Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017, Pentecost 24 (full size gallery)
A beautiful Sunday after a front cleared the air. Temperatures were mild. We had a large crowd – 59.
This was the second week of Dickens, A Christmas Carol in relationship to the Bible. This week in 6 scenes Scrooge went back to his past to understand his condition, partly as a result of his own upbringing and partially his own fault due to missed opportunities. The Biblical principle is Regret, and the key scripture is Ecclesiastes 3:15 “Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account.”
This week was the final collection in the Season of Giving for Samaritan’s Purse and also the ECM Thanksgiving. We collected 9 boxes for Samaritan’s Purse.
We also handed out materials for #GivingTuesday where we are trying to raise money in support of the Village Harvest. We had posters and labels to share with friends, neighbors and businesss. This past Wednesday, Nov. 15, the Village Harvest served the largest number of people – 191. Thus it is a great time to build up support. The Season of Giving includes the Village Harvest to try to gain funds within the church. #GivingTuesday goes outside the church.
This Sunday recognized many in the Long family.Laura Long returned as preacher. She was here formerly April 19, 2015 in that capacity. Recently she has worked with the refugees in Athens. Here is an article she wrote about that experience. She used part of next week’s scripture to describe her work- Matthew 24:35-36- "for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me." You can see most of the sermon here.
Also Justin and Karen’s baby Bridgette was baptized yesterday in the Catholic Church. Catherine provided a blessing with gifts – St. Peter’s cross and a St. Brigid’s cross, as well as a vial of water from the River Jordan.
Finally Alexander IV and V’s birthday is Nov. 20 and Owen Long’s birthday was Nov 16. They came to the front for the birthday prayer.
This was the second of three weeks of the judgment series in Matthew 25. The three parables in Matthew 25 examine the procedure, preparation, and intention required to enter the Kingdom of God.
This week, God asks us to make appropriate use of our gifts and talents in these scriptures.
1. Matthew – Parable of the Talents
2. Thessalonians – Paul – quit worrying about the time of Jesus return and live fully as Children of the light. Therefore we need not cower in fear, nor waste our days in unawareness. Our high expectation eagerly anticipates the appearance of the One we love. As Reginald Fuller points out, “the Christian must always live on tiptoe…”
3. Zaphaniah announces God’s coming judgment against the self-indulgent and complacent
4. Psalm contrast the realm of God with man’s limits but encourages man to live fruitfully within these limits
All of these scriptures, as we prepare for Reign of Christ Sunday on Nov. 26, remind us to be prepared to do our part in the reign of God here and now, as we await Christ to come into our lives in a new way. We are called not to become content with the status quo, not to take our fill and turn away from the poor as the people did in Zephaniah’s time. Rather, we are called to do what the first two servants did in the parable of the Talents–to risk what we have been given in order to do greater good in the reign of God. That might mean our reputations in standing with the marginalized, or our own possessions in standing with the poor, or our own contentment in standing with the oppressed. We are called to live as participants in the reign of God here and now. This is not something we are waiting for at the end of our lives, but something we are active in now.
David Lose has an interesting intepretation.
"More often than not, this parable has been read either as a warning against laziness in light of the landowner’s (God’s/Christ’s) eventual return or as an exhortation to be actively preparing for the day of reckoning when all accounts will be settled. Perhaps that’s understandable given its placement among other similar and seemingly eschatological parables. But I wonder… I wonder whether instead this might be a warning about how we picture God. About how we imagine God wants to interact with us. About how we assess God’s character and disposition toward us.
"Perhaps Matthew realizes that given his emphasis on the law and exhortation to active waiting and all the rest, it’s probably a good idea to remind folks about what God is actually like and, just as importantly, how our impressions of God affect us and shape our actions on a day to day basis. Perhaps, that is, Matthew is indeed offering a warning, a warning that, all too often, what you see is what you get.
"That is, if we imagine God primarily as stern, even angry, and given to dispensing a terrifying and harsh justice, we will likely come to believe that everything bad in our lives is punishment from God. Similarly, if we see God as arbitrary and capricious, that’s what we experience, a fickle and unsympathetic God who meets our expectations. But if we view God primarily in terms of grace, one who empowers and entrusts and frees, then we will regularly be surprised and uplifted by the numerous gifts and moments of grace we experience all around us. For when we imagine God to be a God of love, we find it far easier to experience God’s love in our own lives and to share it with others."