By Herb Berl
Diocesan Stewardship Officer

It is the custom during the Morning Prayer service at St. Elizabeth, Farragut, that after each scripture reading there is a period of silent reflection. I often use three questions contained in “A Disciple’s Prayer Book”: What word(s), idea(s) or sentence(s) stand out for you in the gospel? What is the gospel saying to you? What is the gospel calling you to do?

For the first question, the words “God so loved the world that he gave” stood out for me. The notion that giving is an act of loving is what I hear this passage telling me. What the Gospel is calling me to do is challenging. It requires me to discern what purpose God wants me to undertake that corresponds to the purpose of the sacrificial gift he gave to the world – and this goes beyond the time allotted during a Morning Prayer service. Maybe the reason we have the season of Lent is so that we can ponder questions like this.

What I plan to do is to prepare a list that is titled, “God so loved the world that he gave me …” This list may include things that are “outside the box.” I can assure you that it will not include “singing on key.” However, it will include those unique gifts God has given me, such as my accounting skills, my car, my joy in talking to strangers and my golfing buddies Peter and Alan. Please note that while I used the pronoun “me,” I know all these gifts are given to me by God for a limited time, and that they will be returned to God.

I think my next step will be to start using these gifts to do things like teaching members of our senior high school youth groups how to manage money, being a greeter on Sundays, delivering emergency food supplies, or saying “That putt is a gimme.” This will be the start of my personal yearround stewardship plan, which is to be using the gifts God has given me to do the work God has given me to do.

As you go through your own Lenten reflections, please consider developing your own yearround stewardship plan – and then share it with your closest friend.

“A Disciple’s Prayer Book” may be downloaded from the Episcopal Church’s Native American Ministries web site. See www.episcopalchurch.org/6057_3926_ENG_HTM.htm?menu=menu3925.

Herb Berl, the diocesan stewardship officer, may be reached at stewardship@etdiocese.net or 865-966-2110.