Psalm 107
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is
good;
his love endures forever.
his love endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story―
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.
4 Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
5 They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
6 Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.
Luke 12:13-21 (NIV)
13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to
divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who
appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to
them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life
does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man
yielded an abundant harvest. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall
I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “Then he said, ‘This
is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones,
and there I will store my surplus grain. 19 And I’ll say to myself,
“You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy;
eat, drink and be merry.”’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You
fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who
will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
21 “This
is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is
not rich toward God.”
~~~~~~~~~~~
I suspect a couple of you are thinking
Oh NO! We give her a few consecutive weeks in the pulpit and It's a
sermon on stewardship!
No it isn't.
I am NOT going to tell you to give more money to the church! Well
unless you want to!
I am using the Lectionary gospel
lessons as I preach, the lectionary is the set of 'prescribed'
readings that churches can use or not as they feel led. Each week
there is are readings from the Old Testament, the Psalms, an Epistle,
and a Gospel lesson. If one were to go through the entire lectionary,
in a 3 year time span, you would have read/and or preached most of
the Bible.
psalm is about those who have wandered,
no home, no permanence (perfect for hands of faith week...) Their
hunger and thirst is physical from being in the desert, but I suspect
the Psalmist here is also speaking metaphorically, telling a story,
about a spiritual hunger and thirst, which God satisfies!
The Psalmist reminds us to 'let the one
who is wise ponder these things' and the Gospel lesson is about a
'fool'! Interesting contrast there, isn't it?
Gospel lesson from Luke, this one of
many of Jesus' parables.
Parables. simply defined a parable is
“usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude
or a religious principle” Merriam-Webster online dictionary ...an
earthly story with 'heavenly meaning”
Jesus did not invent the parable, in
fact rabbis of this era told stories like this all the time. Jesus
did polish the art of story telling :)
Jesus' story here refutes the belief of
that time that if you were right with God, you would be blessed
materially. A rich person was viewed as being blessed by God. Jesus
is not reinforcing this belief is he? In fact, when God says, “you
fool!”...the word used here in the original Greek means not only
someone who is not bright, acting unthinkingly, but it also means a
non believer! Jesus' story equates the rich man with someone who is
not believing or cherishing God. He is not wealthy because of his
faith, but in spite of it.
21 “This is how it will be with
whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Is Jesus speaking to us about
possessions or about our preoccupations?
treasures are not just material things!
Also attitudes. That is why we sometimes pray for forgiveness for
'thought, word and deed'
Gerald May in Addiction and Grace
I am convinced that all human beings have an inborn desire for God.
Whether we are consciously religious or not, this desire is our
deepest longing and our most precious treasure. It gives us meaning.
Some of us have repressed this desire, burying it beneath so many
other interests that we are completely unaware of it. Or we may
experience it in different ways―as a longing for wholeness,
completion, or fulfillment. Regardless of how we describe it, it is a
longing for love. It is a hunger to love, to be loved, and to move
closer to the Source of love.
People are HUNGRY! Hungry emotionally
and spiritually, Hungry for love, a sense of belonging, wholeness,
fulfillment, for peace...for Shalom! The wholeness, peace and
protection of God. People were hungry, physically, emotionally and
spiritually, 2000 years ago, that's why Jesus referred to himself as
the Bread of Life, as Living water! People are hungry today,
literally going hungry, going without food, yet every single day 263
million pounds of food are wasted in this country. And yet people go
hungry. And they are hungry, emotionally and spiritually, yearning to
know that they are loved, cared for. That there is more to life than
scraping by every day, that there is hope and rest. That there is
shalom.
That is why we do Hands of Faith, VBS
and Book Bag Bash, Meals on Wheels, why we support Caritas and other
local groups and missionaries in this country and abroad. To help
people know that someone cares! there is satisfaction for their
hunger. Their hungers! the physical and the emotional and spiritual
hungers!
Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness,
of understanding, of peace. Money will come if we
seek first the Kingdom of God - the rest will be given. -Mother
Teresa
THE TREASURE OF THE CHURCH
St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 CE, but we remember him not for his martyrdom. We remember him as the Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred vessels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was Archdeacon, the Governor of Rome took Pope Sextus captive and demanded, "Where is the treasure of the church?" The Pope would not tell, and they tortured him to death.
Next the Romans took Lawrence captive. "Where is the treasure of the Church?" they demanded, threatening with the same fate that befell the Pope. Lawrence replied, "Governor, I cannot get it for you instantaneously; but if you give me three days, I will give you the treasure." The governor agreed. Lawrence left.
St. Lawrence was martyred in 258 CE, but we remember him not for his martyrdom. We remember him as the Archdeacon of Rome. His responsibilities included maintaining the sacred vessels of the small, struggling church and distributing alms to the poor. While he was Archdeacon, the Governor of Rome took Pope Sextus captive and demanded, "Where is the treasure of the church?" The Pope would not tell, and they tortured him to death.
Next the Romans took Lawrence captive. "Where is the treasure of the Church?" they demanded, threatening with the same fate that befell the Pope. Lawrence replied, "Governor, I cannot get it for you instantaneously; but if you give me three days, I will give you the treasure." The governor agreed. Lawrence left.
Three days later he walked into the
governor’s courtyard followed by a great flood of people. The
Governor walked out onto his balcony and said, "Where is the
treasure of your church?" Lawrence stepped forward, and pointed
to the crowd that accompanied him – poor families, the disabled,
those considered to have no value to that society. "Here are the
treasures of the Christian church."
these are the treasures of the
Christian Church. The ones who hunger and thirst physically,
emotionally and spiritually. The ones who God cares for and
satisfies, through God's own followers! The ones called “the Least
of these” are the treasures. And so are we, if we treasure others
as God treasures us.
You do know that God treasures you,
right?
There is a great quote by Max Lucado
“If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If He had
a wallet, your photo would be in it. He sends you flowers every
spring and a sunrise every morning… Face it, friend. He is crazy
about you!”
God treasures each and every bit of
God's creation, especially us! When we recognize that we are loved so
well, so treasured, we want to live out that love. Love doesn't need
to be saved up like a possession, love grows best when
we give it away!
Share a bit of that love today! Get to
know one another! Reach out to someone you don't know at all, by
helping with our church outreach events and with other opportunities
in our area. Reach out, right here in church, to someone you don't
know well, share a story or two. Sit down to coffee or tea together
or a meal.
Henri Nouwen
When we invite friends for a meal, we do much more than offer them
food for their bodies. We offer friendship, fellowship, good
conversation, intimacy, and closeness. When we say, “Help
yourself…take some more…don’t be shy…have another glass,”
we offer our guests not only our food and our drink but also
ourselves. A spiritual bond grows, and we become food and drink for
one another. In the most complete and perfect way, this happens when
Jesus gives himself to us in the Eucharist as food and drink. By
offering us his Body and Blood, Jesus offers us the most intimate
communion possible. It is a divine communion.
In a few moments
we will share in that Divine Communion. We will pray together the
prayer taught by Jesus. That prayer that helps us to recognize we
pray in community, we reach out in community. We grow in love by
giving it away, by giving of ourselves-- And yes, of our treasures.
Let us prepare
for that Divine Communion by singing together Let Us Break Bread
Together.
