Biblical Reflections on Stewardship

1. Money as a spiritual force

Scripture
Please read these passages several times and listen carefully to hear what the passage may be saying to you at this particular time. Live with the scripture for a while beforeyou think about the questions.

Matthew 6:19-34
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is [a]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is [b]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the lightthat is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [c]wealth. The Cure for Anxiety
25 “For this reason I say to you, [d]do not be worried about your [e]life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the [f]air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor
gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

27 And who of you by being worried can add a single [g]hour to his [h]life? 28 And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 

29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then,saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’32 For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these
things. 33 But [ i ]seek first [j]His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things willbe [k] added to you.
34 “So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will [l]care for itself. [m]Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Luke 21:1-4
The Widow’s Gift
21 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.2 And He saw a poor widow putting [a]in two [b]small copper coins. 3 And He said,“Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 4 for they all out of their [c]surplus put into the [d]offering;
but she out of her poverty put in all [e]that she had to live on.”

Questions:
Note that the prescription is to use one’s treasure to move one’s heart to the right place and not vice versa. What does this statement tell us about the role of our pledge to the church?
What does it mean to be full of light or full of darkness and what does our money have to do with it? Were the Pharisees using their tithes to move their hearts to a place of light rather than of darkness? Was the widow? Are we?
Does the total amount of money pledged describe the success or failure of annual pledging, or is there some other, better measure?

2. The tithe
General Convention has repeatedly reaffirmed the tithe as the standard of annual giving to God’s Church for Episcopalians, but raising the tithe in a discussion of stewardship often provokes anxiety and resistance or worse.

Scripture: Deut. 14:22-29
22 “You shall surely tithe all the produce from [a]what you sow, which comes out of the field every year. 23 You shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your
herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 If the [b]distance is so great for you that you are not able to [c]bring the tithe, since the place where the Lord your
God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the Lord your God blesses you, 25 then you shall [d]exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 You may spend the money for whatever your [e]heart
desires: for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your [f]heart [g]desires; and there you shall eat in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your
household. 27 Also you shall not neglect the Levite who is in your [h]town, for he has no portion or inheritance among you.
28 “At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your [ i ] town. 29 The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance
among you, and the alien, the [j]orphan and the widow who are in your [k]town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
It is interesting that the purpose of the tithe in the Hebrew Scriptures is always to “learn to fear the Lord your God always.” The use of the tithe varied. It was used to support the Levites, the priestly class who could not own land and, therefore, who could not generate their own income (see Numbers

18:21-24 as well as the Deut.
passage above). It might be used to support resident aliens, orphans, and widows, or it might be used for a big party! No matter how the tithe was used, its purpose was to remind the people of their dependence on, and subservience to, God.

Scripture: 

Luke 21:1-4; Matthew 23:23; Luke 18:9-14
Luke 21:1-4

The Widow’s Gift
21 And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury.2 And He saw a poor widow putting [a]in two [b]small copper coins. 3 And He said,“Truly I say to you, this poorwidow put in more than all of them; 4 for they all out of their [c]surplus put into the [d]offering;
but she out of her poverty put in all [e]that she had to live on.”

Matthew 23:23
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and [a] cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.

Luke 18:9-14
The Pharisee and the Publican
9 And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself:
‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.12 I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector,standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast,
saying, ‘God, be [a]merciful to me, the sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
As with other laws from Hebrew scripture, Jesus teaches that it is not enough to follow the laws as a legalistic ritual. Instead, one must strive to meet the spirit of the law, a standard much harder to attain.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
1 Corinthians 16:1-3

Instructions and Greetings
16 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to[a]put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, whomever you may
approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;

2 Corinthians 9:6-15
6 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows [a]bountifully will also reap [b]bountifully. 7 Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed; 9 as it is written, “He scattered abroad, he gave to the poor,
His righteousness [c]endures forever.” 10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the [d]saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. 13 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God
for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your [e]contribution to them and to all, 14 while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
Paul counsels the people of the church in Corinth to put aside “whatever extra” they earn, and that their offerings should be joyful and carefully considered (“…as you have made up your mind…”), and should be made confidently and thankfully in response to God’s generosity

Questions:
Should we be telling people to “Give until it hurts.”?
Is there a difference between funding our parish budget and encouraging people to be faithful to Jesus’ teaching? If we were successful in the latter, do you think we would automatically succeed in the former?
Should we commit ourselves to tithing? Would the terms “intentional” (meaning carefully and prayerfully considered) and “proportional” (meaning an amount appropriately large or small relative to the resources under our control) communicate Jesus’ and Paul’s teaching better than the word “tithe”?