The day is a special time to gather and to celebrate, but as Christians it is also a time to reflect on another sign, the special gift that Jesus has given to each of us this day. As Christian stewards, we are called to be especially mindful of our Lord’s gift, and how after His resurrection the disciples were instructed to go and make disciples of all the nations. Each of us has been baptized into this discipleship, and we too must heed Jesus’ words.

Whenever discussions about stewardship arise, they often turn to a narrow focus on only the treasure aspect of stewardship. This narrow focus is like suggesting that Easter is only about the Easter bunny and colored eggs. Like Easter, there is much more to stewardship, and we are challenged to broaden our horizons to see the whole picture about both. The point is that if we focus too narrowly on one idea, we may lose track of the real meaning of both stewardship and Easter.

One definition of stewardship is, "The response of each individual’s call to discipleship whereby one responds to the mission and ministry of the local and universal church, sharing the Gospel of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It recognizes that each of us is not the owner of our lives, our time, our talent or our treasure, but stewards or managers of those gifts God has first given to us."

We all know that managing a business, or the responsibilities of a job, can be difficult at times. It seems that there is not enough staff, enough time, or enough resources to always accomplish our goals, and juggling the limited resources available to us to maximize our objectives can sometimes appear impossible. In much the same way as with a business, stewarding -- or managing the gifts that God has entrusted to each of us -- can appear impossible without clear goals and objectives.

This Easter season is a time for us to reflect on Jesus’ words to the disciples, that is, go and make disciples of all the nations. These words should be our goal, our objective, in the weeks and months ahead. As Christian stewards, we have been charged with the responsibility to respond to the mission and ministry of the Church, and how each of us chooses to manage the gifts we have been entrusted with will determine if these objectives can and will be met.

May this Easter season be filled with the signs of new life and may God bless you during this special season. As we celebrate Christ’s resurrection on this Easter Sunday, let these signs of Spring, of bunnies and candy and eggs and of new life, be reminders of all of the gifts God has entrusted to our care. Through prayer and continuing dialogue with God, we will then come to understand how we can best "steward" these gifts and fulfill Jesus’ instructions to His disciples to go and make disciples of all the nations.