We should all remember the
story from Luke's Gospel: at the gate of the
rich man lay poor Lazarus
covered with sores who "longed to fill himself with
the scraps that fell from
the rich man's table. Dogs even came and licked his
sores." (Lk. 16: 19-22)
When Lazarus and the rich man both died, angels
carried Lazarus to the "bosom
of Abraham" while the rich man was buried and
suffered the torments of
Hades.
The story of Lazarus and
the rich man speaks to us on many levels and
conveys the central messages
of Christian stewardship. First it reminds us
not to ignore the poor in
our midst, at our own doors. And this, of course,
through support of Catholic
Charities, is one of the primary ministries of
the Bishop's Stewardship
Appeal. The story also calls on us to be good
stewards of God's gifts
to us. The rich man did not understand that all he
was and everything he had
was a gift from God. Christian stewardship is about
a spirituality of giving
and sharing God's gifts. It is an attitude of
selflessness. We should
not be selfish with a God who is not selfish with us.
The U.S. Bishops'
Pastoral on Christian stewardship calls on us to share
God's gifts "lovingly in
justice with others."
But the rich man did not
share even the scraps which fell from his table
with poor Lazarus. How many
of us do a little better but still share only our
"leftovers" with God. The
story of Lazarus should remind us of the principle
of sacrificial giving. Christian
stewardship is intentional, planned,
proportionate giving of
our time talent and treasure. Because everything we
have comes from a God who
loves us completely, we should offer back to God in
thanksgiving the first portion
or "first fruits" of what we have been given.
Furthermore, our gifts should
involve a sacrifice. We do not give back to God
the "scraps" from our table.
And sharing our treasure should be done in a
responsible way. We should
regularly and consistently give a percentage of
our income to our parish,
to the Bishop and to the poor.
At this time of the annual
Bishop's Stewardship Appeal, Bishop Baker has
asked that we consider giving
1% of our income to the needs of the Diocese.
For some, such a gift might
be too great a sacrifice; for others it might
hardly be noticed. The amount
or percentage is less important than the
decision and commitment
to begin the journey to full stewardship.
And while it is true that
our financial contributions serve many
important needs in the Diocese,
the essence of Christian stewardship does not
depend on the need of the
Church to receive. It is based on our need to give.
True stewardship is proactive,
not reactive. It is a call to discipleship and
conversion. Christian stewardship
is an attitude or a way of life. And when
we take the first steps
on the journey to full Christian stewardship we find
that it is a liberating
experience. We experience the joy of sharing with God
the fruits of the many blessings
he has showered upon us.
When we feel that we are
just ordinary men and women with nothing special
to offer our Church we should
remember that even the twelve chosen by Jesus
were ordinary men who failed
to understand Him on many occasions. But He
picked them to carry the
message -- ordinary, uneducated, fearful,
inconsistent, doubtful men.
Stewardship calls for us all to share ourselves,
to be a holy people, to
take the risk of walking with Jesus. We are all
called to be disciples and
caretakers of God's gifts.
We ask that you consider
the Bishop's Stewardship Appeal
prayerfully. Begin a conversation
in your hearts and homes about your own
commitment to Christian
stewardship. Start wherever you are now. Make the
commitment to begin the
journey to full stewardship. |
STEWARDSHIP
AND THE JOY OF SACRIFICIAL GIVING
