Easter is a time of renewal, and the perfect juncture for the lesson of giving.

Jesus shared with his disciples the need to give, to share, to take care of our neighbors, and to do unto others was we would have them do to us. Today we translate that into stewardship and sharing our gifts of time, talent and treasures.

“Matthew 6 (is) humane, in light of God’s abundant generosity. That whole chapter is an impossible call to live in a radical way toward our neighbors, strangers, ourselves,” said Rev. Joseph Moore, a Senior Ministry Relations officer with the Presbyterian Foundation.

“Matthew 6 is an instruction manual for living a generous life. Some of it involves money.  But most of it involves everything else.  I think sometimes we put everything involving generosity onto money … then we don’t have to think about the myriad other ways we are called to be generous,” he said.

In Mark 12, Jesus gathered his disciples to applaud the widow when she gave a small offering.  “I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood,” he said.

In Matthew 7, he talks of how giving proportionately embodies the Golden Rule. “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you,” he said. Looking at it that way, giving according to our abilities makes sense, right?

At Easter, we learn of sacrifice and rebirth – which challenge us to examine our commitment to taking care of the land, our money, our families and our community.

“I’ve been preaching on Acts 4 in a lot of churches,” Moore said. “That text has the famous line… ‘and they shared everything and no one had any need…’. But a few verses before that describe the early church as being ‘of one heart and soul’ which is a euphemism for ‘friendship.’

“So really I’ve been preaching a sermon on a generosity of friendship as a prerequisite toward any sort of generosity of property or money,” Moore said.  “It’s sort of a sideways approach to inviting people to think about stewardship differently.”

For more thoughts on whether your church should collect an offering on Easter, see this article by Joseph Moore that explores the topic in depth.

As Christians, faith without works is nothing. Stewardship means being good caretakers of God’s world and working for justice within our community. What does this mean to you? Maybe it’s working with local farmers’ markets to promote local produce and small farmers. It could be working through local community and government groups to create new parks and open spaces.

Tutoring in local schools or after-school programs, volunteering at a warming shelter or food bank – the opportunities abound, and many churches, chambers of commerce and non-profits are happy to point you in the direction you seek.

And don’t forget, of course, to spend your time, talent, and treasure at your church. Our churches are collections of people who are (hopefully) generous with friendship and community support. Giving monetary support to your church is a wonderful investment of all that God has entrusted to you, and your time and talents will be deeply appreciated.

Christ is risen – and calls us to action on Easter.