Joy is the serious business of Heaven. (C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer)

In my sermon on Sunday (you can read it here), I said my goal is for us to replace apprehension and discomfort about stewardship “season” with appreciation and life-giving gratitude. 

I’d like you to think about the little graphic above that I created–think about it and your relationship with the giving of your time, talent, and treasure to church, about it and your relationship with all the moments of your daily life…Meditate for just a minute or two on whatever it was you were doing just before you started to read this email…As you ponder, ask yourself where on this spectrum everything you do falls…Are you doing it more out of a sense of joy, out of a sense of duty, or out of a sense of dread?

We talk all the time about abundant life…what does that really mean? I propose to you that an abundant life is one in which more–even most–of the things we do come from the right side of this arrow, and very few come from the left side. An abundant life is one in which we operate out of a sense of joy with nearly everything we do.

This should be the message of stewardship season: use this time as a way to focus on bringing more joy into your life and the lives of others. No one should be feeling guilty. This place, St. Andrew’s, is holy and life-giving because you make it holy and life-giving.

There are so many ways you can practice abundance and fill your life with joy rather than duty or dread. As you move forward, here are some different perspectives on that which I adapted from an article by non-profit consultant Vu Le:

Abundance of money: Being abundant in this sphere means we’re not constantly worrying about resources running out. That doesn’t mean spending carelessly and recklessly. It means making wise and thoughtful decisions and trusting that we can give to help others because God gives us enough and more than enough.

Abundance of imagination: Believing that things can change. Believing that, as Jesus’ disciples, we can bring light to the world’s darkness and make life-changing differences, in ways small and large. 

Abundance of relationships: Our relationships provide laughter, solace, and compassion, and support. In joy, we want to invite others into this community so they, too, can share and grow in abundant life.

Abundance of grace: God’s grace gives us eyes to see the complexity of human beings and our interactions with one another. It widens our views, increases empathy, and enables us to forgive ourselves and one another (just like we say in the Lord’s Prayer each Sunday).

Abundance of faith: Faith in Jesus’ saving love and God’s forgiveness, and faith in each other. Faith that Dr. MLK was right, that “the arc of the moral universe does bend toward justice” allows us to keep going when we encounter barriers and setbacks. Faith reminds us that even the smallest actions we take to make the world better do make a difference. 

Blessings and peace,
Fr. Keith