On occasion in my sermons, I have alluded to medieval Armenian Churchman Mkhitar Gosh’s Fables, his collection of morality tales using animals and plants as his characters. In the manner of Gosh, I have a humorous fable for you today to lead us into the spirit of stewardship Sunday: A pig and a chicken were walking through the barnyard one day, whispering about a birthday plan for their master Farmer Bedros. ‘What do you think we should get Farmer Bedros for his birthday?’ the pig asked the chicken. ‘Well maybe we could go in on something together,’ replied the chicken. ‘We could make him a bacon and egg breakfast.’ Astonished, the pig turns to the chicken, ‘For you this is a contribution, but for me this is a total commitment!’ Gosh’s fables always have a lesson for believers; so too does this tale.  You could say that on Sundays and in the course of our lives, we offer up our own bacon and egg breakfasts to celebrate the great love and care of our Lord. Like the chicken, we offer contributions of what we have to sustain God’s church and each other. And like the pig, we are even called to offer our very lives to God, trusting ever deeper in God’s eternal promise of redemption and renewal.