Steward

       

By  Quinn  G.  Caldwell  -­‐  Pastor  and  Teacher  at  Plymouth  Congregational   Church,  UCC,  in  Syracuse,  New  York,  and  co-­‐editor,  with  Curtis  J.  Preston,  of   the  Unofficial  Handbook  of  the  United  Church  of  Christ,  published  by  The  Pilgrim  Press.   From  S'llspeaking  Daily  Devo'onal    -­‐  United  Church  of  Christ.  Used  with  permission    

"To  you  I  lift  up  my  eyes,  O  you  who  are  enthroned  in  the  heavens!    As  the  eyes  of  servants  look   to  the  hand  of  their  master,  as  the  eyes  of  a  maid  to  the  hand  of  her  mistress,  so  our  eyes  look   to  the  Lord  our  God…"  -­‐  Psalm  123       In  The  Lord  of  the  Rings,  the  great  kingdom  of  Gondor  was  ruled  by  a  king.    He  had  a  Steward   who  held  the  realm  for  him  when  he  was  away.    One  day,  the  king  went  to  war  and  died   without  any  heirs.    So  the  Stewards  waited.    For  25  generations,  the  Stewards  of  Gondor   wielded  all  the  power  of  the  king.    They  swore  that  they  were  only  doing  it  until  the  return  of   the  king,  and  they  thought  they  meant  it.    Once  a  son  of  a  Steward  asked  how  long  it  would   take  before  a  Steward  became  a  king  in  his  own  right.    He  said,  "Few  years,  maybe,  in  places  of   less  royalty…in  Gondor,  ten  thousand  years  would  not  suffice."     Then  one  day  the  king  returned,  or  at  least  his  heir.    And  the  steward,  who  really  had  believed   he  was  just  holding  all  that  power  and  wealth  in  trust  for  just  such  a  moment,  couldn't  handle   it.    He  set  himself  on  fire  and  jumped  from  the  walls  of  a  tower.    After  25  generations,  you  can   hardly  blame  him  for  having  a  hard  time  adjusting.     Christians  claim  the  same  thing  that  the  Stewards  of  Gondor  did:  all  our  power  and  all  our   wealth  is  derivative,  held  in  trust  and  exercised  on  behalf  of  the  one  to  whom  it  belongs:   Jesus.    One  of  the  ways  we  prepare  for  his  return,  to  try  to  not  be  undone  when  he  finally   shows  back  up,  is  by  being  generous.    We  give  our  stuff—especially  our  money—away  as  a   means  of  reminding  ourselves  to  whom  it  all  really  belongs.    We  try  to  use  it  as  he  would  have   done.    We  practice—and  if  your  pastor  has  shown  up  to  work  at  all  in  the  last  few  weeks,  you   can  see  where  I'm  headed  here—stewardship.  

  Jesus  has  been  gone  a  long  time.    How  long  would  it  take  before  you  or  I  become  owners  of  all   our  stuff  in  our  own  right?    Few  years,  maybe,  in  places  of  less  divinity…in  the  Church,  all  the   ages  of  the  world  would  not  suffice.  

  Prayer   God,  thank  you  for  all  these  blessings.       I'm  happy  to  hold  them  till  you  need  them;  when  you  do,  help  me  to  let  them   go.    Amen.