"[L]et us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise,

that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have;

God is pleased by sacrifices of that kind."

This is the second part of a five-part series on stewardship. In this insert we will take a look at what God has communicated to us regarding our relationship to him as stewards of his gifts, and what rights and responsibilities this entails. This will give us some basis by which to contemplate how we can incorporate stewardship into the use of our own gifts of time, talent, and treasure.

The first step in beginning to live a life of stewardship is to recognize what a steward is, and what that implies. The term "steward", is a Hebrew/Christian concept that is intimately tied to an understanding of our relationship with God. We see this relationship in Jesus’ parable of the talents (Mt. 25:14-30; Lk. 19:12-27), in which the master, God, entrusts his possessions to us, his servants, whose responsibility is to make these talents fruitful in his absence. As the parable unfolds, we see that those who took proper responsibility over what was entrusted to them were entrusted with more. The wicked and lazy servant has what he was given taken away from him and given to the others, while he is thrown into the darkness outside. Although there is much more to be gleaned from this parable, what is important to us right now is the presupposition in this parable that what we have is given to us by God.

Why are we given these gifts? If we reread the Scripture quote at the top of this column, we see the answer. God gives us what we have, not only for our own sake, but also for the sake of others. In other words, our goods are destined first of all for the whole human race (Catechism, #2402). "[I]n his use of things man should regard the external goods he legitimately owns not merely as exclusive to himself but common to others also, in the sense that they can benefit others as well as himself" (Gaudium et spes, Documents of Vatican II, 69, 1). Likewise, St. Gregory the Great, who tells us that "when we attend to the needs of those in want, we give them what is theirs, not ours. More than performing works of mercy, we are paying a debt of justice" (Regula Pastoralis, 3,21). Our heavenly Father generously allows his adopted children the opportunity, through His gifts, to participate in His offering of love to the world. We are therefore responsible for making our gifts fruitful in bringing everyone into his Holy Family.

Now this comes as a shock to most people. We are used to thinking of ourselves as self-sufficient, creators of our own destiny and owners of all we have rightfully accumulated. As such, we consider ourselves as having full rights as to how we use what we have gathered. Biblically, though, the reality is much different. We are managers of these goods, given to us for a short while, and for which we will be responsible for using well. King David recognized this. In setting aside goods and precious metals with which to build the Holy Temple, he himself gave his personal fortune in gold and silver. Yet in all this, he did not presume to be giving to God anything that was not already his:

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should have the means to contribute so freely? For everything is from you, and we only give you what we have received from you. . . . O Lord our God, all this wealth that we have brought together to build you a house in honor of your holy name comes from you and is entirely yours. . . . With a sincere heart I have willingly given all these things, and now with joy I have seen your people here present also giving to you generously. O Lord , God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, keep such thoughts in the hearts and minds of your people forever, and direct their hearts toward you" (1 Chron. 29:14-18. See also Gen. 14:17-24; Ps. 24:1-2; Ps. 50:10-12; 1 Cor. 4:2).

In this season of Thinking Your Thanksgiving, take the time to consider all that we have received from God, and what we can offer in return, in thanksgiving to him, and love for His children. Below you will find an email that came to me some time ago. Please consider using this for contemplation.

If you own just one Bible, you are abundantly blessed. One-third of the world does not have access to even one. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who will not survive the week. If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of five hundred million people around the world. If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than seventy-five percent of this world. If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top eight percent of the world’s wealthy. If your parents are still married and alive, you are very rare, even in the United States. If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch. If you prayed yesterday and today, you are in the minority because you believe in God's willingness to hear and answer prayer. If you believe in Jesus as the Son of God, you are part of a very small minority in the world. If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all. If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

Tim McDonald, Pastoral Associate for Administration

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