The Lightbulb Theology of Stewardship

Rev. Paddy Cavanaugh, Pentecost 19, Year B, 9/29/24

Readings: Esther 7:1-6, 9-10; 9:20-22, James 5:13-20, Mark 9:38-50

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, amen.

The dean of Virginia Seminary has a habit of opening his sermons with a joke, and he even wrote a book about Episcopal humor, which I’d highly recommend, so I thought I’d take a proverbial page out of his book today.

How many Episcopalians does it take to change a lightbulb?

It takes three – one to look up the prayer for the changing of a lightbulb, one to contact the vestry liaison for lightbulb transitions, and one to write a thank you note to the donor of the previous lightbulb.

I like this silly joke very much because of how well it captures some of our Episcopal idiosyncrasies, and also because it provides a perfect starting point for exploring our scripture lessons at the start of stewardship season, when we turn our attention to how all of us can sustain our common ministry and mission in the coming year and beyond. So I’m going to let the joke guide the theology of this sermon.

Let’s start with the person finding the prayer for the changing of the lightbulb. I believe that if he were alive and a member of this parish today, this person would be St. James. In today’s epistle James offers delightfully precise instructions as to what one can do should they find themselves in a variety of different spiritual circumstances. For instance, if you are suffering, pray; if you are not suffering, give praise; if you have sinned, confess; if someone is sick, intercede for healing. I love when scripture presents us with these rare moments of total clarity as to what we can do to live out our faith in daily life, and the Episcopal Church seems to have taken this passage seriously too, because if you turn page 810 of the Book of Common Prayer, you can find a list of 81 unique prayers for nearly any occasion – prayers for guidance, for our country, for healing, for families, and even a prayer for rain. If you ever find yourself at a loss for words and in need of prayer, I’d highly commend what our tradition has to offer us by way of prayer, and in fact it’s the focus of the Sunday School lesson crafted by Bernie Piper today.

And I think prayer, in the many different forms it takes, is at the heart of what it means to be good stewards of the Church. Prayer is in fact the primary privilege and responsibility of the Church. Gathering to offer our thanks and praise to God each Sunday and then supporting one another and ourselves through prayer and devotion throughout the week is our reason for existing as a community. St. James understands that prayer is at the core of the Church’s ministry, which is why he sought to provide guidance on the various ways we can strengthen our communal commitment to God and one another through it. So as we enter into stewardship season, the first thing that we ask of you is your prayer. Prayer that all of us here would continue to pursue the Church’s mission this year with, courage, joy, and creativity.

Next, we have the person to contact the vestry liaison for lightbulb transitions. It’s no secret that Episcopalians are fond of upholding the governance and good order of the Church through our myriad of committees, subcommittees, lay ministries, delegates and liaisons. While to some this may seem an overly bureaucratic way of organizing the Kingdom of God, the truth is that I think we’ve all found ourselves in groups that lack a sense of organizational clarity, where no one seems to know who is responsible for what. And this lack of organization both impedes the effectiveness of a group’s mission and adds a layer of unnecessary anxiety and frustration among those who belong to it. A wise mentor once told me that one of the keys to good ministry is good structure, and I couldn’t agree more.

And this is where the second lesson for stewardship season lies. As I sat down to write this sermon I counted at least thirty-five distinctly organized opportunities to engage in a ministry at Saint George’s. From choir, to worship, to children & youth, to social justice & outreach, to formation, administration, and opportunities we don’t even know about yet; there are an untold number of ways for you to offer your unique gifts in service of God and neighbor.

And if you feel that you aren’t the right person for the job, that someone else, someone more learned or devout or capable should be leading the ministry of the church, I’d like to remind you of Jesus’s words in the Gospel today. When the disciples come to him complaining that someone they don’t know is exercising ministry in his name, he rebukes them. He tells them not to impose arbitrary stumbling blocks in the way of one another or themselves which impede our calling to minister in Jesus’ name.

As you may know by now, one of my soapbox talking points in life is that every single person is called to ministry. You, by virtue of your baptism, are licensed for ministry in the Church. You may not be ordained ministers, but you are ministers no less, and this world depends on all of us to continue the ministry hope, healing, and teaching, which we inherited from Jesus Christ himself. So friends, this stewardship season I invite you to claim your call to ministry, or renew that claim, wherever that may be, because in doing so I think you will find a new dimension of purpose and fulfilment in living out that call.

And finally, we have the person to write the thank you note to the donor of the lightbulb. And this one really touches me actually because the reality is that every single thing in this building – the cross over this altar, the roof over our head, the crayons in Sunday School, the cup of noodles handed out at the food pantry, even the screws in our chairs can be traced back to specific faithful people. 

Everything here that helps us to better give glory to God was given first, through God’s grace, and second by someone who allowed God’s grace to work through them. And while sometimes we can feel awkward about speaking candidly about the necessity of money to pursue God’s mission in this world, I don’t think we really need to. For money is simply another tool at our disposal to accomplish the work of justice, mercy, and love that God is calling us to. It’s a tool just like this microphone, just like that lightbulb that needs changing. And friends, if we can use all the tools at our disposal – our prayers, our ministry, and, our treasure – then we can keep that light burning for another thousand years. Because that old parish hall lightbulb shines light of Christ. Amen.