Re the Gospel reading for August 1st 2010

Luke 12:13-21




The following is from Mike Kinman, Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in St. Louis,MO (It is reproduced with his permission). He was writing to a parishioner and her husband, whose names I have made anonymous.

"What God promises is that we will have enough to survive But even more than that, God promises enough so that we will be able to share and that God will never leave us. And I have never seen that promise broken. I have been in one of the poorest places on the planet -- Southern Sudan -- and there I found people living on the edge of famine who were completely certain of God's presence with them and took incredible joy in sharing the little food and shelter and water they had.

So a big piece of this for me is perspective. We live surrounded by wealth unimaginable by most of humanity not just in the world today but throughout history ... and yet we report a higher level of anxiety about money than most nations in the world.

And that brings us to the final thing. This is about liberation. God's desire from us is not for us to be charity machines or impoverished, but not to be imprisoned by our wealth. To let go of it and participate in the great joy God knows in giving life and creation to us ... the joy of giving away all that we have. It's the liberation you and Am..t know, A.y -- and how you are raising your kids -- in testifying with your life that your beautiful home is not just for you to enjoy but is to be shared by friends, family, neighbors, travelers, and on and on and on".


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Shoe insults

Last year I consulted with a local podiatrist: Dr. Robert F Herbold Jr. D.P.M. 4717 Swift Rd., Sarasota , FL – 34231  because I was being bothered with a couple of bunions  (yes I am at that age). I was very impressed with this Doctor.  He agreed that I had bunions, but he ventured that it was much too soon for surgery. (Now there’s a first). Instead he recommended some “arch supports” to relieve the tension for my feet, a tension which was exacerbating the bunions. What’s more -  he told me that he sells these arch supports at the miserly sum of $2.50 each (about 1/5 of the price in the local pharmacies). He is an honest man, and I recommend him to anyone with foot problems. So, a couple of weeks ago, having purchased some new walking shoes, I knew that I needed to buy a couple of new arch supports I took myself to his office. Once there, my mind went blank. I wanted to ask his front desk Clerk if I could buy some “shoe inserts” , as I could not remember the words “ar
Read more

The background, the couple, my friends, the wedding ceremony, the Shaykh, the Priest,

Image
The background   I have known the Keller/Bonsey family since 2000 when I became the Rector at St. James's, Cambridge, MA. They (Elisabeth Keller and the Revd. Steven Bonsey with their four children Noah, Sam, Josiah and Annie) had come back to Cambridge from Hawaii where Steve had been the Rector of an Episcopal parish. Steve had just been appointed as a Chaplain at Tufts University (no Sunday morning duties) so the entire family was able to enrich our common life at St. James's - which they did with great love and joy. I count them as friends and have stayed in touch with them since my retirement.  Noah, the oldest son is eloquent in Arabic (he spent a year in Damascus when Syria was a safe place).  He has developed a super career as an analyst of social media in the near East.    Noah worked in Tampa for a while a few years ago, so he and I were able to get together a few
Read more

It began in Bristol U.K. "A man dies" and "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Image
I well remember the swirling controversy in Bristol, U.K. when a (Presbyterian) Minister the Revd, Earnest Marviin created a ":Rock Opera", called "A Man Dies"  in and for his congregation in the Lockleaze area of Bristol, U.K. Earnest Mrvin I was a sixteen years old member of the Plymouth Brethren Church back in those days, so I most likely disapproved of "A Man Dies" .  We, (the Plymouth Brethren),  disapproved of everything! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I had forgotten all about "A Man Dies" until earlier today when saw these pictures on the "Bristol, Then and Now"  Facebook page.   St. James Presbyterian Church, Lockleaze, Bristol  The Bristol Then and Now page includes the following commentary: Lockleaze, Bristol  -  'Jesus Christ Superstar' began at St.James (Presbyterian) Chur
Read more