We Must Bear and Give Good Fruit
Stewardship testimony, by Doris Gukich (Father Tim’s sermon follows this.)
My husband Robert and I attend and enjoy Sunday School each Sunday led by Deacon John Motis. Last year Deacon John made a statement that was profound and I wrote it down and want to share it with you.
Christians are like cow manure- I didn’t say this - Deacon John did - but I do know about cow manure since my husband Robert is a large animal veterinarian and if you can picture what he does let’s just say he comes home covered in it.
Christians are like cow manure; if you spread them out they help things grow better …but keep them in a big pile and they stink horribly. I want to share how Good Shepherd has worked to make things grow better.
The Collect Father Tim read earlier began with “Almighty and Everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve.”
Robert and I know Jesus has given us far more than we deserve. Perhaps you believe like us that we can never give back anything no amount of money or time equal to what Jesus has done for us and given us.
One of my favorite hymn is Great Is Thy Faithfulness and it is our Offertory song today. The part that speaks to my heart is:
“All I have needed thy hand hath provided. Great is thy faithfulness Lord unto me.” He’s been faithful and I want to be faithful to him.
You obviously do too since you are giving of your time today as you are seated in the church or stopped your morning activities to view church online.
One way we can be faithful is to live out those things Jesus considers important. Like in Matthew 25 verse 35 and 36 when Jesus said: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat
Good Shepherd Church feeds Elementary School Children with the Polk Ave Back Pack program not only during the school year but through the summer also.
Good Shepherd also contributed money to the LWCC Food Pantry to feed hundreds of families who were unemployed by the COVID 19 pandemic in our community.
In Matthew Jesus said I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
Good Shepherd put a well in Santa Maria Honduras for the church we have built there and it has provided water for the those that are thirsty in the entire community for many years.
In Matthew Jesus said I was a stranger and you invited me in.
Every year Good Shepherd opens its doors to many community programs such as Alcoholic Anonymous that meets in one of our apartments weekly.
We invite the annual Stay at Home Work Campers to come to the church to be refreshed.
The youth that our Camp Wingman Scholarship supports are strangers.
The Honduras Scholarship Program Good Shepherd has, helps students there receive a private high school education that they could never afford without our help.
Again in Matthew Jesus said I needed clothes and you clothed me.
Good Shepherd has a program called The Closet that I love. It provides coats to elementary children in our community who show up to school on that first cold snap and have nothing warm to wear.
And our Thrift Shop that allows people to buy clothes for a fraction of the price.
Also in Matthew Jesus said I was sick and you cared for me.
I was so proud that Good Shepherd provided food to honor those public servants in our hospitals caring for those that are sick, and food for those working at the police and fire station. Those on the front line that are giving so much of themselves all the time but particularly during this year of the pandemic and social unrest.
And then in Matthew Jesus said I was in prison and you came to visit me.
As long as I can remember Good Shepherd has participated in the Kairos Prison Ministry. It is heartwarming to see our churchmen volunteering their weekend to go minister to the prisoners at Avon Park Correctional Institution.
And for the females who can’t go, we get to send cookies which I hear those cookies are what entices the prisoners to show up having no idea what our Lord Jesus has planned for them that day.
See, You and I can’t always go to those in need but we can support Good Shepherd in order for our church to have the resources to reach out and help.
And the reason that is so important for us to do is because in Matthew 25 verse 40 Jesus says
Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sister, YOU DID FOR ME.
When we pledge to the Church of the Good Shepherd we are fulfilling the scriptures Jesus gave us that told what was important to him.
If you haven’t made a pledge, please consider doing it and for those of us who pledged last year let’s consider increasing that pledge.
This church, this community of believers, that’s you and me so we can reach out and be Jesus’s hands and feet to those in need.
Father Tim’s sermon:
Thank you Doris. Doris has described a number of key ways in which our church is actively involved in our community. There are more ministries we do as a church, there are many more that our members do apart from the church, from volunteering and serving as leaders with various nonprofits in our community, especially the Lake Wales Care Center, not to mention the unending acts of kindness and support that go on quietly within and beyond the church.
And, frankly, that is a constant focus. As I look back over the last 6 months of this pandemic, the continual itch is “What else can we do?” for our church family and our community.
All of this is vitally important to our life as a church and speaks to the fundamental responsibility that comes with being the body of Christ, with being Godly people.
Jesus shared this parable about the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33-46) to boldly and publicly confront Israel’s failed leadership. We must take note of where he is – at the Temple, the central, physical focus of Israel’s religious and national life. We must take note of when he is – this is after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover. the central, formative remembrance of God delivering them out of bondage in Egypt.
Surely you noticed that the setup of the parable is a direct reference to our Old Testament passage from Isaiah (Isaiah 5:1-7). This passage was then and is to this day used at Passover. The vineyard is Israel. The wicked tenants are the leaders responsible for bearing good fruit for God. The servants are the prophets and Jesus himself is the Son. The fruit that has been withheld is the fruit of righteousness, charity toward the poor, the widows, the orphans and others whose hope is in God. That hope is most often realized when God’s people enact it. When God’s people don’t, they fail to follow his will and his Word.
The lesson here is that the magnificent physical structure of the Temple and the established leadership structure of Israel had become a thing unto itself. That – the leadership structure of an organization becoming a thing unto itself and failing to enact its mission – is a fundamental problem for any organization and our organizational structures tend to fall into it.
It’s certainly a danger for the church generally and for local churches. It can slip up on us. We might be doing pretty well in having faithful beliefs. We might also be doing what God says to do in comporting ourselves, saying our prayers, going to church, being honest, not stealing, staying faithful in marriage. But that’s not enough. God also commands us to care for the poor, the widow, the orphan, the needy. The heart of God has to shine through us.
This is the essence of stewardship, that our resources have come from God and He expects, commands, insists, that we enact what we say we believe. In fact, it’s a bit silly to say we believe something but don’t actually do anything about it.
You see, what we say for the Church is also true for us as individuals, internally. One of the most challenging issues for many young adults is figuring out who they are and what they are supposed to do with their lives. Our young adults group is starting with a study on that very topic. Once you know what you’re supposed to do, you’ve got to get on with it. (Even if you don’t know, you’d better get on with something while you try and discern God’s plan. Get on with it is a good plan.)
Paul knew what he was supposed to do, or at least thought he did. (Philippians 3:4-14) Paul was smart and passionate in his zeal for the law. As a Pharisee, were he a bit older he would have been – perhaps very likely would have been – among those Pharisees Jesus confronted that day in the Temple.
Paul’s internal hierarchy, his thinking, his philosophy, was very rigid and not only could he not accept the Good News about Jesus, he actively set out to destroy the Church. He had it all figured out, inside. Then, one day on the Road to Damascus, it all changed when he was confronted by the living Christ who asked, “Why are you persecuting me?”
Paul had run headlong into the cornerstone and he was smashed to bits. That happened in a moment, but it took Paul years to reconcile it with everything he had learned and experienced in his life. Then he was able to harness all of his excellent education and expertise in the scriptures along with his intense focus and zeal to become the greatest missionary the Church has ever known.
Each of us must remember that we are tenants in God’s vineyard. Each of us must take stock of the quality of fruit we are producing. Together we will ensure that this house of God honors His Son and stays on mission sharing his Good News and enacting it for His people. AMEN.