PENTECOST XX: October 21, 2001
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STEWARDSHIP SUNDAY

"Jesus told the Disciples
a parable about their need to pray always
and not to lose heart."
St. Luke 18:1

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The Theme of the Scriptures today
On this Stewardship Sunday
is
Endurance, persistence, perseverance, holding fast
And not giving up and not giving in -
It is to Keep-On – Keeping-On
To keep on Praying

The Theme of the Scriptures today:
It is continuing to be Faithful
It is Keeping the Faith.

In the midst of turmoil & uncertainty,
It is continuing to Trust in God.

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    St. Paul says to Timothy:
Whether in favorable or unfavorable times,
To Trust in God.
Continue to fulfill your Ministry.

And Jesus says in our Gospel Lesson today:
For those who call continue to call upon God,
To be sure,
He will vindicate His People,
God will not tarry.

What a timely message of Hope to a Nation
that is besieged with turmoil and fear.
It is a message to get our bearings,

In the midst of Unbelievable Evil &Terror,
It is a call to get our bearings,

To center our hopes, our thoughts
And our daily lives,
In the God, who on our currency,
we proclaim to Trust.

Jacob in our Old Testament Lesson today,
is an example of
one who strived, of one who struggled,
of one who contended.

The Story of Jacob is the Story
Of one who refused to give up,
Until he got his blessing.
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I am reminded of the dark days of England
after the Battle of Dunkirk,
When Sir Winston Churchill’s words
gave hope and inspiration to a dispirited nation,

When he stated that in years to come,
looking back on this time,
The Dark Days of the Brink of Disaster,

Rather than it being a time of the undoing
Of The English People,
He said that:

"People will say of England
that this was
"Our Finest Hour."

Without any doubt,
"These are the times that try men’s souls."

However, with Faith and Trust in God,
And with commitment and determination,
I have no doubt whatsoever in this world,
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That these trying times,
Will bring forth from us,
"Our Finest Hour !!!


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Though taken back by horrific events,
In spite of all of our Country’s
turmoil & tragedy & tribulation,

We do not despair,
But we stand fast and
we dare not shrink back from
the tremendous challenges that face us,

As we fight and as we contend against
The Forces of darkness which are dedicated to
death and destruction.

Though this Country still has much to reckon with
in terms of its own National Life, and
though we still are beset with serious internal problems,

Let us make no mistake about it,

Let us make no mistake about it,
That all those things
All those things
which have made this Country great,

Our Faith in God, a Way of Life that strives & struggles to
Protect the rights and freedom of its People,
That offers opportunity that is unknown in most nations,
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That all these things are of God, and so
I am absolutely convinced without any doubt whatsoever,
That with God’s Grace,

We will prevail – we will prevail over
the demonic forces of violence, repression and hatred,

And for this we give thanks !

We give thanks for the Providence of God
Whose Grace & Whose Guidance has enabled
And endowed our Founding Fathers
to be the kind of Leaders
who were given a Vision.

Leaders who were given a Vision by God of
A Republic & A Democracy.
A Republic & A Democracy where
Freedom & Liberty, Opportunity and
The Rights of the Individual might thrive.


It can only be that a Country founded by
God’s Grace and God’s Providence,
Can only Continue and to Preserve

Those Liberties & Those Freedoms,
By being a People mindful of God’s Blessings,

By being a
Country that earnestly strives to be obedient to God’s will.
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In this, which we face today,
Which is no less than a Cosmic Battle,
Our task as Christian People,
Is to continue,

It is to continue to Say Our Prayers and
to Keep Our Hand on The Altar.

I teach this in all of my Inquirers’ Classes,
Saying that what this means –
is to always be a Person of Prayer,
whereby Prayer is crucially important in one’s life.

Someone has said that:
"Courage is Fear that has said its Prayers."

And to Keep Your Hand on The Altar
Means - making a lifelong commitment to be
Regular & to be Constant in
the Corporate Worship of the Church
And its Sacramental Life.

All of this being interpreted means:
A Lifelong Commitment of Keeping
a close and intimate relationship with God.


Now is not the time to slack up,
Now is not the time
to lighten up in our Christian Commitment,

However, instead,
Now is the time turn to
God as never before –

To reach deep down into the depths of our being,
For that Faith that is within us,
That will enable us to rise to the occasion and
to face the challenges that we must face.

