God’s Generosity of Grace and Justice is abundant!
We began by guessing the price of a ‘pumpkin-spice latté’ and how that compares to the cost of store bought coffee. The pumpkin spice latté costs about $5.45 for 12oz; store bought coffee in comparison is $5.90 for 210 6oz servings / 105 12oz servings… which is $0.56 per 12oz. The demonstration behind this is linked to stewardship (in this case our finances); but also to demonstrate God’s Generosity is not a commodity, luxury item, or something for only a select few. There is plenty to go around, it comes down to how we share.
Next, we imagined that 1/3 of the congregation was going to be hired for an entire day’s work at a set amount. The 2nd third was hired four hours in at the same agreed upon rate, and the final third only had to work 2 hours, but got ‘paid’ the equivalent of the first thirds entire daily rate.
But that’s just not fair! – Or is it? The landowner – or God in this case – offers grace freely without cause or merit.
We are called to freely share the love of God – we are called to follow the blueprint that President Veazey laid out in “Time to Act” – through ‘spiritual formation, community, compassionate ministry and action ‘
God we give You thanks for being a part of our lives, we Thank you this day for the blessings we’ve received.
— God, You’re a God of Love; You’re a God of Grace, Compassion, Justice, and Action. God, we’re ever too aware that there are many things that distract us; that draw our attention in other directions, that call us in other areas…
— God, we also do not forget those who are ill, asking for blessing, asking for healing, comfort, or personal direction. We lift those individuals into You’re control; You know their circumstances, and we ask that you allow them to be comforted.
— God, help us this week as we take time to discern Your will for us. Help us, Lord determine where our energy and efforts should be. Our name “Community of Christ” should be an everlasting invitation; how can we share an invitation someone this week? Who would you have me share stories with this week?
Amen.
Val is the Lead pastor at Community of Christ Indianapolis. She holds the priesthood office of High Priest. When she isn’t here, she is a principal at Somerset and provides wealth management services.
The High Priests represent Christ primarily as ministers especially through the proclamation and promotion of of ministry through the congregation, mission center, and communities. They lead the sacramental ministries, promote community, promote justice and peace; all while creating nurturing partnerships.