Through the eye of the needle
Going through the eye of the needle
In the 13th Gospel of St. Luke we read that Jesus told a rich young man that though he has kept the commandments, the one thing he must do to inherit eternal life is to sell all that he owns, distribute the money to the poor, and then come, and follow Him. Luke writes, "But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.'" (Luke 18:23-25)
One interpretation of this verse is that a well-known gate to the city of Jerusalem was referred to as the "eye of the needle." This gate was very low and difficult to enter, and, according to legend, a camel was required to unload all of its pack and enter on its knees.
In this situations it is not our actual possessions that keep us from entering into the heavenly Jerusalem, but more so our attitude toward them. If we administer our possessions properly, according to the will of God, we will have to gladly "unload" some of them and share them with the people around us; thus the entrance is granted. If we choose to keep them loaded on the camel, the entrance into the Kingdom will become an impossible task.
What God wants from us is to realize who the actual owner of our possessions is. When the priest at the Divine Liturgy offers the gifts on our behalf to God, he says: "Your own gifts, from Your own gifts we offer to you." As part of God's creation, man does not own anything, he receives everything from God and even our Liturgical sacrifice is just a return of a portion of the gifts we have received from God to Him, in thanksgiving and appreciation.
What actually God wants from us is to become good stewards of His possessions that He gave us for temporary usage during our earthly lives. The words steward and stewardship come from the Greek word "oikonomia", or economy, which means administration of the household. In the New Testament, it means man's administration of his whole life in response to God's love.
Man is therefore a steward, a manager of the "time", "talents" and "treasures" that God has given to him. God as Creator gives us time by granting us life, our very existence. God as Giver of all gifts, grants us our abilities and talents. God as Maintainer, provides for our needs by affording us opportunities to earn a living.
If I believe that God is the Giver, the Owner and I the steward, the manager, then it follows that a Steward trusts the Bible's directions on how to manage God's gifts. In 2 Corinthians 8:3-5 St. Paul writes: "they gave according to their means as I can testify and beyond their means, of their own free will...but first they gave of themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God."
As we approach our yearly Stewardship drive for our Parish it is important to remember that the essence of Stewardship is that we first give ourselves to God and then seek to do His will as his servants. Unless our hearts are in Christ, then we will find it difficult to do His will. We can only become His servants, by accepting His lordship over our lives.
We can give our "time" to the Lord by our daily devotion, reading his Word, by attending Church services and by assisting others in need. We can use our "talents' in response to God's love by serving God as a Sunday School teacher, a Choir member, a Parish Councilman, a Philoptochos member, by cooking, cleaning and so on.
We can use our "treasures", our income, God's gift to us, to glorify his name. A percentage of our income, according to the Bible, is to be used for the work of God on earth. By sharing our "treasures" with the Lord, we become co-workers with Him in His work of salvation.
Stewardship, as the management of God's gifts to us, is the method by which Christians should support their Church. We are to return a portion of what God has given to us back again to God. Proportional giving is equitable, for each person gives according to his or her means. Those who receive more may give more and those who receive less may give less and still be active parishioners of the Church. The decision of "how much" to give rests with the individual's conscience and love for God.
Stewardship has been the Christian method of Church support through the centuries. Stewardship is putting our faith into action. Stewardship is bringing Christ into our entire life, including our finances. Through our Stewardship pledge, we will support the programs of our parish and our Archdiocesan National Ministries.
As we look forward to the year 2008 we should carefully consider to "unload" some of our possessions and share them with the Church so with a light soul the entrance through the „eye of the needle" will become as easy as walking through the Church doors every Sunday!