Proper 22A’26 Feast of St. Francis
4 October 2026
Matt.21.33-46
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
North Little Rock, Arkansas
The Rev. Carey Stone <+>
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly;” in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. – John 10.10 NRSV
Well, I did it again, I double booked myself to be in two places at once this morning – at the Inquirer’s class and at the stewardship cottage meeting! Thank you, Shawn Collins for covering my Inquirer’s class so that I can/could be at the cottage meeting!
It often seems like there just isn’t enough time, enough money, enough love and attention to go around – that is the resounding refrain that surrounds us. With the economic downturn we are experiencing we can find glaring examples of scarcity with prices across the board are continuing to go up while incomes stay the same.
Making matters worse is that much of what we say is being captured by our smartphones, tablets, and other smart devices in our homes. This information is then analyzed and connected to a specific algorithm to bring up ads on all of our devices so we can quickly find and purchase the solution to whatever we think is missing in our lives. The world is being driven by an algorithm of greed and we dear ones, are its targets. By constantly reminding us of what we are missing we become trapped in a cycle of scarcity.
So, what does the church try to do about any of it? Well one thing is to introduce an ‘algorithm of grace’ that seeks to draw us toward abundance, where we experience an overflow of what we need to live abundantly.
The way the church does this every fall strangely is to ask for your money, as well as your time and talents. We refer to it as a Stewardship Campaign and we are invited to give for the spread of the kingdom of God through St. Luke’s. Rather than hoarding our resources we are invited to share them generously!
The reason we can boldly ask is that the economy of the Kingdom of heaven never experiences a downturn, the Creator is not bankrupt! God stands ready to show the divine generosity to us so that we can share in turn with our community of faith that gives us all so much. To pledge a portion of our income to the ministry of the Church requires an act of faith, one where we are challenged to remember that everything we have, belongs to God already.
But the incessant algorithm of greed won’t be going away, and will be there to shout “there’s not enough, you can’t afford it, you’ll lose what you have”, it tells us that we “are on our own, that everything depends on us, and that God won’t or can’t help us.”
True abundance begins when a person stops hoarding out of fear and starts giving out of love, cheerfully, trusting that God’s supply is abundantly inexhaustible.
“Plenty Good Room” is the motto of this year’s stewardship campaign and it is based on the spiritual that we have heard the choir sing. The refrain reminds us that there is:
Plenty good room, plenty good room,
plenty good room in my Father’s kingdom,
Plenty good room, plenty good room,
just choose your seat and sit down.
There is plenty of room in God’s kingdom, a place for all of us no matter, our doubts, fears, and short comings – we each have a seat at the table.
I’d like to lead us in a visual object lesson to demonstrate the difference in scarcity and abundance.
• Make a fist and tightly clench it for 10 seconds, “Notice what happens when your hand is tightly balled into a fist. Two things are true: First, you are working incredibly hard just to hold onto what little you have. Your muscles ache. Second, a clenched fist is entirely incapable of receiving anything new. If God wanted to drop a blessing into your hand right now, it would bounce right off your knuckles. When fear makes us squeeze our resources, our time, and our hearts, we lock ourselves in a prison of scarcity. Now, open your hands and feel the release of the tension. You see, an open hand is the only one that can both receive and give God’s overflow of abundant grace.
This week, every time you are tempted to calculate your life based on what is missing, remember the divine math of God: little is much when God is in it. Break the loop. Trust in God’s Promise. Walk out of here today knowing that the economy might be down, and the prices may be up, but our God’s kingdom is open wide, fully stocked, and running on an infinite supply of grace. May this season of stewardship emphasis help us to leave behind the survival panic of the marketplace, to let go of the lie that there isn’t enough, that we aren’t enough, and move more and more toward abundance and a faith-based peace.
What fears are you being led to let go of so that your hand can open and receive God’s blessings? What resources are you being called to share and bless others with?
Plenty good room, plenty good room, for everyone!
Just choose your seat and sit down. Amen.