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If we speak for Jesus and ignore money we have lost a good share of His message. But more than that we have forgotten the power of God to transform and to heal that Jesus came to bring us. |
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Jesus' Hard Words About Money
Last night I had a
conversation with our sexton, who belongs to a Roman Catholic
congregation and serves on the finance committee. He was sadly
telling me they may have to close their school because they cannot
afford it anymore.
He was very sad about it.
He talked about the priest in his parish and his commitment to the
school. But then he also said that the pastor doesn't like to talk
about money. Now here is a problem.
In the gospel lesson for
last Sunday Jesus says, "Those who are well have no need of a
physician but those who are sick."
A pastor who doesn't talk
about money is like a doctor who has some diseases he or she doesn't
like to discuss. Our relationship with money is one of the best
indicators of our spiritual health. Two-thirds of everything that
Jesus had to say related to money. So I do not believe a pastor has
a right to ignore the topic.
Okay it may not make us
any more popular with our congregations than a doctor who has to
share a bad diagnosis, but speaking the truth is necessary for
healing to take place.
I got the feeling that the
pastor of his parish would be a lot more popular with this sexton if
he would have taken the responsibility given to him to address the
spiritual well-being of his congregation as it pertains to money.
If we speak for Jesus and
ignore money we have lost a good share of His message. But more
than that we have forgotten the power of God to transform and to
heal that Jesus came to bring us. Saying the hard words about money
often opens people us to this healing power like opening up a wound
to healing.
I told this sexton that in
my previous career as a pediatric nurse, I had to sit with families
and talk about a fatal diagnosis of their child; talking about money
is no more unpleasant than that.
It is possible in part
that because this pastor refused to talk about money with his
congregation he how has the unpleasant talk of talking about the
fatal diagnosis of one of their ministries.
And his people may have
missed out on the great joy of being a part of that ministry through
their commitment to giving back of what God has given them, of truly
being a part of the generosity of God.
Tithing has been a
blessing to me and so I have no problem inviting you to be a part of
that which has blessed me. As pastors we all need to learn how to
invite people into that blessing.
Lord,
Teach us to give and teach us to talk about it, to share our stories of healing that others might live. Amen Copyright (c) 2003, The Rev. Dana Reardon. Used by permission. The Rev. Dana Reardon (Mspastor@aol.com) is pastor at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Warwick, RI. A lifelong Lutheran, she came to ordained ministry after 21 years in nursing, mostly in pediatric intensive care. She graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1998 and served 4 ½ years in Upstate New York before becoming a New Englander. She is still trying to understand the accent. While in the Upstate New York Synod she chaired the Stewardship Team. That began her fascination with what makes stewards -- and more, what makes for generosity. She has three amazing daughters: Pastor Izzo says much of what she knows of life she learned from them.
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