A Weekly Stewardship Reflection, Sunday, October 21, 2018
By: Kemper Wharton
For the past twenty years, our family has been a part of the St. Mary’s family. I cannot say we would win an attendance medal but I can say St. Mary’s is always in our hearts as we have shared every possible emotion during our time here.
There is no way to put a value on our spiritual experience but during the stewardship season we try to do just that, as we consider our pledges. It is with this examination in mind that I ask, what is your why? Is it family value? Is it a feeling of obligation or a longing for a place to worship surrounded by loving like-minded people?
I am drawn to the words of an American folk singer and recipient of both the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Bob Dylan, and specifically, two ballads: “Gotta Serve Somebody” and “Stand by Faith”.
You might be asking yourself, Bob Dylan, really? Bob Dylan aficionados know that a great many of his songs have substantial religious meaning. These songs offer a glimpse into the why and then the how we can achieve our vision and dreams as we prayerfully consider our 2019 pledges. First, the why from a verse and chorus of “Gotta Serve Somebody”:
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
and “Stand by Faith” for the how:
How do we move
Move by faith
How do we move
Move by faith
How do we move
Move by faith
By faith, by faith, oh Lord
If we, through prayerful introspection, consider the blessing of being a part of St. Mary’s, a little country parish full of energy and momentum, and remember who we serve with an abundance of faith than reaching our goals will be easy.