March 20

Ezekiel 33:10 – 16

Link to Bible verses: Ezekiel 33

Stewardship/Partnership: treat all as vessels of the altar

Traditionally, this Benedictine spiritual value was stewardship, but recently some have been adding partnership. This addition or shift in focus makes sense to me. It invites interdependence more than dependence, it invites mutuality more than one-way care, and it invites greater accountability. If, for example, we think about stewardship of creation, “stewardship” alone can imply that creation requires our care or that creation is better off because of our care when in fact creation does just fine without us. Partnership, on the other hand, allows for the possibilities that we might not know best when we go it alone; we need to learn from creation, for example, before attempting stewardship.

In general, I disagree with theologies that suggest God rewards good and punishes bad. Although these verses of Ezekiel could be read in this reductionistic way, they become more expansive if we read them with partnership in mind. Partnership requires relationship, and relationship calls for trust and integrity. People who say one thing and do something different make partnership very difficult. But when we perceive all of creation as vessels of the altar, our words and actions are more likely to align. We become better partners—with each other and with God—in the care of each other and our world.

Thank you to Linda Land-Closson for writing our 2026 Lenten Devotions.