Beloved Stewards of St. George Greek Orthodox Church,
In the 14th chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew, we read about the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand by Christ. Let me quote the final verse in particular: “And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” He said, “Bring them here to Me”.
A traditional American proverb says that, “God makes this request of His children: Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have, now.” The story of our Lord feeding the five thousand illustrates this through the offering of all that was to be had, namely five loaves and two fish. The disciples did their best with what they had to give and Christ used it to perform an incredible miracle. Just like the disciples, God makes that same request of each and every one of us. “Do the best you can, where you are, with what you have, now, and bring it to Me”. Sometimes I think we forget that last part. Maybe we trick ourselves into thinking that God won’t be able to do anything with our offering because it is too small. Maybe we deceive ourselves by thinking that someone else will bring the offering. Or perhaps, you don’t believe that God does miracles any more. That God won’t receive our gifts and multiply them to feed His people. Yet, we offer bread and wine and He returns it to us as His Body and Blood in Holy Communion. We offer ourselves and we become the Church, His Body on earth. We offer ourselves here in Eugene, Oregon, and we become St. George Greek Orthodox Church. We offer ourselves and our whole life to Christ our God, and we receive transformation and salvation in return. All of these are in my opinion, pretty miraculous things.
No matter how much we give, God cannot be outdone. Just like the disciples who offered the loaves and fish, if we offer what we have-however great or small our gift-with prayer and humility, God will receive our gifts and multiply them to feed His people. If we continue to offer ourselves and our whole lives to Him, He will receive us into His Kingdom. We must bring what we have to God from our hearts.
Thank you again for your faithful stewardship! May God bless you and keep you!
Stewardship and the Steward
Orthodox Christian Stewardship is a way of life, which acknowledges accountability, reverence, and responsibility before God. A primary goal of stewardship is to promote spiritual growth and strengthen faith. Becoming a steward begins when we believe in God, to whom we give our love, loyalty and trust and act on those beliefs. As stewards, we affirm that every aspect of our lives comes as a gift from Him. Stewardship calls on the faithful to cheerfully offer back to God a portion of the gifts with which they have been blessed.
An Orthodox Christian steward is an active participant in the life of the church. The parish encourages all who accept the Orthodox faith to become practicing stewards. Each year the steward is expected to make a commitment of time, talent, and treasure to support the parish and her ministries, which in turn support the national ministries of our Archdiocese and our Metropolis.