Readings
for Proper 20C:
Amos 8:4-7;Psalm 138; 1 Timothy 2:1-8; Luke 16: 1-13
September 19, 2004
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
Pastor Ross reminds us that Jesus is commending shrewdness, not dishonesty. The master "commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly." (Lk. 16:8) The underlying message of this parable calls us to self-examination regarding just how we use our cunning. Pastor Ross says, "Jesus observes, quite accurately, that human beings are far more diligent and shrewd building up material wealth than they are at building up spiritual capital." We go to great lengths to spend our time and energy conjuring up ways to fill bank accounts, while nearly forgetting the importance of filling our spiritual banks.
As I mentioned in my announcements to the congregation, our Diocese recently received an Audit and Management Letter for the year 2003 and first half of 2004. Donna Ross and the Standing Committee led us through this Audit. We are pleased to note that outside auditors give us a positive report; we have worked diligently and honestly to examine our books, find shortcomings in our procedures, and make changes in organizational process as needed. You, the shareholder, can rest assured that our current administration is handling your financial resources well.
Pastor Ross is relieved we are moving forward financially balanced. She now calls us to examine our spiritual health. In her reflections on Jesus' challenging parable, she asks this question: "What if Jesus, the outside Auditor, came to our Diocese to conduct a spiritual Audit?" Would we be able to open our hearts to honest self-examination? Would we be commended for our shrewdness in managing our spiritual lives to our benefit and the benefit of others? Would we be ready to invite Jesus to guide us to a cleaner spiritual house?
As I considered this question for St. Jude's, I decided I needed more understanding regarding just what a financial audit is, so I asked our Treasurer, Liz Jones. I learned that the purpose of an outside financial audit is to get an accurate representation of what happened, and to offer recommendations as needed. Liz said there are guidelines to help churches know how to distribute money that is donated. And auditors follow what are called "Generally Accepted Accounting Principles", or "GAAP", to accomplish their task. Of course, what I'm saying is an over-simplification, but here is the idea: It is as if there are "buckets", and you need to put money in the right buckets, and then account for where the money is spent, to correctly reflect the intent of donors. And, where there is a need, the Auditor will recommend a change-for instance, if you were putting money in the wrong "bucket" you would be advised to place it in the right bucket the next year, or create an appropriate new bucket if needed.
Liz went on to say it is much easier to do a bank audit, where you simply have an accounting for every check written and received. It is very black and white: either the check is there or it is not; either the numbers add up or they do not. Bank statements are very tangible. We know what we are dealing with. The numbers are there, right down on the page.
Taking a spiritual inventory is much more difficult. Perhaps the reason human beings are far shrewder in building up material wealth than they are at building up spiritual capital is, quite frankly, because it is easier. It is easier to see a tangible flow of money in and out of bank accounts than it is to see if we have filled our spiritual banks. We can't just jump on the computer, punch a few buttons and see if our spiritual bank account is balanced. If we could, perhaps we would find we've been overdrawn for years. We might balk at the idea we had not invested in the health of our souls with the same prudence with which we invested in the stock market.
Perhaps we have not been shrewd managers of our spiritual lives because there has been no "Alan Greenspan" to guide us, no "spiritual advisors" to help us create a spiritual portfolio. No one tells us which spiritual "buckets" to fill, or even how to create a spiritual bucket to fill in the first place.
If you were here last spring, during Lent, you might remember that our Rector, Pastor Karen, taught a series on Spiritual Formation, called "Renovare" ("to Renew") created by Richard Foster. In that series she identified six "Traditions of the Church", what we might call our "spiritual buckets," six areas of spiritual formation which have been traditionally a part of the Christian Church. She mapped these six areas on a kind of wheel, and said each of us has a tendency to fall within one of these categories. Foster teaches that if Christians are to be spiritually balanced, to keep the wheel round and moving forward, we are to practice the spirituality of all 6 areas.
The six Spiritual Traditions of the Church are:
There is no hierarchy to these 6 Traditions. They are equally valuable for the spiritual well-being of the Christian church, and of the spiritual well-being of an individual. We need all six.
Today, I want to offer you an opportunity to imagine these 6 spiritual traditions as being like the vertical slats of an old oak barrel. As Liz offered the image of "buckets" that we put our money in and draw out again, I want to offer this image of a giant bucket that will only hold water to the point of the shortest slat. In other words, if our spiritual life is lacking in even one area of the tradition, then we will have a leak, making it impossible to fill our spiritual bucket to the brim.
Some of you may be wondering, "How do I practice these 6 Spiritual Traditions of the Church? Richard Foster offers at least 12 spiritual disciplines which, when practiced, are designed to arrange our heart, mind, body and soul to be receptive to the power of the Holy Spirit working in us. As we practice spiritual disciplines, we begin to build up each of the 6 "slats" that create our "spiritual bucket." One of the ways some members of St. Jude's have begun to practice these disciplines is with the support of a Spiritual Formation group. Some Covenant Groups have adopted aspects of the Renovare method, also. Perhaps there are people practicing these disciplines on their own.
Some may think it takes a certain level of spiritual maturity to be able to invite Christ in to do a spiritual audit on us. However, I believe God's grace is available to all, at any moment. Grace is the spiritual power that invites us to ask for self-awareness to know if our spiritual bucket is filling. That grace gives us the courage to listen to our Christian friends who help us take our spiritual inventory. If we take investment of our spiritual formation as seriously as we take our investment in financial well-being, we will have time and spiritual strength to invite Christ into our hearts as our Spiritual Auditor, encouraging, evaluating, and recommending the development of new "slats", new aspects of our spirituality to create a bucket worthy of filling to the brim!
AMEN.
| Updated 9/27/04 |
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