Wis 7:7-11 | Heb 4:12-13 | Mark 10:17-30

I. Last weekend we introduced our annual call for renewal of treasure by inviting
parishioners to share with us their experience of stewardship.

One comment I heard was that the speaker said her experience of stewardship
changed her life. The experience of stewardship, living as a steward changes
our mindset. I’ve experienced that in my own life and I have seen that in others.

That change of mindset includes…

• a change in the way in which we look at life in general; it seems like that means
  we feel less guarded, less defensive, less worried, less stressed – more open and
  relaxed
• there seems to be a movement away from thinking only about “my” things, “my”
  wants, “my” needs to seeing a bigger picture and looking at – maybe even for the
  first time (!) the needs and wants of others
• in general, the stewardship mindset is just incredibly freeing and relaxed.
  Stewardship means we lighten up a bit. In fact, stewardship brings genuine joy
  and happiness.

II. The man in the gospel was already a God-fearing man: from his youth he had kept
The commandments, apparently being a very observant and religious Jew. We see
he was respectful of Jesus and honest. But Jesus challenged him to go to the next
level. “Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in
heaven; then come, follow me.” The man was challenged to let go of his possessions.
Jesus was saying it was necessary to not only be religiously observant, but also to be
a good steward of his material things.

We are told the man went away sad: we don’t know if that switch flipped in his
head. Did his mindset change?

I recall when that happened in my own life. As a newly ordained priest I was
involved with a group of Catholic singles and at one point we had a retreat. Part of
the retreat included a segment on budgeting. I learned about budgeting and
worked through my own financial budgeting. And over the years, I’ve learned
about Christian stewardship and applied that to my own charitable giving. It has
proven to be a fun experience as I annually review my budget and my list of
charities and consider how I can contribute to them this year.

III. And, like it says in scripture, the blessings are manifold.
The first reading, which has been attributed to Solomon, recounts Solomon’s
own coming to understand the importance of choices he made in life. God had
asked him what he wanted and he could have asked for fame, riches and glory.
But instead he asked for wisdom, that he might lead and rule wisely. This gift he
was given and he received material blessings as well.

The choices we make in life make a difference. Choices have consequences. We
have examples of that all around us, every day. Blessings are intangible.

• do we make wise choices? Are we choosing those higher values and realities of
  life – like personal integrity, honesty, wholesomeness?
• or do we make only material choices? Do we choose only for ourselves – and
  our own benefit? Or do we think of others as well?
  And the blessings of wise choices will come to us. They may or may not be material
  blessings: I am not suggesting the prosperity gospel.
• but one of the blessings will be a sense of purpose. When we are generous
  with our material things, we will feel like we’re doing something meaningful.
• we will feel good about it – we will feel like we are doing the right thing. We
  will feel like this is, indeed, what God asks of me.
• and along with that we will have a feeling of peace: peace of heart, peace of
  mind.

I have seen all this happen with students and adults I took on service trips to
Appalachia. The students would go to Appalachia thinking about the good things
they were going to be doing for the poor: they were giving up a week of their time
serving the poor. But, in reality, they were served. They always said they got
more out of the experience than what they gave. The “switch” in their head and
heart turned on and their lives were forever changed. I know that some went on
to be men and women who adopted a regular pattern of service into their lives and
some even went into service professions. When I see them, they readily recall their
fond memories of serving in Appalachia.
Did you ever have the experience as a child of putting your hand into a candy jar
and grabbing a fistful of candy? You can’t get your hand out. Our sweet tooth will
tell us to hang on to the candy. But wisdom tells us that in order to free our hand
we need to let go. This is stewardship.

IV. This is commitment weekend for our annual call to review and renew our
commitment to sharing our treasure with our parish.

A parish financial report is in the pews along with a commitment card. Please
take an envelope with you. Review the financial report and return your card.
Please return the card in two weeks: by October 28.

It will be extremely helpful if you would please keep that deadline, because
after that we will be mailing the commitment information to those who have
returned their commitment. Your prompt response will save us on postage and
will save us on time.

V. Think of your completion of your commitment card as a spiritual experience: not
just a mechanical act of thinking about contributing to my parish. When Jesus
challenged the man in the gospel to go to the next level, the gospel tells us that
Jesus looked at him and loved him. Likewise, Jesus always looks upon us and loves
us. His love empowers us to make wise choices: choices which reflect his love in
our own lives and in the lives of those around us.

--------------------

Fr. Dwayne Thoman