When Jesus spoke about burdens that some of the Pharisees were putting upon others, part of that was the obligation give their tithes to the religious community. The prophets and Jesus both talked about the futility of doing that.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 26A 5-November-23”
"The two Great Commandments are guidelines for all we do in our lives of faith as individuals and as the Church. As such they are appropriate for this time of offering as well. When we consider what we will give back to God for the work of the Church, there are no better guidelines than, support that which embodies our love for God and communicates our love for all people, all our neighbors.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 25a – 29-October-23”
You probably can't find a more appropriate verse to enter into a time of offering than our gospel passage for today. I could simply say Jesus' own words, "Give to God what is God's." and end there... but I won't.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 24a – 22-October-23”
Jesus' warning in the gospel reading for today is that it's not about who we know or who we associate with that opens up the Realm of God for us. We should also say that it's not about doing good things either, like contributing to the offering.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 23a – 15-October-23”
In the story for today, Jesus talks about people who selfishly try to keep the blessings and love of God to themselves. That's the one thing we can't afford to do as the church.
There are a lot of things going on in the church, but all of them have one thing in common: They're all ways that we demonstrate the love of God, freely given to all people.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 22a – 8-October-23”
As has been said, the problem with the Pharisees was not that they weren't trying to do good. It was that they were also limiting who was seen to be worthy of the good works they did and who was welcome in worship and the life of their faith community.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 21 – 1-October-23”
The economics of Jesus are very different from the economics we encounter in the world around us. In the Church, our economics have one foot in the Realm of God and the other in our world. We have to pay in order to keep the lights on and the water flowing but we also use our resources to help people see God's love in action and catch a glimpse of what our world could be if we all loved as God loves us.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 20a – 24-September-23”
The scripture for today is one of those that show us how the Church is supposed to be run differently than any of the other institutions we come into contact with. Our whole "business" is built around the concept of building community and as highlighted in the scripture, treating others with love and forgiveness.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 19a – 17-September-23”
Jesus speaks to us about restoring broken relationships. That's actually not a bad description of what Church is about. We work on our relationship with God, both individually and as a community. We work on our relationships with each other, so that we can become the beloved community that Jesus began.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation (Gospel) for Proper 18a – 10-September-23”
Jesus stated the paradox, "those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." There's another one very like it: "We gain a lot from giving away."… Read the rest “Offering Meditation (Gospel) for Proper 17 – 3-September-23”