Letting our Light Shine

Dear Friends in Christ:

What did you get for Christmas?

That friendly social question has more to it than we might usually imagine. When we talk about Christmas as a time of gifts, we are often thinking of it in terms of the commercial aspects of the season, including all that it takes to decide, buy, wrap, deliver, and pay for all those packages and boxes. It can be exhausting. And as we reflect back on the whole process afterwards, we may well wonder if the true meaning behind the gifts we gave and the gifts we received was really able to shine through all the tinsel, glitter, and energy around them. As we settle into this Epiphany season at the beginning of this new year, now may be an important opportunity to reflect on what this giving and receiving is really all about.

We give, first of all, because we have received so very much. We give out of the abundance we have been given by our Creator. The simple words to Hymn #291 express the Christian understanding of life:

All good gifts around us are sent from heaven above;
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord for all his love.

Everything we have, everything we are, and everything we will be come from God. All of our life springs from the overflowing abundance of this gracious love. That is God's relationship with us. Our relationship with God comes about and develops through what we give back to God in thanksgiving. As Jesus tells us through his disciples, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." These words in Matthew's Gospel come right after his gift of the Lord's Prayer. They remind us that we can only live fully in the faith we profess when we give back to God from his abundance in truly significant measures of our time, talent, and treasures.

Christian stewardship is not simply a fundraising effort conducted each fall. It is the ongoing work of Christian life and ministry. A resolution adopted by the General Convention of The Episcopal Church in 1988 and reaffirmed by each Convention since then calls stewardship "the main work of the Church." As members of the Church, we have been commissioned by Christ to use all the gifts God has given us in order that the Church's ministry of mission, compassion, teaching, reconciliation, worship, and prayer is carried out effectively. Through our giving we provide the means through which God's word can be preached and heard, God's love can reach those most in need, and God's justice, peace, and grace can transform our world. That is the true meaning of stewardship, and it involves everything we do as Christians. "Stewardship is more than a duty," the resolution asserts. "It is a thankful response to God's graciousness to us."

The Episcopal Church has resolved that the Biblical tithe is the minimum standard for Christian giving. It has called all members of this Church to examine prayerfully and intentionally their own giving in light of that standard and to grow in giving in proportion to what God has given them. In this branch of the Anglican Communion, we have affirmed Christian Stewardship as "the joyful transformation of hearts, minds, and spirits" through which Christ's love is made real in us.

Calvary Church has stood tall and strong throughout a century and a half as a beacon of hope, compassion, and God's love. Through the worship and witness of this parish, Christ's presence has been and is being made known to countless people in innumerable ways, seen and unseen. Through our mission and ministry, Christ is redeeming lives and bringing hope to our community and beyond. We seek to become even stronger and more effective disciples of Jesus to our world. We are each, individually and corporately, enabled and empowered to do that through our stewardship, as we grow in relationship to God and to each other.

As we begin this new year, it is a good time for each of us to take a careful look at our own stewardship in all of its implications. Is our giving to God through the Church all that we want it to be? Does it truly reflect the relationship we want to have with Christ and His Body? Are we simply giving a token offering to our Lord, or is our giving a truly sacrificial offering to God out of the rich abundance with which God has so blessed and enriched our lives?

In this Epiphany season in which we celebrate the true light of Christ that has come into our world, it's important to remember as well what Jesus told us: "Let your light so shine before others that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

Faithfully yours,


The Rev'd Canon John E. Lawrence
Interim Rector