33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
READING 1:
Malachi 3:19-20a Psalm
98 READING 2: 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 GOSPEL: Luke 21:5-19
Stewardship Commitment Sunday Today’s readings speak of the justice of the Lord, our God that will come at the end of this world. There may be a final whistle for the entire earth; but the fact is each of us will experience our own final whistle. Jesus came and brought God’s salvation but also told us that we will be judged. He said, “My mother and brothers and sisters are those who do the will of my Father.” Also, “It is the will of my Father that I should lose none of these little ones.” He told us to follow him and at the end of Matthew’s gospel he told us to go out and make disciples of all nations. And he told us we ought not be afraid of the temporary discomforts of this life but instead we ought to fear the judge who would determine our entire eternity. The payoff for those who live as God wants us to live and those who do not live as God would want us to live are equally just. We want to go to heaven. Last weekend, everyone was given a copy of our stewardship brochure so we could read it and pray about it and discuss it. This week is the week we ask every household to turn them in. Example: Story of crossing the line in the Sand Brian Kluth, shares his family journey like this. He and his wife and three children discovered that Jesus draws lines in the sand and asks us to cross those lines in order to deepen our relationship with him and grow our faith. He wrote: There was a season in my life when my bills had piled up so high that I had more month than I had money! It was during this time that I was prompted in my heart to start giving 10% of my income to the Lord. This didn’t make sense to me since I didn’t have enough money to pay my bills and take care of my needs every month. But I decided to trust God and cross over this line in the sand to live and give more generously. The next time I received a paycheck, the first check I wrote (hesitantly) was a check for 10% to the Lord’s work. As I continued to do this, I noticed that I was not as foolish with my money, I had greater trust in God to provide for my needs, and I began to make progress in paying off my debts As a young family, my wife and I were prompted to give a gift to help a Christian ministry. At the time, this five figure gift was worth more than a half a year’s salary. As we prayed and discussed this giving opportunity, we decided to write a list of all the things we would be giving up if we gave this gift. We prayed and decided that this was a new line in the sand that God was calling us to cross. Again, with a bit of a shaking hand, I wrote the check. A few years later we found the list we had written and we were amazed to discover that God had graciously and unexpectedly provided for every item on the list that we had thought we had given up. Through this experience we learned that you can never outgive God. What about us? What “line in the sand” is God calling us to cross at this time. Youth In today’s Gospel, Jesus predicted that evil ones will seize you and persecute you…”you will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives and friends--and they will put you to death”. There are different ways of handing one over to the evil ones and there are different kinds of deaths. Today in the USA one teenager kills himself every 90 minutes and 10 attempt suicides for every one who dies. Why would a teenager lose hope? Hope is not wishful thinking or optimism. Hope is the perseverance to keep trying even after wishful thinking and optimism have proven useless. Our hope is God. No God, no hope, it is that simple. Nationally, one teen in ten attends church on an average Sunday. Where are they getting their information about the Church and our way of life within the Body of Christ? You know it: from the media, TV, the movies, rap music or whatever they are listening to, blogs on the internet. TV wants to tell us our bodies are not good enough; we need to drive hot wheels to be attractive. Is that what you think? We are the Body of Christ. My friends, it is time to be good stewards of our young people. If anyone in this church thinks other people are going to cover your share of the cost, what does that say about you? Currently our stewardship is supporting our program for 160 high school youth of whom 70 are preparing for Confirmation. Thank you for your stewardship. We have to keep up with the times and we have to attract young people and that’s why we need constantly improving programs for the young and a youth center. God is good all the time and God is good to us; we can do this. Academy We have 317 children in the Academy and waiting lists in nearly every grade. We are building up for 500 with two classes for each grade. Sr. Nancy and our faculty do a spectacular job. Our children end each school day with prayer and receive an individual blessing as they leave for home.. Again, we are building up the body of Christ. Our Academy and St. Patrick and St. Francis Catholic schools are bright lights to greater hope in Gainesville . Thank you, your stewardship is making this a reality because your stewardship supports all three schools. God is good all the time; God is good to all of us; we can do this. Catholic school tuition keeps going up and God bless our parents who struggle to pay it. But let us be clear about it; Catholic school tuition is not parish stewardship. It is a family investment that provides an advantageous education and it is a bargain that would be impossible without our parish stewardship. Just compare the tuition at other private schools. I have a dream that good stewardship will make Catholic education excellent and free to those who fully participate in the Church. But we are not yet a fully tithing community. Tithing is giving 10% of our gross income to God’s work. It is what the Bible tells us God expects. If we were tithing, our offertory would be $300,000 per week, as it is we contribute $60,000 per week. That is still very good; we are clearly on the road toward greatness; thank you for your faithful giving. Adults There are many options in Gainesville for adults to spend their time. Some are good, but few offer lasting blessings. We have various Bible studies, Alpha, adult classes, M.O.M.S., men’s reading group, Knights of Columbus for adults of all ages. We are starting a new program called “Theology on Tap” for 20-40 years olds to learn more about God, the Bible, Jesus Christ and our religion and spirituality. Our stewardship maintains these programs, thank you for providing for growing opportunities to enjoy each other while building positive lives into eternity. We are space challenged though and it is almost impossible to find a place to meet around here any night of the week. That is why we’d like an adult center to complete our activity center over at the gym. We can do this because God is good and God is good to us. Mortgages; Construction Costs We cannot cover any more debt from our regular weekly offerings. Since we are not tithing as a parish, we have no choice but to ask for building funds. We are doing pretty well. Out of 1800 families, 200 have made pledges. We now have $2,450,000 in pledges. We are past half way to our goal and we have much to be grateful for but it will not complete the project. These problems are a sign of vitality in our parish. God is good and God has been good to all of us; we can do this. Visual: Orange Let’s take in this visual, God has given us 100% of all that we need. We are not hungry when we go to bed at night. We have transportation and education and the ability to vacation. The great news is that God also provides an additional 10%, yes, I mean God gives us 110% so that we can participate in God’s work. I wish we could eliminate the middle man, but this is God’s plan. What are we doing with that extra 10%? [Splitting the orange] Let’s see: this goes to impulse purchases in the grocery store; this buys toys we may never play with; this buys extra gadgets on our phones that we don’t know how to use; this buys dvds we don’t have the time to watch. Now, what’s left of the ten percent for God’s work? Yes, the peel. Call to Action This is a tough year for our parish. We have to ask you for weekly ongoing stewardship support and we have to ask for a sacrificial gift over and above weekly stewardship so we can build the rest of our facilities here. This Legacy campaign and our annual stewardship appeal are invitations to step over the line in the sand and answer the call from Jesus. Your estimate for giving in any amount toward the parish stewardship next year and your pledge to the Legacy campaign in any amount will greatly help our ability to meet the needs of our parish. Your participation and prayers for our parish do make a difference. God is good all the time and God has been good to us; we can do this. Each family was given a stewardship/Legacy pledge card last week so we could pray and discuss this. Please to fill them out now. Chances are your circumstances are not going to change much in the next few months so you probably already have a good enough idea to estimate. If things change, we’ll make the adjustment with you. So, please write your name, address, the ministries your family participates in (the key is on this card), then write your estimate for offertory giving in 2008, this would be your stewardship (there is a percentage chart on this same card). Then write your pledge for the legacy campaign. Remember this is a three year effort, please indicate annually or total by your pledge. Please date the card and sign it. Then place it in today’s offertory. If you need to talk it over with someone who is not here today, please make a note of what you put on the card and call us if you need to make any changes. Please fill out the card now and turn it in today. Thank you all for listening and taking the message to heart. Even if you do nothing, we will offer Mass and the Body and Blood of Christ for you next week and every week. God will love you and I will love you. I can’t begin to tell you though how much of an impact your actions today will have on the future of our parish. So--thank you and God bless you. Fr. Jeff McGowan |
