March 21, 2023 — “Love or Hate Your Money?”

“Teach and urge these duties. Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” 1 Timothy 6:2-10

Do you have a love/hate relationship with money? I do. I hate the feelings that dwell within me about this relationship with money. Being a pastor I see all sides of this coin – and there are more than just two sides. I observe people who struggle with every day and the need for money. Having enough money, the need or the thought of this need, never leaves their minds. And then I meet with people who have so much money, and their lives are a monument to the amount of money they have had to spend, whether they realize that reality of not.

Then I meet with someone who has only a little amount of money, and the generosity that wells up in their lives is overwhelming. Yes, money is needed – we cannot live with it sometimes, and we cannot live without it. We just cannot allow money to lead us away from our faith or our pursuit of faithful living.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, we brought nothing into this world. You show us that we can take nothing out, except for the treasures we lay up in heaven. Help us to be content and not to seek material riches. Amen.

Pastor Dave

March 20, 2023 – “Unless a Grain of Wheat…Dies”

“Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24

“A Dayak proverb puts the human quandary this way: “Where the heart is willing it will find a thousand ways, but where it is unwilling it will find a thousand excuses.” . Lent is the season of Christian self-denial. For this reason, this text beckons believers to follow Jesus’ lead. “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” When stewards practice selfless giving on behalf of others, then they defy their own instinct for self-preservation. Our culture today lives under the myth of scarceness: it is only by hoarding and keeping possessions that we can assure ourselves of continuous survival. Yet Jesus teaches that within life in God there are ways of living that transcend simple survival. Jesus even reminds stewards, “Whoever serves me must follow me, and where I am, there will my servant be also. Whoever serves me, the Father will honor.” (Lenten Devotional Stewardship Principles, We walk together as stewards in God’s church, ELCA, 2012, March 25)

What more difficult teaching can there be then to hear Jesus suggest we are to lose our life rather than to love it – for the sake of the Gospel. Sacrifice is never easy, but Jesus truly believed that his sacrifice would bring the best out his disciples, including you and me. Few will go the distance to sacrifice themselves for the sake of the teaching of Jesus Christ. But we can live in the manner where we choose first the Kingdom of G-d rather than give into the Kingdom of the world each and every day. That means living in the manner where we put others first. It means prioritizing our time to put G-d at the top of the list and other things at the bottom. Lent is the time for spiritual spring cleaning, and for reconsidering re-prioritizing our schedules. The very fact that we are thinking of Jesus today is proof that he was correct about his powerful impact on all people.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, thank you for leaving heaven and living here among us. Thank you for being a person of compassion and character who modeled a life of selflessness and service. Amen.

Pastor Dave