Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost
October 14, 2007
Delivered by Ana Dunlop, Stewardship Chairperson
GOSPEL: Luke 17: 11 – 19
Hearing this story about the leper that comes back especially to give thanks to Jesus makes me want to think of times in my life when I have been especially thankful. One time especially stands out. I was nine years old.
I was attending a parish school, and had made my First Holy Communion. Instead of with a group, as was customary, I received communion only with my brother, since we had just moved to the parish in Larchmont, New York. For a First Holy Communion, it was all very anonymous. Nevertheless, the next school day, my fourth grade teacher at this parish school got wind of it. She surprised me with three gifts in honor of the occasion, a small gold pendant, a box of crayons, and a hug.
The box of crayons is what amazed me the most. I had never seen anything like it. Sixty-four crayons! A built in crayon sharpener! Soon I would go through the box and discover that gold, silver, and copper could be crayon colors. Then there were colors that sounded like plants: cornflower and periwinkle.
And most especially there were the mighty shades like burnt sienna and raw umber.
What made this gift so remarkable was that I realized that my fourth grade teacher, Miss Campanella, had picked crayons because she was aware—she had taken note—that I loved to draw. Had I known about the story we heard today, I would have realized I should have turned back, praised God, and prostrated myself at her feet, just like the Samaritan leper did at Christ’s feet.
I must also say how her attention to me upon my First Communion was not the only evidence of her gift with children. As a teacher, Miss Campanella had decided that she would teach us about the Civil rights movement, which in the mid 1960s was an important struggle for human rights in our country.
And this was something she taught about very well, because before becoming our teacher, Miss Campanella had been a Freedom Rider. She rode in a bus filled with people both African American and White that was headed for Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. In these states and others, African Americans were excluded, often violently, from being in public together with whites. But the Freedom Riders rode South to show all people belonged together, regardless of color.
By and by she came home and joined us in New York State. She became a teacher. In her new role she spoke to us about values. All humans are equal before God, and must treat each other with dignity. Discrimination is wrong. Even if you don’t mistreat people, you must fight for their rights when they are being abused. Standing by and being innocent yourself was not enough. Miss Campanella wore her baptismal vows on her sleeve. Why, in terms of my crayon box she was like raw umber and burnt sienna. She was a mighty crayon.
Because of these things that she did, Miss Campanella was an expert at Stewardship. Perhaps this will surprise you, as I have not said anything about her giving money to the church or any causes. But stewardship includes three ways of giving: treasure, yes, but also time and talent. It was through time and talent that Miss Campanella’s generosity shone through. She had the ability to understand a cause and knew what she had to give to support it: the time she took to travel south, then the talent to teach her students what that meant. What economy, to give twice from the same experiences and convictions. Which makes me wonder, is there anything I can take away from her use of talent and time that can be applied to treasure, or financial stewardship, as well?
First, I believe her desire to give her talent came from her love of God. Her decision to teach at a religious school, her celebration of the first time I received the Eucharist, these pointed to her passion for her faith.
In this way she was like the Samaritan leper. God was at the center of the Samaritan leper’s need to give thanks. He is happily healed, following his fellows to see the rabbi, when he turns around, runs back, to loudly, lovingly, and astonishingly thank Jesus. And gratitude is the unmistakable twin to the generosity that comes of good stewardship, a desire to give in thanks for what we receive.
Turning this love of God into the countless visible actions that demonstrate our generosity is the next big step. I have told you what actions Miss Campanella took. The steps in financial stewardship begin with making the commitment to give to the church or to help the poor and afflicted. However, the end result is that our love of God must translate to action if we are to become the stewards that experience joy of the leper and the passion of Miss Campanella.
Which leads to another part of stewardship Stewardship includes sacrifice. Miss Campanella had to make sacrifices to make her talent work for God. Miss Campanella could have written letters to the newspaper talking about how discrimination was bad, but she discovered she was capable of much more. And so before boarding the bus she must have known she was sacrificing her safety, and in fact ultimately many riders were viciously beaten. Giving up her safety was her most considerable sacrifice, but there were others. It is likely she had to leave her family and loved ones, a possible job, and a comfortable life.
Using Miss Campanella as a model, we can learn that to be good stewards also of treasure, we must sacrifice, or give up things in our lives so that our generosity may show our love of God.
Now that I have brought up sacrifice, I hope that I do not belittle the work of people like Miss Campanella and the other Freedom Riders, by saying that in some ways the stewardship of treasure can require more difficult kinds of sacrifice than the stewardship of time and talent which brought out the heroism of Miss Campanella.
The nature of giving is just different. Where is the thrill in completing a pledge card or writing out a check? A mere transaction, with no radical change to society nor smiling face of a child at the other end. On top of that, you have less money to pay your bills or buy things you enjoy. Yet I believe that all of you here, all of you who can give in this way, do give in this way to St. Peter’s, and to causes that help those in need, and in so many cases this involves real sacrifice.
Here I like to think of what St. Paul says about the gifts of the faithful as being like the human body. Paul points out that some parts of the body seem more significant than others, as if they were like the talent of Miss Campanella, or the buoyant thankfulness of the Leper. Other parts of the body seem weaker. Weaker is the word that St. Paul’s uses, but what does he mean? It may be that he means it is a gift that is less noticeable, unpretentious. Financial Stewardship, when you give money to the church or to a cause, does not have the drama of Miss Campanella’s ministry. Part of the point of much giving is that it is anonymous, not noticeable. Yet according to Paul it is that unnoticeable, unpretentious nature of a gift such as stewardship of treasure that makes it indispensable. This does not refer to being indispensable for the recipient of your generosity, but being indispensable to you, the giver. What you give, how you give, makes everything else you own holy. A holiness which has been part of so many of you for such a long time.
So Miss Campanella’s not part of my life anymore. I am really not sure I could find her again. So who’s going to be my mighty crayon?
You are.
You are my mighty crayons.
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