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The Sacrament of Stewardship
Stewardship AdvocatesTM
Adam and Eve ‐ The Proto‐Stewards
• Given their lives• Given a wonderful garden• Given each other• Given friendship with God• One condition only: offer it back
to God in thanksgiving• Accomplished by fasting,
thereby affirming that all good things come from God
The greeting of Adam and Eve
Adam and Eve the Tragic Story
• Took Eden for themselves
• Took back their lives• Refused responsibility• Forgot to offer back to God in thanksgiving
• Consequences: “Labor in toil…all the days of your life.”
The expulsion of Adam and Eve
Cain and Abel • Sons of Adam and Eve• Cain is a farmer; Abel is a
shepherd• Cain offers “the fruit of
the ground”; Abel offers “the firstlings of his flock and their fat portions”
• There is a qualitativedifference in their offerings – one is casual and minimal; one is thoughtful and genuinely sacrificial
The offering of Cain and Abel
The Fraternal Catastrophe• “The Lord had regard for
Abel and his offering”• “For Cain and his offering
the Lord had no regard”• Cain is angry and slays his
brother• Cain “went away from the
presence of the Lord”• In our envy and judgment
of others and craving for material gratification and security we are like Cain
Cain slays Abel
The Failed Stewardship of the Ancient Hebrews
• Disobeyed the law• Worshiped false idols• Rejected the prophets• Poor stewards of the promised land• Most failed to acknowledge and accept Jesus as the Messiah
• To become good stewards, we must acknowledge and accept that we too have done these things
Jesus Christ is the Good and Faithful Steward
• All that He says, does, thinks and feels is freely and lovingly offered to His Father
• Offers the ultimate and perfect gift of His life for us
• Resurrects Adam and Eve• Restores the sacrament of
stewardship• His stewardship is our
stewardship through union with Him in baptism, chrismation, communion, etc.
The Sacrament of Stewardship
• In the highest moment of our stewardship we are united with Christ in offering ourselves to God as Jesus offered Himself to God, His Father
• “Thine own of Thine own,we offer onto Thee, onbehalf of all and for all.”
• From this moment we go forward into the world to be good stewards of all that God has given to us
Surprised by Stewardship
All that we give to God is multiplied and comes back to us in unexpected ways.
The Blessings of Stewardship
• Freedom• Joy• Peace• Right relationship
with our possessions• Thankful heart• A purposeful life• Profound feeling of
being at home and connected to God and others wherever we are
Ordained Bastille Day 1974; 38 years a priest; four parishes served; B.A., M.Div., plus 30 courses of study in nonprofit institutional development;12 years serving as Vice Chancellor of Advancement at St. Vladimir's Seminary; 15 years as consultant to well over 100 Orthodox parishes and organizations; author and editor of Good and Faithful Servant: Stewardship in the Orthodox Church.
In June 2012, at his own request, Anthony was honorably returned to the ranks of the laity in order to receive the sacrament of holy matrimony.
Anthony L. Scott
The Principal of Stewardship Advocates
Contact Information and Additional Material
phone/text: 347.831.1848email: [email protected]: www.stewardshipadvocates.orgfacebook.com/stewardshipadvocatesfacebook.com/anthonyscottsatwitter.com/stadvocateslinkedin.com/in/anthonylscottpinterest.com/anthonylscott/slideshare.net/anthonyscottsanewsletter: http://www.stewardshipadvocates.org/