally a supremely successful one would zoom out from the choir stalls into the middle of the chancel. But then horror of horrors it could be seen by the adult members of the choir sitting in the stalls behind us. At that point one of them would reach over and whack us on the back of the head with a leather glove. ‘You’re not here to enjoy yourselves,’ they would hiss, ‘Just sit still and behave.’

I went back to that church earlier this year with my family and the person who whacked me most of all collapsed in church. It was difficult not to think that at last some divine retribution was taking place. At last she was getting what she deserved.

‘You’re not here to enjoy yourselves,’ the words are still with me. They ring in my ears. ‘You’re not here to enjoy yourselves.’ We weren’t allowed to make paper planes in church but there were other things we couldn’t do either. We couldn’t talk about money. The good people of Leeds would’ve been appalled if a member of the clergy had got into the pulpit and told them that it was about time that they put their hands in their pockets and gave more money. It would’ve been the same as saying something rather rude. You were not there to enjoy yourself but at least your misery was free.

Well I’m here today to tell you that a great many things have changed. One of them is that you are indeed here to enjoy yourselves, for that is what God longs for. The other thing is that you are here to give your money.

What’s more, gone are the days when 10p was an adequate weekly contribution to the work of the church. 10 pence wouldn’t pay for the brochure you’ve had printed for this Stewardship Programme. 50 pence wouldn’t even pay for the nails we’ve had to order for Father Cyril’s coffin.

What will happen over the next couple of weeks is that you will be asked to think deeply about how much you are prepared to give towards the costs that this church incurs. You won’t be asked to give away so much that either you or your family go without, that would be irresponsible, nor do we want you to give so little that you hardly miss it, that would be selfish.

What we want you to do is give realistically, responsibly and prayerfully. We don’t want you to make promises that you’ll never keep or that mean nothing to you. And the visitors aren’t coming round to make you feel guilty.

What the people who we commission in a few minutes will do is encourage you to assess your giving for giving is a very special and important activity. It’s not something to be undertaken lightly but it’s not a dirty word either. It is truly divine. Our giving mirrors the gifts we have already received from God, and it’s made in response to those gifts.

Those gifts which our divine Father offers us are creative, they are sustaining and they are costly, for they called us into being, they have developed us up until now and they have as the bible says – ‘become for us the source of eternal salvation for all who put their trust in him.’

We are privileged to be able to mirror these gifts, given us by God, in the ministry of the church here at St Matthias. With our own talents we can call into being new forms of ministry. You may discover things in the next few weeks that you never thought you could do. With your own gifts you can sustain the ministry already in existence in your church school. We would encourage you at all times to give sacrificially, giving freely of your time and your money.

Yet something strange happens to our brains when we begin to think about what we should give to the church in terms of money and time. Somehow we switch off, and standards that are very different from those we use in ordinary life begin to take over. We think, for a start, that it will all be done by somebody else. We don’t need to give because the Church Commissioners will take care of that. Maybe we think that the more wealthy members of the congregation will pay our share. Anybody but us. We assume that the call to make choices and decisions about how much we’ll give to the church in terms of time and money can be put off safely for another day. Well I’m also here today to say that the decision can’t be put off any longer. The time for excuses is long gone.

Here’s a story about a man who made excuses.

The Lord said to Noah. ‘Where is the Ark I commanded you to build?’ And Noah said, ‘Verily I have had three carpenters off sick. The gopher wood supplier hath let me down – yea even though the gopher wood hath been on order for nigh upon twelve months. The damp course specialist hath not turned up.’ And God said to Noah, ‘I want the Ark finished before seven days and seven nights.’ Noah said ‘It will be so’. But it was not so.

The Lord said unto Noah, ‘What seems to be the problem now?’ And Noah said, ‘My subcontractor hath gone bankrupt. The pitch for the outside of the Ark hath not arrived. The glazier departeth on holiday for Majorca, yea even though I offered him double time. She hath formed himself a pop group with his brothers Ham and Japheth. Lord I am undone.’ And the Lord grew angry and said, ‘What about the animals, two of every sort I have offered to come to be kept alive. Where for example are the giraffes?’ And Noah said, ‘They have been delivered to the wrong address, but should be here by Friday.’

And the Lord said to Noah, ‘Where are the monkeys, and the elephants, and the zebras?’ Noah said, ‘They are expected today.’ The Lord said, ‘How about the unicorns?’ And Noah wrung his hands and wept, ‘O Lord, they are a discounted line. Thou knowest Lord, Thou knowest how it is.’

And the Lord said, ‘Noah, my son, I know how it is. Why else dost thou think I have caused a flood?’

I hope that your Stewardship Programme is successful. I hope that it will be a time for you to make good decisions and choices, not a time for excuses and putting things off. Not a time for leaving things to others and hoping that they will be done for you. I pray that you will all find the appropriate way to give back to God some of the good things he has given to you. AMEN