June 22, 2021

The concept of stewardship is not simply a sermon that the Conference urges me to preach once a year—which I ignore anyway because you are a very generous group. It is also not necessarily just about a monetary collection. Instead, it could easily be about the sharing of our gifts and offerings of grace, stewarding what we have been given in a way that gives glory to God. This week’s Gospel reading (Mark 5:21-43) shows Jesus’ example of patient grace and loving healing as He is trying desperately to get to the home of a dying young girl,but He keeps getting stopped by those in need of His help. Yet He never fails to stop and help them because He is gathering up those who are calling out for Resurrection and for acceptance.


So, who is interrupting us with their needs and their cries? Who has been left on the margins because of things beyond their control and is reaching for a way into the community? How do we make space? How do we stop our busy, headlong rush to accomplish our tasks (which might be good things in and of themselves) and find time to be touched by another’s need? How do we make space in our hearts for the hurting of this world, just like Christ did?
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Often, people say to me that they want to help but they don’t know how or where. They, like me, are suspicious of people on the street who ask for funds or requests for help through mail or email. It is good to remember, however, that helping doesn’t always have to be about money. Stewardship is about realizing how much we have already received in grace from our Lord and the joy we have in living that out. It is about learning how to be present to the world around us as a way of being present to God. It is a celebration of all that God has poured into us and how we have been claimed from the margins, so that we can then partner with God’s Spirit in doing the same for others. It is about giving what we have been given.



Your friend in Christ, Rev. Ernest
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