Jesus said, "Whoever does God's will is one of my brothers or sisters." One large part of what we know to be God's will is to take care of the poor, the helpless, the forgotten, the hungry, and the suffering.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B5 – 9-Jun-24”
When Jesus disciples went through the field and picked a few heads of grain to eat, they were doing something which the people of Israel in Jesus' time not only allowed but planned for. It was part of the directions that God had given to Israel about how they should treat the stranger and traveler.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Proper B4 – 2-Jun-24”
There are a lot of things about God that are sometimes difficult to understand, things like how God presents God's self in at least three ways, as Father, Son, and Spirit. However, one thing we can say is that those three aspects of God work together in a complementary way in order to do the work God wants to get done,
Likewise, the Church is made up of a lot of very different people and the only way we can do God's work is when we work together in complementary ways, each giving of ourselves and our resources to make that happen.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Trinity Sunday B – 26-May-24”
On the Church's first day of Pentecost, the Spirit made it possible for the Good News of God's love to spread throughout the known world. The Spirit is at work in this congregation as well, providing the abilities and resources for us to reach out into this place, into our community, and into the larger world.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Pentecost B – 19-May-24”
Jesus sent us "into the world." We do that in all kinds of ways. We have ministries that are concerned with people within our own congregation. To help them to learn about what Jesus taught and to help them put those teachings into action.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Easter 7b – 12-May-24”
Jesus talks about "laying down one’s life for one’s friends." There's a lesser call on each of us... lesser in a way. It's not about giving our life for someone else in one great act. It's about giving of ourselves, our time, our talents, and our treasure to see that God's work on earth is done; to provide food and shelter for the poor, to aid those who are sick and suffering, to stand with the oppressed, to share the teachings of Jesus and to act them out in our lives.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Easter 6B – 5-May-24”
If you've ever had vines, either intentionally or unintentionally, you know that the branches grow and they climb and soon, they're covering anywhere they can reach.
The Church is like that, but in a good way. Because of our connection with the vine, the Church can reach out into our world and bring the Good News of God's love for all people.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Easter 5b – 28-Apr-24”
Sheep aren't thought of very highly in a lot of studies on the gospel text for today. They're usually called stupid. But that's not the point of what Jesus is saying. He says that the sheep of his flock know his voice and listen to it.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Easter 4b – 21-April-24”
In that experience the disciples had of Jesus after the resurrection, their minds and hearts were comforted, their minds were opened to understand the scriptures and the ministry that Jesus was calling them to from then on.
In the same way the Church has the task of standing with people who are oppressed and burdened by deep concerns, we teach people how to understand the scriptures, we prepare ourselves for the ministry that God has called us to do.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Easter 3b – 14-April-24”
In our scripture from Acts for today, the early Church is described as sharing all things together. While we don't have all our possessions in common like the early Church, we do share a common mission and common ministries.… Read the rest “Offering Meditation for Easter 2b – 7-April-24”