Skip to main content

Seeds of Hope


This week's narrative lectionary reading is from Mark 12:41-44.  Jesus and the disciples are sitting across from the offering box at the temple.  Jesus notices that many of the rich gave large contributions, but it was not their large gifts that impressed him, it was the meager 2 coins offered by a poor widow. 

It is easy to read into this scripture and think that God wants us to give everything away.  Just a few weeks ago we focused on the story of Jesus telling the young rich man to give everything away.  Then he wanted us to give coin to Caesar and still give God our tithes and offerings.  Now we see that he is only happy with the woman who gave her last two pennies away.  Indeed, God does want our everything, but not that kind of everything. 

When people, who themselves are in need, give, it inspires something in us.  In North Carolina I worked for a children's home in the mountains.  It was over 100 years old and functioned mostly off of the interest from a large endowment that had been stored up through good stewardship.  There were hundreds of stories of people giving huge sums of money every year to the ministry, but one story stood out.  When a minister decided the area needed a home for children he walked the mountains knocking on doors asking for help from everyone who lived in the area.  When a young girl heard about the need of other children she gave the minister the first donation of 13 pennies.  It was all she owned.  Those pennies still sit on the mantle of the fireplace in that great home.  Her giving out of her need has inspired many more great gifts over the years.  It was a seed that grew into something magical.   

In our church, we recently focused on the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with a few loaves of bread and two fish.  We learn from the gospel of John that the food was a boy's lunch that he was willing to share.  He gave from his need, and while it may have been a physical miracle,  it could have been a miracle of inspiration.  As the crowd saw this boy give from his need, they were inspired to share as well.  In a world where there is enough for everyone, sharing is a kingdom value that could change the world. 

With the fear surrounding the coronavirus pandemic people are hording toilet paper, soap, and food. It will take people giving through their need to inspire people to release their strangle hold on the resources that they have hoarded in fear.  It is only when we begin sharing what seems like it is not enough that we will realize there is an abundance.  After Jesus fed the 5000 he had the disciples collect the leftovers.  There were 12 baskets full.   Have you checked on your neighbors lately?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Divine | Shame | Humans

Shame is often the only thing between our creator and us. Our reading this week is from Job 14:5-6: A person’s days are determined;      you have decreed the number of his months      and have set limits he cannot exceed. So look away from him and let him alone,      till he has put in his time like a hired laborer. Job is struggling with shame and judgement.  He is wondering why God is spending time paying attention to him, a tiny speck in the great universe, a blink of an eye in all eternity.  Why would God waste time casting a glance at us, let alone fostering us, raising us, and disciplining us?  He cries out "Why won't God just let us be, to live out our miserable existence?" A friend shared a post with me on Facebook this week.  It was a video of her dog who had stolen her donut.  The dog had been under the bed for two hours before she started the video.  The video begins with a clear view of the dog and the uneaten donut under the bed.  The dog casts glances from s
Post a Comment
Read more

Justice & Privilege

The narrative lectionary reading for this week begins a 5 week series on the book of Job.  We focus on Job 1:1-12.  This first section sets the background for the parable.  It is important to note that this is clearly a parable, not a historical text.  This means we must look beyond the described events and towards a deeper meaning within the text.   The story goes like this: ___ There was once a man who thought he was good, an upright citizen, a religiously devout man.  He made good choices and avoided all forms of evil.  He was so pious that he made sacrifices in the name of his family members in case they had unknowingly sinned.  He had great wealth and privilege, and so this was evidence of his goodness.   God was so pleased with this great man, named Job, that he bragged about him to the accuser.  The accuser objected "Of course Job is good, you have provided him with wealth, power, and protection. He would curse you if he was not so privileged."  At this, God takes the
Post a Comment
Read more

Fool for Christ

Our reading from the Narrative Lectionary this week is 2 Corinthians 5.  Verse 13 stood out to me. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. - 2 Corinthians 5:13a (NLT) John Wimber, the founder of the Vineyard churches did a famous sermon called "I am a fool for Christ, whose fool are you?".  Reading this week's text reminded me of this wonderful sermon.  Wimber's sermon reminds us that, as christians, we are called to something truly radical.  The christian walk is strange and counter cultural.  Jesus once explained this to his disciples in John 15 "If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. You don't belong to this world, I have chosen you out of it.  That is why the world hates you."   Peter, in a letter to the church, later referred to all of us as strangers just passing through this world.   Do you feel like a stranger?  Do you feel like the world hates you?  Are you a fool for Christ? Here is the thing, you are going t
Post a Comment
Read more