September 19

SEPTEMBER 19, 2010

Midweek Musings

Stewardship

Reflection by Pastor Macholz

Following Jesus

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches the crowds and his disciples about their

relationship with God and their discipleship in the world. In these verses, Jesus speaks

about how God provides for our every need and how undue concern for our possessions

can get in the way of our living as his disciples.

Lessons

Isaiah 40:6-8

⁶A voice says, "Cry out!"
And I said, "What shall I cry?"
All people are grass,
their constancy is like the flower of the field.
⁷The grass withers, the flower fades,
when the breath of the LORD blows upon it;
surely the people are grass.
⁸The grass withers, the flower fades;
but the word of our God will stand forever.

Psalm 103:15-18

¹⁵As for mortals, their days are like grass;
they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
¹⁷But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children's children,
¹⁸to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.

2 Corinthians 9:6-9

⁶The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. ⁹As it is written,
"He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."

Matthew 6:25-33

²⁵Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? ²⁸And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. ³⁰But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you — you of little faith? ³¹Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' ³²For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Prayer of the Day

Almighty God, Lord of heaven and earth, we humbly pray that your gracious providence may give and preserve to our use the fruitfulness of the land and the seas; and may prosper all who labor therein, that we, who are constantly receiving good things from your hand, may always give you thanks, through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. Amen.

REFLECTION

Do you live out of a sense of scarcity or a sense of abundance? Whatever your answer is will dictate how you live out your life as a steward of God’s generosity.

Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount are instructive for us as disciples in relation to our worrying. I try not to but I must say it’s easier said than done!

We worry about our jobs and whether they’ll be there next week. We wonder how much longer we will have to work in order to build a large enough retirement fund. We are concerned about our children and what they will be when they grow up. How many more miles can we get out of our car? What is the pathology report going to reveal? How will we make ends meet? Will I be able to afford college for my children? How am I going to cover necessities for the rest of the week now that my cash flow is zero? You can add to the list, of that I’m sure.

The bottom line is to ask the question as to where our trust and hope lies in this life and the life to come. Jesus’ words remind us that what we need will be cared for as surely as God cares for the lilies of the field and the birds of the air. Don’t be concerned at all, he says, God will provide.

It is there that we begin and end our stewardship and our lives, knowing that and that alone. From there the only way is up!

LET US PRAY

For generous hearts and lives

For greater trust in God’s promise

That those who worry might find solace in God’s presence and love

To be bold in our proclamation of God’s love

To be prayerful in our response to God’s call

QUOTE

“When it comes to giving until it hurts, most people have a very low threshold of pain.” — Anonymous

“Seek joy in what you give not in what you get.” — Anonymous