Sermons

Presentation of Christ in the Temple
Sunday 1 February 2009

David Paton-Williams
Readings: Malachi 3 v1-5, Luke 2 v22-40

STEWARDSHIIP

"They took Jesus to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord … to offer a sacrifice."

The feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple has three different aspects:

It is the last day of the 40 day season of Christmas and Epiphany - the day on which we take a final look at the Crib and turn our face towards Lent and the Cross.

It is the day on which, in the past, all the churches' candles for the coming year were blessed, hence the name of Candlemas (and the procession of candles at the end of the service).

And it is one of the few feasts involving Mary and Joseph. Together they had gone to the Temple so that Mary could undergo the ritual cleansing following the birth of her son.

Arriving in the temple they offered a sacrifice but they couldn't afford to offer the regulation sacrifice of a lamb so instead they bought the poor person's alternative - a couple doves or pigeons

But those birds represented a far greater offering that they made that day.

They were offering Jesus back to God; dedicating their son to God's service.

Jesus had been given to them and now they were giving him back to his Heavenly Father. They were acknowledging God's claim on their child, offering back to God the most precious gift he had given them.

And this seems a very good place to begin our Stewardship Campaign for 2009.

Because Christian stewardship begins with recognising God's claim upon the whole of our lives and offering back to God the precious gifts he has given us.

It doesn't begin with a mad rush to volunteer for the coffee rota or a half-hearted visit to the bank to review our standing order.

Stewardship begins with recognising the wonderful generosity of God who has given us amazing gifts: yes of money, but also of time and talents, of personality and faith, of other people and the world around us.

If you were to choose one word to sum up your life what would it be? …busy? pressured? lonely? exciting? a failure? happy?

Well the gospel offers us a new word a word that goes deeper than all the others and that word is "gift".

Can you see your life as a gift from God? that all that you are and all that you have is a gift. Christian stewardship begins right there.
not in what I do or give but with God's gift to me and through me to others

But once I begin to glimpse that this might be true a new question arises.

What does God want me to do with what he has given me?

If he gives things for a purpose what does he want me to do with these abilities, these opportunities, this period of my life, this home, this money?

Without a doubt, God calls us to use our gifts in our workplaces and homes, our communities and families; but it is also right that we use our gifts in the ongoing life and ministry of the Church.

We are part of a church community that has many gifts and these are widely used in our life together,

but some of us are weary and wondering whether we have done enough others of us are wondering how you can share more fully in the life of the church.

Let me encourage you to think and pray about what God is asking of you, here at St Ed's or as a volunteer in the community or in your world of work..

As part of all this, it is also right or course that we consider how we use the gift of our money.

And to do this in just the same way, thinking and praying about what we give to the church and to other causes and letting those thoughts and prayers be informed by the financial needs of the church so that Christ's work can be carried out here in the parish and in the wider world.

It is some five years since we held a stewardship campaign and the reality is that during that time we have not been fully paying our way.

There are more details about all this in the stewardship pack that has been prepared for you to take away at the end of the service.

All I would say is that together, by the grace of God, I am sure we will meet the financial challenges we face.

I know that times are hard - for those losing their jobs, for those running businesses and for those who depend on the level of interest rates to provide them with their income.

But I am sure that you will take this campaign seriously, that you will think and pray and review your giving. and that where you simply cannot increase it - you won't, but where you can - I am sure that you will.

There is a story about some Vikings who invaded this country in 6th century. They were so moved by the faith of the Christians they met that they converted.

But as they were baptised by immersion in Britain's rivers, many of them had a dilemma. As part of an invading army they might have to engage in battle.

So as they were baptised, some held their right arm above the water. they were saying to God: "You can have all of me except my sword arm. I need to keep that for myself - I may need it someday".

When it comes to Christian stewardship we have to ask ourselves whether we are holding our wallets above the water.

Martin Luther once said, "There are three conversions necessary, the conversion of the heart, the mind and the purse".

Mary and Joseph came to the Temple to make their offering to God - before they offered the birds, and before they offered their son
they made an even more important offering.

They had first offered themselves to God - acknowledging God's claim on their lives.

In our worship and our lives we are making an offering to God, an offering of praise and thanksgiving an offering of loving and serving but first and foremost we offer him ourselves. and like Mary and Joseph we only offer back to God what he has given to us.

He gives - we receive - and we give back. That is the circle of love and joy and gratitude that defines Christian stewardship.
And that includes getting our wallets wet!

May God bless us richly in the future as he has in the past.

© St Edmund's Church, Roundhay