As we endure the sorrow and the tragedy of September 11 and
that even still continues,
And as we will continue to remember & to pray
for the Victims & their Families, our President,
our Leaders & our Armed Forces,

And indeed all the many Victims that that War always inflicts,
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In spite of all this,
Let us not forget our many, many Blessings,
The Resources with which God has so richly endowed us.

For still, even in the midst of times such as this,
We give Thanks,

We give Thanks that we still can know the Peace of God,
That passes all understanding.

For we can never let the evil deeds of Terrorists,
Overshadow the Blessings that we hold so dear.
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We give Thanks for The Church, our Community of Faith.
We give Thanks that God has not only bound Himself to us,

But that He has also Bound Us Together,
In a Caring Fellowship and
In a Worshipping Community,

As God’s Own Family,
The Church.

And as Christians,
that is the greatest Blessing in our Life
For which we give our deepest and our heartfelt Thanks
To God.

To be sure the Church will always be here
To Minister to our deepest needs,
At those crucial times of our life.
For Jesus has promised that the forces of evil
will never prevail against His Church.

We each know that there are times in our lives,
When there is no place else to go,
But to God and His Church and to other Members
Of the Body of Christ.

As we come to Stewardship Sunday,
We can do no less than to

Make our Commitment to God,
that our Stewardship be our True and
Grateful and Thankful response

To God ‘s un-yeilding and His relentless
Blessings and Providence,
That will never cease.

To be sure, it is the Thankful Heart
that touches the Heart of God.

When the Widow gave her two pennies to
God through the Temple Treasury,

Jesus watching & standing aside,
un-noticed in the shadows,
was so touched,

That there is no doubt that
He must of had a huge lump in
His throat and a tear in His eye,

Though the Woman tried not be seen or to be noticed,
Nevertheless, her devotion & her love for God
did not go un-noticed,

For
Jesus saw the love and the devotion of

A Poor Widow Lady
Who lovingly & willingly gave all that she had
To God.

As Christians, our Stewardship is not only our
Thankful response to what God has done for us,
But our Stewardship also shows very decisively,
What we think of God.

We are not asked to give out of our poverty, and
we are not asked to give out of our scarcity,
However, Stewardship Sunday
is when we are asked to return to God
Out of our abundance,

Out of the abundance of the Blessings He has so
Graciously & generously
Bestowed and rained down upon us.
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Brethren,
Do you have any idea,
Do you have any idea whatsoever
of how,

of how
I so earnestly yearn, of how I so
sincerely long for,
And how I have so Worked & Prayed
For St. Matthew’s Church,

That Through God’s Grace & Power
through Your Willing Discipleship
And through
Your Thankful & Your Abundant Stewardship,

That St. Matthew’s Church
Will live into the Destiny, the Mission, The Future
That God planned and purposed and intended
For this Parish
When it was founded in 1959.

To live into the Destiny & Purpose
Of being one of the great Churches in the
Diocese of Texas, not in terms of numbers,
but in terms Spiritual Depth,
Mission & Mission Outreach

In terms of Leadership Training,,
A Resource for the whole Church,
A virtual beehive of people coming & going
To learn, for Spiritual Refreshment,

For to be sure,
St. Matthew’s Church has been Blessed,

St. Matthew’s Church has been Blessed
Not to sit on its Blessings,
But we has been Blessed to be a Blessing

Maybe it takes outsider,
Just maybe it takes an
old retired broken down "has been" like me,

Who can see the potential and the possibilities here at
St. Matthew’s Church
That possibly your are not able to see.

It just could be that God sent the most unlikely "ne’r do well,"
To St. Matthew’s Church
To convince you all of
What a grand and a glorious destiny &
Glorious future that is before you.

A Grand & glorious Future
that will not be thrust upon us,
But A Future that will have to run to meet.

There is no doubt about it
The Church can walk on water,
for with God all things are possible,

There is no limit to what God’s Servant Church can do
In the Power of His Holy Spirit and when
We truly give of our selves,


And
As the Old Catechism said:
When we Work & Pray & Give for
the Spread of His Kingdom.

Please know that God does not have
wimpish or puny expectations of you,
But instead God has the highest and the most grand
Expectations of a Parish that has it all.

But as the New Year will bring unlimited opportunities
Each Person & Each Member of St. Matthew’s Parish
On this Stewardship Sunday,

On this Stewardship Sunday
We are asked and it
Is expected of us,
it is expected of each member

To make the Commitment,
to truly & earnestly
Give generously & liberally &
Thankfully of our resources,
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TO KNOW CHRIST

AND

TO MAKE HIM KNOWN.

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A M E N & AM E N !!!


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