One Christian symbol that you seldom see used is the ship. It represents the Church, the body of Christ tossed on an ocean of unbelief, worldliness and persecution. The symbol itself comes from Noah's ark and Saint Peter's boat that Jesus saved a number of times on the Sea of Galilee. When you look at the church throughout the ages you see times of corruption and neglect as well as faith. This ship as battered, leaky and neglected as it becomes it still manages to the convey the Gospel from one generation to the next, still manages to reach safe harbor with the souls of the saints. That the church survives, as neglected and battered as she often is actually strengthens my faith rather than depresses me. There is no way that she could move through the ages unless God is truly there to sustain her. It is indeed God's church.

We probably should not stretch the ship metaphor to far but I think it is safe to say that we are all on board. And if we take Scripture seriously Paul says; If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19) We are not just passengers, we are crew. The old ship here at Resurrection and in truth throughout the ELCA is taking a pretty good beating in the storms we are passing through, a tough economy, secularization of our culture, and declining interest in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a whole. Yet the miracle of the church ship is still with us, we are still afloat. I think that there is a little maintenance that truly needs to be done not so much on the building but on the church, the body of Christ itself. Structures are a lot easier to build than communities and communities are a great deal easier to gather than the body of Christ yet this is our God given calling as the stewards of the mysteries of God. God has indeed given us all that we have, both in life and breath and the material things that sustain us but also God has given us something that is truly priceless, God has given us a sacred trust.

It is a ministry that we ourselves support and nourish There is a difference between something that you have been entrusted with and something you own. One is yours to do with as you please, the other has a purpose that is greater than you and the part we are entrusted with must be passed on or returned. In the words of the offertory prayer, "we return to you what you have first given us, our lives and our possessions signs of your gracious love." This old ship we sail on is indeed a sacred trust, will it move into the generations beyond in better shape than we received it? How will God look upon our stewardship?

Charles Peterson and the others involved in our stewardship committee have designated November as a month to emphasize our stewardship. RLC is a little battered right now, we have indeed been through some rough times together. That gives us an even better reason to pull together and recommit to the ministry we have been entrusted with here at Resurrection. Stewardship is probably the best way to describe what it means to be a Christian. As stewards we take the things of God we have been entrusted with and use them for God's purposes. It is the simplest way of describing how we live out the words of Jesus in the Lord's prayer; Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven.

During November let each of us consider the gifts we have been given, and our commitment to God and the church and the ministry that has been given to us as a sacred trust. Let us pray together and as individuals that God will lead us in recommitting ourselves as stewards of the mysteries of God in this coming year that we to may hear the words of the Lord, well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master spoken into our hearts as we continue together in ministry here at Resurrection.

May the great ship which is the body of Christ continue to sail between the generation bringing Good News to those who are poor in spirit.

Pastor Jim Bliss
November 2009