We are deep into the fall season. That means flaming foliage and leaf raking, Halloween and mulled cider, football, family at Thanksgiving and First Church’s stewardship endeavor. Harper’s Bible Dictionary offers this definition of stewardship: “The Christian principle of the stewardship of possession, time, and personality is the person’s obligation to make any needful sacrifice for the progress of God’s Reign.”
Let’s flesh that out a bit. Every week we pray as Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come.” Our stewardship of time, talent and treasure is the part we actively play, what we owe, and what we commit to back up our desire that God’s way will hold ever-greater sway in the world—that there will be less evil and more good, less hate and more love, less selfishness and more sharing. We work with God, allocating what we have, to cultivate God’s values and hopes for our community of faith and for all of creation. Stewardship then is fundamentally a joyful endeavor that links us in the most intimate ways with God’s purposes and gives profound meaning to our lives.
Who were the first Christian stewards? I imagine they were the Magi: those intrepid soul seekers who upon discovering the baby Jesus “bowed down and offered their treasures: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” Their discovery of the promised one, their humble worship of the divine child, and their sharing of what was most precious must have been a numinous experience for Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar. Imagine how thrilling that moment was when they laid their presents on the ground before the child of God. We do exactly the same when you make your pledge to First Church.
We are Magi as we present our gifts to Christ to do God’s will for the world. We are Magi. This point of view is made all the clearer by Henry van Dyke in his story of “The Other Wise Man.” Artaban was perhaps the richest of his three Magi compatriots. He brought a magnificent ruby, a flawless sapphire and perfect pearl for the Christ child. But because he stopped, as the Good Samaritan had stopped, to help a wounded person, he missed the rendezvous with his friends. He spent the rest of his life searching for the Christ Child but his journeys brought him instead into contact with those who needed his help until eventually he had given away his three precious gems to save the lives of others. It was only then that Christ appeared to him saying, “As you gave to the least of these my brothers and sisters, so you gave to me.” Artaban after so many years of seeking the Christ understood that he was a true steward and that he had seen Christ in the face of those who were most vulnerable and dependent upon him. Perhaps, we are all a little more like Artaban whose journey lasts a lifetime. Either way it is important to remember that we are all given the opportunity to be Magi as we bring our gifts in the name of Christ to further the progress of God’s work each day.
So, my fellow Magi, see you at the manger.
Kendrick
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