“Our Bountiful Inheritance: Tenants and Heirs"
Sermon on Matthew 21:33-46 (10/5/08)
Jennifer M. Hallenbeck
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable to you, O God, our loving strength and guide. Amen.
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. The young man said, “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He was carrying me to safety when he was shot and killed. He often talked about you, and your love for art.”
The young man gave the large package to the father and said, “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. As he stared, his eyes welled with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the painting. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”
Sermon on Matthew 21:33-46 (10/5/08)
Jennifer M. Hallenbeck
May the words of my mouth, and the meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable to you, O God, our loving strength and guide. Amen.
A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael.
When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son. About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. The young man said, “Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He was carrying me to safety when he was shot and killed. He often talked about you, and your love for art.”
The young man gave the large package to the father and said, “I know this isn’t much. I’m not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.”The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. As he stared, his eyes welled with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the painting. “Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It’s a gift.”
The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.
Years later when the man himself died, there was to be a great auction of his art. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the famous paintings, hoping they would have an opportunity to purchase one for their collection.On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel.
“We will start the bidding with this picture of the man’s son. Who will bid for this?” There was silence.Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, “We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.” But the auctioneer persisted. “Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?”Another voice angrily cried, “We didn’t come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real works of art!” But still the auctioneer continued. “We are starting with the painting of the man’s son! Who will bid?”
Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. “I’ll give $10 for this painting.” Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. So the auctioneer replied, “We have $10, who will bid $20?”Another voice called, “Give it to him for $10. Let’s see the masters.”“$10 is the bid, do I have $20?” The crowd was becoming angry. This was not the kind of painting they had come for. They wanted more worthy investments for their own collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel. “Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!”
A man sitting in the second row shouted, “Now let’s get on with the collection!” But the auctioneer laid down his gavel. “I’m sorry, the auction is over.” “What about the other paintings?” the crowd shouted.
“I am sorry,” said the auctioneer. “When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will and I could not reveal that stipulation until this time… Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including all of the other paintings.”
//
“Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate…”
//
So many email forwards pass through my inbox…it’s not often that my attention remains with any of them. However, I received that story earlier this week and it just kept coming back to me…
And with this year’s Stewardship Campaign theme of “Our Bountiful Inheritance,” how could this story not keep coming back to me?
“Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate…”
It seems to me that it is so easy for us to lose sight of the forest because we often get lost in the midst of all the trees…we so easily get distracted by the things of this world – money, stuff, success, control – we get so easily distracted by these things that we can’t see the simple, but powerful beauty that surrounds us.
Like those greedy art investors in the story, we can so focus on the wrong prize – the bigger, fancier prize – that we fail to see the grace and hope in the bountiful inheritance that’s staring us right in the face.
It’s not wholly unlike those wicked tenants in today’s Gospel lesson. Those tenants became so greedy that they were willing to cheat and kill their way to keeping that which was not theirs to keep – both their master’s harvest and inheritance. The stories are different; the greed is the same…
//
The final video session from Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University is all about giving – the focus of the entire session is stewardship. You spend 12 sessions with Dave Ramsey teaching you how to budget, how to save, how to get out of all debt, and how to plan for the future; in the final session, he teaches the whys and hows of giving.
And during this session he spends a fair amount of time discussing what a “steward” is.
See, in medieval times, stewards were the property managers for the lords of the area. The lord was the owner of all the land and all the property; the steward was the manger, the caretaker.
Well, as people of God, we believe with all our minds and hearts that this world is owned by God – by our Lord. We didn’t create it…we don’t own it. It does not belong to us. But we are called to be stewards of this world – we are tenants and we are called to manage God’s world with care…
// //
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about what it means to begin a stewardship campaign in the midst of a national – even global – economic crisis. And, while stewardship is certainly not just about how we manage our money – it is also about how we manage our time and our talents – stewardship is, indeed, about money.
