What does that word mean exactly? We hear it often, especially around church and, come to think of it, especially when people are getting ready to talk about money. In fact, we hear the term so rarely in any other context we may think “stewardship” is just another way to say, “We need to raise some money.”That’s a pity, because while the ways that we, in our culture, spend our wealth is an important measure of our discipleship of Christ, it is only one measure. Stewardship is a far richer, more profound and more important topic than fund raising.
In their 1992 pastoral letter, Stewardship: A Disciple’s Response, the bishops of the United States define a Christian steward as “one who receives God’s gifts gratefully, cherishes and tends them in a responsible manner, shares them in a responsible manner, shares them in justice and love with others, and returns them with increase to the Lord.” That definition is worth more than a second look...
First, consider what the bishops meant by “God’s gifts”. Were they talking about financial wealth? Yes indeed, because our wealth along with our ability to create our wealth is a gift of God’s grace! All that we are and all that we have are gifts to us from the Father. But it matters very little if we are talking about gifts of time, gifts or talent and ability or gifts of treasure. The same measurements are applied to all stewardship, all gifts. Those measurements are: gratitude, responsibility, charity and accountability.
So we might ask ourselves, are we wisely responsible with our time? Are we truly charitable or are we miserly with our talent? Are we accountable in our stewardship of treasure? And most importantly, do we return to God’s use our time, our talent and our treasure with real gratitude or do we grumble… object… withhold… calculate…. Place condition after condition upon each gift:
“I’m not volunteering this year. I didn’t even get a thank you last year.”
“I don’t have time to sit around listening to other people talk on and on about every detail.”
“I’m not giving this place another dime until they change ______________.” (You fill in the blank.)
Such sentiments are real and heartfelt and very human. But do they arise from gratitude or from resentment and are they the speech of a mature Christian steward? The bishops’ letter says, “...in probing the Christian meaning of stewardship one confronts an astonishing fact: God wishes human beings to be his collaborators in the work of creation, redemption and sanctification; and such collaboration involves stewardship in its most profound sense.”
In Christ,
Monsignor Frank Giusta
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