Start:Stop - Frozen Assets?

All are welcome, by Sieger Koder

Hello and welcome to this week’s Start:Stop reflection from St Stephen Walbrook, when we stop for a few minutes and start to reflect on a passage from scripture. My name is Phillip Dawson. You can listen to an audio recording of this reflection at this link.

This week the church celebrates Saint Matthew, patron saint of bankers, tax collectors and accountants. Inspired by Matthew, perhaps we might make time this week to take stock and interrogate where the value lies in the balance sheet of our lives.  

Our Bible Reading describes the Calling of Matthew:

Bible Reading - Matthew 9.9-13

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. As he sat at dinner in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners."


Reflection 

Whether it’s the accounts of a club or charity or a business, I’ve always found it immensely satisfying when I manage to balance a balance sheet; when all the numbers seem to add up! As a very much part-time book keeper, this only happens after several attempts - as the snowdrift of scrunched up paper around my seat shows! 

For generations, humanity has spilt a lot of ink trying to work out how to live in a way that truly respects the delicate balance of the world - described by the beautiful symmetry in the first creation account of Genesis and expressed in more technical language by today’s environmental economists. We’re still trying to engineer lifestyles that do not imbalance nature; to be effective stewards of God’s creation.

Business failures and financial crashes through the ages repeatedly highlight the far-reaching cost of failing to keep proper accounts; overvaluing assets, misstating liabilities. Practices that would make the father of modern accounting turn in his grave. A mathematician and Franciscan Friar, Luca Pacioli - who pioneered double entry book-keeping - described the role of the accountant using the biblical language of stewardship. For Fra Luca, taking proper account of the value of our assets and the true cost of our liabilities is a profoundly moral act. 

But when it comes to our own lives we might say that many of us - myself included - habitually falsify our balance sheets; not appreciating the true source and value of what gives us life; while underestimating the real impact of our lifestyle. It’s not until something happens to disrupt this artificial sense of equilibrium; redundancy, relationship breakdown, illness or the death of a loved one, that we stop to take stock; reconcile the account of our lives. In doing so we may discover that our personal balance sheet is not really balanced at all - the things we have valued as prized assets are not worth as much as we thought; we have overlooked or undervalued that which is dear to us; we have failed to take account of the true cost of our way of life on ourselves, each other and the world around us.

It is at times like these perhaps that we are most like Matthew, who realised that the balance sheet of his life was unhealthy; that he needed to be healed. He left behind his stock in trade at the tax booth and followed Jesus.

The Pharisees however thought Jesus and his followers were imbalanced. At the centre of their lives they placed the liturgy and ritual of the great inheritance of their faith - a faith which Matthew shared. But for them, the meaning, the value of this inheritance, was a frozen asset. They couldn’t understand why Jesus would associate with tax collectors and sinners. They were unwilling to consider the possibility that there might be an alternative understanding of God’s commandments, even when this was - literally - staring them in the face. 

We can see all around us the great balance imbued in the ecological systems of the world. Deep down we understand the balance - the give and take - that is at the heart of our most loving and long-lasting relationships. We know the joy of discovering true balance because it is often when our false sense of equilibrium is disrupted that in prayer we meet the love and mercy Jesus face to face.  

Let us not, like the Pharisees, continue to deny the true source and value of our assets; or the true cost of our lifestyle. May we treat the great inheritance of our faith not as a frozen asset; untouched and unchanging but, like Matthew, turn to follow Jesus; who has come to transform the unhealthy balance sheets of our lives. 


Silent Reflection


Prayer

Almighty God, creator of all,
we are in awe of the beautiful symmetry and delicate balance of your creation. 
Grant us the courage to calculate the real cost of our lifestyle on ourselves, each other and the world around us, so that we might be more effective stewards of it. 
Open our eyes to see the true value of what we have and to recognise the source of these blessings.
By the guidance of your Holy Spirit may we use these wisely to grow in the likeness of your Son,
Our Saviour, Jesus Christ,
Amen.


Thank you for listening to this Start:Stop reflection. We are holding a series of special events and services to celebrate the Return to the City, including our Business Harvest Festival and Rush Hour Jazz on our 7th October. Do check out our website for more information. Another Start:Stop will be posted online next week.


Links

St Matthew from an accounting perspective. Andrew D. Sharp. Accounting Historians Notebook. October 2000

Image : Sieger Koder, All are welcome