Ministry as a Call to Action

What reward shall I give unto the Lord

for all the benefits he hath done unto me?

These words come from Psalm 116 and were sung last Sunday as our Communion Motet as we all shared in the Banquet of the Lord. They were especially poignant on the occasion of what is often called Stewardship Sunday when we are all in the Episcopal Church invited to form our resolve regarding what we will give to support the parish and church over the coming year. 

This action is one that has deep historical roots that go all the way back to the People of Israel and the Covenant between them and God. Despite being delivered by God from captivity in Egypt, they were persistently tempted by doubts and false gods which led to the long catalogue of warnings and calls to repentance and reform that we associate with the Old Testament Prophets.  

But it is also worth noting that the Israelites were called first to make offerings to God and then to do so with an attitude of faith and trust. But we as the People of the New Covenant made through Christ are called first to have faith and trust in God and saving work of Jesus Christ and then to make offerings of both ourselves and our resources to God.

This reflects the radical transformation effected by the life and Sacrifice of Jesus Christ as the Son of God who made the ultimate offering of himself for all of us on the Cross – and in doing so offered the sacrifice that alone could be adequate to redeem us from the consequences of the sins of the whole world – throughout all of time.

For each of us as followers of Christ there is then a call that has two dimensions.

First, we are called to give of our resources for the cause of Christ whom we follow as members of his Church – for we are called to live out our faith in practice in daily life and that means doing things for the cause of Christ. But we are not meant to be purely passive in all this. For not only are we called to give of our funds but, secondly, we are also called to give of our time and work also.

This is why doing things as Christians together is so important.

It is in this light that we must see our volunteering to make things happen in church as vital too, alongside our financial pledge. This can take many forms, of which some would be:  

·   Helping as an acolyte

·   With the Altar Guild

·   The Flower Guild 

·   The Garden Guild 

·   Or teaching in the Sunday school 

·   Or indeed with such things as the coffee hours and 

·   Other events such as we had on Friday when we celebrated Octoberfest 

·   Not forgetting too the Tuesday evening community dinners as well

All of these activities give sharp practical expression to what our faith really means to each of us, as expressed in our daily lives. 

We accept Christ by faith, but are then called to live that faith out in practice as the sign of the salvation that is ours

In the words of the Epistle to the Hebrews “let us go on toward perfection” for God, “will not overlook your work and the love that you showed for his sake in serving the saints, as you still do”.

The Rev. Canon Alistair Macdonald-Radcliff
Rector