Stewardship
The Rev. Michael Dean Vinson / Trinitytide, 2023, Issue 8
“Now what is sought in stewards is that one be found faithful.”- St. Paul writing to the Corinthian Church
September is often the month when Anglican parishes embark upon stewardship campaigns where each Christian asks him or herself: “How can I best steward my time, talent, and treasure to further the mission of the Gospel in my parish?” Each Christian has received much in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he calls us to steward each and every good and perfect gift, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required, and from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more, will be asked.”
The Faithful Steward
A steward or manager, οἰκονόμος (oikonomos), is someone who is in charge of a house or city. Literally, this refers to a household manager or steward, i.e., to someone who manages the affairs of a master’s house and cares for its occupants. For example, in Luke 12:42, Jesus refers to a manager (oikonomos) whom a master sets over his servants to give them food at the proper time. The steward must manage or tend to that which has been given. This is the οἰκονομία (oikonomia), that which has been entrusted to and under the stewardship of a manager. Paul refers several times to his ministry as a stewardship (oikonomia) “of God’s grace” (Eph 3:2), “from God” (Col 1:25), and with which he is entrusted (πιστεύω, pisteuō; 1 Cor 9:17). Thus, the Christian Steward has been entrusted with the ministry of stewarding the gifts and purposes of God. In God’s economy, every baptized Christian is a steward in service to their savior, a God-given responsibility we are to faithfully (πιστεύω) ad-minister (to-ministration).
Christian stewardship first begins in the home, whether a family or an individual living in solitude, and it originates with managing or tending to the salvation we have received by grace through faith. In the baptismal office, we pledge as follows:
Minister. Dost thou believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God?
Answer. I do.
Minister. Dost thou accept him and desire to follow him as thy Saviour and Lord?
Answer. I do.
Minister. Dost thou believe all the Articles of the Christian Faith, as contained in the Apostles’ Creed?
Answer. I do.
Minister. Wilt thou be baptized in this faith?
Answer. That is my desire.
Minister. Wilt thou then obediently keep God’s holy will and commandments and walk in the same all the days of thy life?
Answer. I will, by God’s help.
Every Christian vows before God and his church to obediently keep God’s holy will and commandments and walk in the same every day of life. This is the fundamental vow of every baptized Christian. First, walk in his commandments, stewarding Divine precepts, and keep God’s holy will for self and everything God has given. In other words, we are to love others as we love ourselves, stewarding our lives, marriages, children, friendships, and vocations. And we are to steward everything entrusted to us faithfully. I encourage each baptized person to reflect on the following:
What has God entrusted to me?
Am I stewarding those things faithfully?
Are we stewarding as Jesus does? Seeking the good of others and what is good for ourselves?
Are we thankful or ungrateful stewards?
Are we sharing our gifts or storing them up where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal?
Beloved, let us all strive to faithfully steward all that God has entrusted, for this is pleasing to God. And remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who says, “Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) is that servant whom his master finds so doing when he arrives. I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions”- Luke 12:42. So, let us go forth in joy and peace to love and serve the Lord (as faithful stewards).
The Rev. Michael Dean Vinson is the Rector of St. Benedict’s Anglican Church in Rockwall Texas.
