Christ Cathedral

We in the Episcopal Church are used to liturgical colors: green - Sundays after Pentecost, white - Easter and Christmas, red - Pentecost Sunday and Saints Days, blue - Advent, and purple - Lent. And we can always tell when November comes around that the clergy are going to preach about money.

Every once in awhile I notice something in a scripture passage that I have never seen before. It surprises me. I love it when that happens, although it is somewhat startling. When I think of how I previously understood today’s gospel reading, I always thought Jesus was just walking around the temple and caught a fleeting glimpse of a widow dropping a couple of coins in the offering plate. But then as I read verse 41, I was surprised by what I had not seen before. St. Mark writes that: "Jesus sat down opposite the treasury, and watched all the people putting money into the treasury."

What a discovery! Jesus purposefully sat down and watched? Really? According to Mark, Jesus did not inadvertently notice what people were giving – he intentionally found a seat that offered an excellent vantage point to actually watch people and what they gave.

This is not the Jesus I grew up with. In seminary, we were taught not to know what parishioners give to the church so as to show no favoritism and to model the kind of pastoral integrity that communicates that pastoral care is not "for sale." Our treasurer and our Stewardship chairman guard your privacy; the information regarding your giving. It is a sacred trust. And anyone gaining access to that information is breaking that trust. It is not tolerated.

So what are we to make of Mark’s story where Jesus intentionally and strategically places himself where he can watch what people contribute to the treasury? Maybe all my seminary professors were wrong and the clergy really should see and know what parishioners contribute in order to provide better leadership and more prophetic preaching when it comes to Christian Stewardship and Tithing. Have I raised your anxiety level sufficiently?

One Sunday a family was driving home from church. They all started to make comments about the worship service. The father said: "I sure didn’t like the sermon today. It was awfully boring." The mother said: "how about those hymns they picked out. I couldn’t sing any of them." But then the son chimed in, saying: "it wasn’t all that bad. After all, what do you expect for a dollar?"

Money is a subject that many people just don’t want to talk about. Most people figure that what they do with their money is their business, that it is a private matter. But as we read the bible, especially the New Testament, we quickly discover that what we do with our money isn’t just a private matter. Instead, it is a matter that concerns god very much.

That is what we see in our gospel reading. One day Jesus watched as different people came by and put money into the collection box. This box was made out of metal. And as Jesus and his disciples sat there, they noticed that some wealthy people put large amounts of money into the collection box. And as they did, the metal box rattled and clinked as the coins went inside, so that everyone around took notice of it.

But Jesus told his disciples that a person doesn’t have to be rich to be able to give something meaningful. He called attention to a little old lady, as she dropped two small coins into the collection. When she had done that, Jesus told his disciples that she had given far more than all the others. What did he mean by that? They had seen how much the others had put in. They had heard the noise of all those metal coins as they dropped into the container. So how could Jesus say that the old lady had put in more? They couldn’t even hear her coins drop in.

The disciples were right. In terms of dollars, that woman had not put in much. But even so, Jesus pointed to her as an example to be followed. Jesus did that because he realized that after the rich people had put their money into the collection box, they still had a great deal of money left over that they kept for themselves. But when that poor widow put her money into the box, she put in everything that she had. Jesus was forcing his disciples to consider who made the more faithful gift: the rich people who made their gift and still went home rich, or the poor woman who made her gift and kept nothing back. Which one of those gifts, asked Jesus, showed the greater trust in God?

Jesus accepted people no matter whether they were rich or poor. Because he knew that either way, people are in a position to be faithful with what they have. But sometimes, like the disciples, we start to think that it is only the rich people, who are able to give large amounts of money that are important to the church. But Jesus says rich or poor, there is an equally important place in the church for everyone.

What Jesus showed his disciples was that God isn’t so much concerned with the amount of money that we give; instead, God is more concerned with what that amount says about our commitment to Him. Jesus criticized those who were simply giving from their surplus. They were giving what was left over. Because after they made their gift, they still had plenty leftover. When we are giving of the leftovers, giving what we don’t want, what does that say about our commitment to God? Because are we putting God first or further down our priority list.

When we receive the offering during worship, the point in doing that is not to just take in money so that we can pay the electric bill. No, the point of the offering is to give us an opportunity to put our money where our mouth is. It is an opportunity for us to show God where God stands in our lives. It is an important way of showing our commitment to God.

I love it that at the 10 a.m. service the Outreach basket is brought forward with the plate offering. It is an important sign of our call to serve others.

The Gospel reading has Jesus saying to us: "I would like it very much if you showed your commitment by what you give." Then God leaves it up to us to decide what we will actually do.

Where does God stand in your life? Is God first? Or is God somewhere a lot further down the list? That old widow didn’t have a lot of money to give, just two copper coins. But she gave what she could. What about us? Are we ready to add our coins - the true measure of our commitment?

I want to share with you something from our Stewardship chairman - Harry Smith. "Thoughts on Stewardship."

"Stewardship at Christ Cathedral can and will always be best described as simply the use of your time, talent, and treasure. Most people hearing this will truly feel that the only time we talk stewardship is October/November, and stewardship is always based upon the upcoming budget and the relentless plea for our treasure. Unfortunately, most people are right, and for good reason. In the past 20 years the cathedral has decreased in membership, and the costs of maintaining the facility and program have increased. Therefore, the plea for increasing the treasure portion of stewardship will obviously continue.

A perspective that is more correct is that 2010 can definitely be a defining year for the cathedral. We will need treasure and we will need your time and we will need your talent. Membership growth is a must. We all say this but do we spend time asking, greeting, or inviting others to enjoy our wonderful church. Every one has some sort of God-given talent that we should give back. The Montessori School and The Feed the Hungry are fantastic programs that time and talent have brought to our church and made very successful. We will also be calling a priest to be our dean and this priest will be asked to help grow our congregation and develop programs that will inspire growth. This person will not stand a chance without the congregation contributing time, talent and treasure.

2010 will challenge us as a congregation, and yes we will need your treasure, but that alone will not be enough. We will need your time and your talent; everyone needs to contribute all three T’s." Harry Smith.