“Send out your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will get it back.”  Ecclesiastes 11:1

“A dog that sees a bowl or a plate will probably sniff if, lick it, and even try to eat out of it. (Any dog lover can confirm this.) Luckily, we’re not ruled by instinct or impulse. But how do we respond when the [Offering] plate comes by? Maybe we think that once money leaves our hands, it’s lost. Nothing could be further from God’s truth. To begin with, our offering can bring results-whether it plants a garden in our community or aids children a world away. But there is more. Ask any people who give regularly and cheerfully and you’re bound to hear story after story about how giving has made a difference in their lives and in their faith.” Laurie Hanson. The Funny Shape of Faith: Devotions for the Rest of Us (Kindle Edition.)

Pass The Plate, Don’t Toss It

Some of us realized that we have come full circle in the pandemic once we returned to “passing the plate.”  During the pandemic taking the offering had become a very static activity – with people dropping money in a basket at the back of the Nave either before or after the service. We have forgotten how much “taking the offering” has to do with the act of worship.

As a pastor I was surprised how “out of practice” our congregations would become once we returned to the “practice” of worship. People seem to have forgotten when to stand and sit during worship (though this may be a purposeful “forgetting” for many Lutherans). What we have forgotten is that worship is supposed to be an active participating, not a passive watching and viewing. There are times when “the people” at worship are supposed to be doing, participating, singing, reading, and leading. And passing the plate for the offering is part of the doing – not just in taking the offering but then in using those funds for the ministry of the church.

Too many view the offering as the church asking “for dues to be paid.” Civic organizations ask for dues. The church seeks an offering to share out of our abundance with those who are the last, lost, least and little in the community. Instead of the offering serving as “dues” these funds will allow the church to pay it forward in ministry to the poor, the homeless, the immigrant, the lonely and the lost.

Next time they pass the plate to you, don’t just toss it aside. Consider the ways you can pay it forward to others in the community who do not have the same abundance.

Let us pray,

Providing God, it is easy to think of our possessions and money as “ours”. Remind me when I feel like I don’t have enough that you are a G-d of boundless abundance. Amen.

Pastor Dave

“… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Isaiah 55:11

“Where do we find words to move others when we feel tired, uninspired, unsure? What do we do when it feels like something is a “lost cause”? Well, there’s good news here. Sharing the story of Jesus isn’t our cause, it’s God’s. It’s a message we bring to others as a gift, a message that can change the course of a day or a life. And God is known for saving what we would call “lost causes.” Laurie Hanson. The Funny Shape of Faith: Devotions for the Rest of Us (Kindle Edition.)

Why Have You Lost Your Cause? Because….

One of the symptoms of Covid is an extended period of exhaustion. Even people who have “recovered” from Covid have occasional periods of exhaustion that come and go with no real explanation. To me this feels as if it carries a clause of double-indemnity – you suffer twice for one disease.

Too many people today feel as if they have lost hope, lost faith, and lost their way. And that is understandable since our world has seemed to stop turning – at least temporarily – and we all feel like a lost cause. But there is good news. Jesus makes you and I worthy of being loved by G-d – Jesus’ love and acceptance should renew our faith, our hope and our trust, as well as our pathway. As such taking G-d’s cause to the world suddenly becomes our purpose, our cause – because the cross of Jesus matters so much to this broken world.

If you need renewed purpose in this life, look no further than Isaiah 55:

“…so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

Let us pray,

Our Lord of lost causes, we need a purpose some days, because our world seems to take away our energy. Sometimes we feel blank! Help me to share your timeless message of love, service, and truth. Let my banner point the way to you. Amen.

Pastor Dave