Dana Reardon -Extravagant Stewardship

Extravagant Stewardship

When I consider stewardship, it seems such an awesome responsibility that I want to be a good and faithful servant and steward of what God has given me. And so I often think of stewardship as being frugal and getting every possible use out of what God has given.

But I have been thinking this week that that is not the only measure of good stewardship. I preached a funeral sermon yesterday in which I remembered what we quote from John in our baptismal service. "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your father in heaven." Today I will hand a candle to a family having their baby baptized and say these words again.

Our job here on earth is to give others a glimpse into the kingdom. It is to let others see the good and gracious and loving Father in what we do and how we live.

Sometimes, I think, that is not about being frugal but about being extravagant, as our God is extravagant. For example, many of us debate and fret over whether to give to panhandlers whom we might rightly assume will be spending what we give them on alcohol or drugs.

It does not seem like good stewardship to be giving people money for such things. But I confess that I myself have not spent every penny God gave me wisely.

One man I knew thought he would buy a new pair of shoes for a street person who sometimes does odd jobs for him. The street person promptly sold the nice new shoes for money for a drink.

So was generous man foolish to buy the shoes? I am not so sure. The act of buying and giving the shoes tell this other soul, who lives on the street and has nothing, that someone cares about him.

There may be other reasons why people disapprove of handouts. Early in the last century when leaders were trying to organize the labor movement in this country, many denounced charity. They believed that people needed to get desperate enough to change their lives, and that working toward social justice could only be done if we did not give to others.

But I am convinced the Christian approach is much more messy than that. While we constantly struggle with the best way to make sure everyone is fed and housed and cared for, while we work for economic justice, we also use what God has given us for what seems much less practical and yet much more necessary. We give so that others might feel the hand of God upon their lives. We give so that others may know someone loves them. We give so others through us might know the love of Christ.

Lord God,
May I be a reflection of you today. May I see your people in need of things but also of your love. You have given me so much of both, teach me to share.
Amen

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 Reardon says much of what she knows of life she learned from them.