These days it seems as though everyone everywhere is thinking about money…we’re thinking about taxes, we’re thinking about subprime lending, we’re thinking about credit crisis – personal and national, we’re thinking about foreclosure, we’re thinking about $700 billion dollars being used to “rescue” our nation from Wall Street.
So…with all this money talk what does it mean to begin a church stewardship campaign in the midst of a major economic crisis?
I mean, I suppose Howard and I and the Stewardship-Finance Committee could have had an emergency meeting this past week and we could have decided that, with the national economic crisis in mind, perhaps we should nix this year’s stewardship campaign. In theory, we could have decided that…
But as I’ve played around with that thought in my own mind, the theme for this campaign seems to speak volumes: “Our Bountiful Inheritance.”
So…not only are we beginning a stewardship campaign in the midst of an economic crisis, but we even have the audacity to spend this campaign thinking about bounty…thinking about abundance.
As Wall Street and Congress scramble in the midst of scarcity, we in this church, are instead going to focus on bounty.
This theme – “Our Bountiful Inheritance” – it may seem a bit ironic right now…but, I think this theme says something important about who we are as people of God…
But as I’ve played around with that thought in my own mind, the theme for this campaign seems to speak volumes: “Our Bountiful Inheritance.”
So…not only are we beginning a stewardship campaign in the midst of an economic crisis, but we even have the audacity to spend this campaign thinking about bounty…thinking about abundance.
As Wall Street and Congress scramble in the midst of scarcity, we in this church, are instead going to focus on bounty.
This theme – “Our Bountiful Inheritance” – it may seem a bit ironic right now…but, I think this theme says something important about who we are as people of God…
// //
As our Worship and Stewardship-Finance committees discussed using “Our Bountiful Inheritance” as a theme for this stewardship campaign, a member of one of the committees who is a banker shared her struggle with the word “inheritance.”
In her mind, when she hears the word “inheritance,” she imagines something a bit like those wicked tenants in today’s Gospel lesson – though perhaps not quite so extreme as killing someone’s son in order to steal the inheritance.
But, as a banker, all too many times she has listened to families argue over an inheritance – who gets what, who should and shouldn’t get anything…in her mind, “inheritance” isn’t exactly a positive thing.
Thankfully, as people of Christian faith, we don’t think of “inheritance” only from that kind of perspective.
In fact, as people of Christian faith, we believe that everything good around us is part of the bountiful inheritance we receive as a gracious, merciful gift from God.
In her mind, when she hears the word “inheritance,” she imagines something a bit like those wicked tenants in today’s Gospel lesson – though perhaps not quite so extreme as killing someone’s son in order to steal the inheritance.
But, as a banker, all too many times she has listened to families argue over an inheritance – who gets what, who should and shouldn’t get anything…in her mind, “inheritance” isn’t exactly a positive thing.
Thankfully, as people of Christian faith, we don’t think of “inheritance” only from that kind of perspective.
In fact, as people of Christian faith, we believe that everything good around us is part of the bountiful inheritance we receive as a gracious, merciful gift from God.
God, of course, is the owner – the giver, the creator – of the inheritance…we are simply called to be faithful tenants and heirs of that inheritance.
//
“Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate…”
//
We truly are tenants and heirs in God’s world: everything we have, everything we are – well, we don’t own any of it…our money, our time, our talents…forgiveness, mercy, salvation, eternal life – none of it is “ours.”
It all comes to us as a gift from God through Jesus Christ.
And, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to be good tenants – to be faithful heirs – of this amazing, bountiful inheritance. Amen.
//
“Only the painting of the son was to be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate…”
//
We truly are tenants and heirs in God’s world: everything we have, everything we are – well, we don’t own any of it…our money, our time, our talents…forgiveness, mercy, salvation, eternal life – none of it is “ours.”
It all comes to us as a gift from God through Jesus Christ.
And, by the grace of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to be good tenants – to be faithful heirs – of this amazing, bountiful inheritance. Amen.
