One Minute Stewardship Meditations
1. The Feast of the Epiphany: Matthew 2:1-12
Giving is an act of worship. In fact it was the very first act of worship. On that inaugural Feast of the Epiphany, the wise men were filled with overwhelming joy at finding the Christ child. They fell down on their faces and knees, recognizing Him as King and Savior. And presenting to Him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Over timeall sorts of symbolic meaning has been attached to these three gifts. Gold indicated royalty and recognized the Christ child as the newborn king – a king for every nation who would draw people together. Frankincense, a type of incense, was burned in houses of worship as an offering intended to please God. This gift recognized the divinity of Jesus. And myrrh was an embalming spice, an ointment used to prepare bodies for burial. This gift recognized the human nature of Christ and foretold of his suffering and death.
But there is another important element to these three iconic gifts. Scholars also point out that gold, frankincense, and myrrh were tools of the Magi’s trade – they were items that these wise men would have had sitting around in their offices. Myrrh-ink in particular was of daily use in writing down magical charms and their foretellings. The wise men brought to Jesus, as gifts, products of their own countries and labor. Their gifts were directly related to their own everyday work. They brought what they had – not what they didn’t have. Have you ever toyed with this question of what gift you would bring to the Christ child? What could ever be good enough? The Epiphany story teaches us that we are called to bring ourselves to God. Our very own treasures and talents. True worship indeed!
2. The Miraculous Catch of Fish: John 21:1-14
“It is the Lord!”
The disciples recognized Jesus in the abundance of fish that was caught following His directive to cast their net on the other side of the boat. They seem to have known that it could only be the Lord who would lead them to such a generous haul, an unprecedented amount of fish that their net was not designed to handle, and yet did not break. Jesus knew just where to canvas.
As the story continues, the disciples are asked to bring some of their catch to a waiting charcoal fire. This prepared barbecue already contained some fish as well as bread. The disciples’ own contribution of fish combined with Jesus’ bounty to produce what must have been the best breakfast of their lives. And again it was in this shared meal and plenteous spread that they recognized Jesus. The comingled work of Jesus and the disciples yielded this miracle and revelation.
At its heart, Stewardship is the recognition of God’s generosity and our willingness to follow His example. It is a conscious decision to accept the life of abundance to which we are called, and to share this abundance with all of God’s creation. How do we recognize the abundance that is right in front of us? Can we accept these gifts as truly received from the hand of God? And how do we work with Jesus to both make miracles and cultivate generosity? For it is in this generosity that Jesus is truly known.