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"No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Luke 16: 13). As always, Jesus brings us to the heart of the matter. Where do our priorities really lie? And - on this Stewardship Sunday - how do we at the Priory show by our giving that we are seeking to serve God, rather than money?
I wonder if you've heard of a certain minister, who once announced to his congregation: "My friends, I have here in my hands three sermons … a £100 sermon that lasts five minutes, a £50 sermon that lasts fifteen minutes, and a £10 sermon that lasts a full hour. Now we'll take the collection and see which one I'll deliver." Don't worry, you'll not get an hour today - so better get your £50 notes out!
While it would certainly be rather tempting to import a visiting hit-and-run preacher, such as a Diocesan Stewardship Adviser, for today, the reality is that we - all who see ourselves as belonging to the Priory Church - already have all the resources we need to engage fully with the subject of stewardship. We have the Gospel message to reflect on, and a decision to make about our response - individual and corporate - in terms of our financial giving. And, at the end of the day, it is our giving to the work of this church that will enable our mission to be resourced, whether in part, or in full. For the bottom line is this: God's work through the Priory has to be resourced by God's people at the Priory.
Money matters. And the way we choose to use money speaks volumes about our real priorities. In a Thought for the Day broadcast on Radio 4 a few weeks ago, Giles Fraser pointed this out: "Whether it be the finances of a country or a household, follow the money and you'll soon discover what somebody really believes. Often, money is how we show we mean it. When I was a student I heard this sermon by Rowan Williams that made a big impression on me. His question was: "For whom is your money good news". … Is your wealth simply good news for you, simply good news for your family? Or is it good news for others as well? I guess we may resent the idea that moral inquiry reaches into our private finances. But that cannot be avoided. Morality isn't something abstract. Money is the sacrament of seriousness."
Money is important, isn't it? That's why Jesus had so much to say about the subject. Indeed, in the Gospels, He is recorded as saying more about money than anything else, except the Kingdom of God. And, in today's Gospel, He urges us to put money in its proper place - to make it a good servant, rather than a bad master. "No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money" (Luke 16: 13).
Yet you and I find ourselves living in a society which suffers from the negative effects of a deep and widespread devotion to money. The term Affluenza has been coined to describe the resulting sense of anxiety and fear felt by many in the face of financial insecurity. Anxiety and fear seen in the recent panic by Northern Rock customers, as well as by the reaction to the financial turmoil that has engulfed the global money markets.
The love of money clearly has a powerful and negative hold on many lives, including the lives of many Christians and Churches. We need to be aware that money - like every other aspect of life - has a spiritual dimension, for good or ill. And, as Jesus warns us in today's Gospel, the lust for wealth - putting that unstable god of money first - is in fact idolatry.
So the question to us - as individuals and as a church - is this: Where do our priorities lie? If we at the Priory say that we seek to be "a community which responds to God's love in worship, welcomes all in the name of Jesus Christ, and reaches out in the power of the Spirit" how, then, does our financial giving help to show this, as well as to make it more fully a reality? Or, in Archbishop Rowan Williams' words, "for whom is (our) money good news?"
Today everyone attending the Priory is being given a leaflet which sets out our current financial position. Without wishing to repeat what it says, there are two main factors which explain why we are not at present able to meet our mission commitments in full: The first is the level of Parish Share being asked of us; and the second is our level of giving as a church.
Parish Share has doubled in three years. The new formula has led to an unsustainable level of increase for churches such as the Priory. We continue to press the diocese to review the allocation of Share, and the Board for Finance has been made aware of our situation. Yet we also hope that we will be able to meet our Share in full again, and as soon as possible. Not because we like the idea of paying a lot of Share, however it is calculated, but out of our love for God and our commitment to the wider Body of Christ.
