The attack has begun again. They will go on full offensive mode next Friday, November 23, 2018. What is the attack? Why November 23rd? Well, the attack is the Christmas shopping season and Black Friday is its largest attack on the spiritual welfare of our finances. As a people called to live a life of stewardship of God’s gifts of time, talent and treasure we are often afraid of bringing our “treasure” into the spiritual conversation with God because we are often fooled into thinking that money falls outside of the spiritual life….it doesn’t. In truth it is a very import part of our spiritual life and growth.
This was brought clearly to my mind this week with the terrible and disastrous fires that consumed Paradise CA and endanger so many people as-well-as the fires to the southern part of the California around Malibu. Almost immediately on facebook was a “friend” who posted a fundraiser for their “friend” to help by a small camper trailer for use because their house had been destroyed. Then a request from another “friend” to help a crisis pregnancy center that had been destroyed and needed help to rebuild and continue to help the expectant mothers during this devastating time. And then I began to think about the many other “asks” we are going to receive in the next few weeks leading up to Christmas…yes even asks from the local parish…to help support the many worthy causes. On top of all of these “asks” there will be the stresses of the Christmas shopping and how we share gifts with family and friends. If all this seems overwhelming, it is to me, then we truly need to place God in the center to help us figure this all out.
First and foremost…there are many good causes who ask us to help them but we also understand the care we are called to have in stewarding our financial resources. What are we to do? It all begins with a conversation about love: love of God, love of family, love of stranger. Why is this conversation important? It places our values into a perspective of generosity. Love is an act of generosity that stretches us to see the goodness of God in all we do in the world, including the stewardship of our treasure.
Let’s begin with this dream Kerry Alys Robinson shares in the introduction to her book “Imagining Abundance” where she writes, “Picture yourself as an agent of change for your faith community bringing to full fruition what most think is impossible… What would you need to have such an impact? Many in the world see limitation, scarcity, insurmountable obstacles, and inability, while yearning for the opposite. There is no magic wand, no secret formula, no set of perfect preconditions for profound positive impact. Yet everyone can be an agent of transformation.” (p. 1) If we have started with a conversation of love, then all obstacles begin to be transformed as we see the possibility of goodness in each blessing and challenge placed in front of us.
Ultimately, I am writing this to begin a conversation during this season when so much is asked of us around our treasure and how we are called to use this gift. The conversation of love is recognizing our call to holiness and the vocation of holiness is one of community united together. Frank J. Hanna reminds us of this when he writes, “If we fail in this vocation to be holy, then, it seems to me, it doesn’t matter how great our wealth may be, or crippling our poverty: we’ve failed our fundamental vocation and failed at the most important task that was given us.” (P 129 from “What Our Money Means”)
As family we are called to share in these discussions of love as we look toward how we are called to be good stewards of our time, talent and treasure. We allow our whole family is invited into a conversation of generous love. When we begin to recognize what is most important we begin to choose abundance over scarcity and realize sharing what we have with others will help us to see God’s work in the little moments of life. I invite you to enter into prayerful conversations of discernment with God and family as we enter this joyful season of anticipation.
God Bless
Fr. Mark

I would invite you to study and pray more on this subject with one or more of the books below.