When John the Baptizer began his ministry, he didn't need much, a camel's hair coat, some locusts, and some wild honey did it for him. When Jesus added his disciples to his ministry, along with it came the need to support their work.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation and Prayer for Advent 2b – 10-December-23”
When we talk about the signs of God's presence, as we do when we get into the Advent season, we tend to think about God coming to us in the person of Jesus. However, what most people see of God is how God is represent in us, the Church.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation and Prayer for Advent 1b – 3-December-23”
There are so many things that this congregation does as a part of our lives of faith together. One of the most important of those is how we treat people in need. That's a bit part of the gospel story for today.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Reign of Christ A – 26-November-23”
We often think about giving back to God when it comes time to take up the offering, but we don't always think about what is to precede that. In the gospel reading for today, the master commends his servants for taking his money and making more of it before returning it to him.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper 28a – 19-November-23”
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”