The second factor is giving. Here there is good news and bad news. The good news is we already have more than enough money to meet all our financial commitments in full. The bad news is that it is still in your pocket and mine! I don't know what you, personally, are giving, and I don't want to know. At present I gather that about 75% of Priory households on our Electoral Roll of c 360 give something on a reasonably regular basis, and that of these about 10% (36) give £100 or more a month. While our average giving as a church is above the Deanery and diocesan averages, it is patchy - a few give a lot, a lot give a little, and some don't give at all. Yet if God's work through the Priory is to be fully resourced by God's people at the Priory, then we all must play our full part.
So, two questions to close with: First, why should I give? And, second, how much should I give? First, why should I give? Yes, the leaflet spells out why the Priory needs people to give, but why should it be you or me? Well for many, many reasons, each of which would need a whole sermon series in themselves. To touch upon seven biblical reasons very briefly:
1. Giving is worship - It is how we express what God really means to us: 'I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God … offerings that cost me nothing' (2 Samuel 24:24).
2. Giving is giving back to God - Nothing we have is our own, but everything is held on trust: 'Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendour, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. … Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand' (1 Chronicles 29:11,14).
3. Giving is part of discipleship - It is about facing the challenge of following Jesus, and learning to grow in trust: 'But just as you excel in everything, - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us, see that you also excel in this grace of giving' (2 Corinthians 8:7).
4. Giving is a joy - We find freedom in the act of giving when we do it cheerfully, rather than from motives of guilt or legalism: 'Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver' (2 Corinthians 9:7).
5. Giving is a sacrifice - It is about the best, the 'first fruits' of all we have, rather than the loose change: 'All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on' (Luke 21:4).
6. Giving is a privilege - It is an opportunity to share in God's compassion for the world's poor: 'In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord's people. And they went beyond our expectations; having given themselves first of all to the Lord, they gave themselves by the will of God also to us' (2 Corinthians 8:2-5).
7. Giving is good for us - It begins to free us from the lure of materialism, so that money and possessions no longer determine or dominate the way we live our lives :'Those who love money never have enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income' (Ecclesiastes 5:10).
Seven reasons why you and I should give. Which then brings us to the second question, one that several of us may wrestle with, and welcome guidance: How much should I give? In the Old Testament, we find the tithe - 10% of income - being set forth as the due offering expected of God's people. To quote from the prophet Malachi: "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 'Test me in this,' says the Lord Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it" (Malachi 3: 10). In the New Testament we find an emphasis on the need for giving to be cheerful, generous, and sacrificial, as well as prayerful, proportionate, and sustained. Yes, this may amount to a tithe. Equally it may be less than a tithe, or more than a tithe. What matters is the attitude of the giver. You may also be aware that the official position of the Church of England is that we should aim to give at least 5% of our income to support our local church, and then give another 5% to other mission agencies and charities.
How do we measure up to such guidelines? This year, we are seeking to increase our Priory Stewardship income by 10%. If we do more, then we can meet our mission commitments more fully. But we still have a way to go even to reach that 10% increase, and - as the leaflet points out - we still need c £20,000, even to meet our revised budget for 2007. It may seem a big sum. Yet if, for example, 200 households gave a gift of £100 each next Sunday (better still Gift Aid it), then we could deal with this deficit and take that financial step forward. And if every household connected with the Priory committed to joining the Planned Giving scheme, and to reviewing our household giving every year, then that would make a very significant difference to the Priory over the longer term.
On the Stewardship Leaflet, you will see that there is a response slip. Over the coming days, we are invited to reflect prayerfully on our own stewardship, and then to respond, by filling in the slip and presenting it in one of the offertory collections at our Patronal Festival next Sunday, or via the Priory Office (or collection plate) as soon as possible thereafter.
In all of this, there is no compulsion. The choice is ours, as is the responsibility. But let us be clear about two things: first, our response - as individuals and as a church - will certainly determine how fully we are able to resource God's work through the Priory for the remainder of this year, and affect our budget for 2008. And, second, the nature of our giving will also say something about where our priorities lie. For, as Jesus says, "No-one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."
John Barr
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