Following up the previous week of giving (remember the potlatch?), we encounter individuals who give themselves and their prized possessions in faithful service to God and Kingdom. Their giving makes profound statements, and reveals for us the contrast between worldly values of getting and sacred values of giving.
Famed Presbyterian minister and author Frederick Buechner was writing about God’s calling, life’s purpose, and personal joy when he stated: The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet [emphasis added].
Contrary to the worldly emphasis on getting, the life balanced in the Christian spirit realizes that there is another key element in giving. It brought some interesting responses from the inmate students in my class on Lifemapping at MCI-Lowell.
It is also a contrast between worldy empire and its focus on getting power, wealth, and maintaining order, and the Kingdom's focus on justice, righteousness, and peace.
These contrasts are on dynamic display in the readings from Isaiah, the third part of the Suffering Servant passages, and from Mark's account of the woman who anoints Jesus with precious perfume on the night of his arrest to the astonished horror of the disciples.
The life of faithfulness and spiritual values anchored in the Kingdom instead of in the empire challenges our life situations and pushes us to examine our choices and what really matters. Jesus shows us his willingness to take the dangerous good news into the center of power in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, seeking to reveal genuine Kingdom values that directly challenge political, religious, and wealthy elites.
Check out the full sermon video below and find the downloads below the video panel.
Famed Presbyterian minister and author Frederick Buechner was writing about God’s calling, life’s purpose, and personal joy when he stated: The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet [emphasis added].
Contrary to the worldly emphasis on getting, the life balanced in the Christian spirit realizes that there is another key element in giving. It brought some interesting responses from the inmate students in my class on Lifemapping at MCI-Lowell.
It is also a contrast between worldy empire and its focus on getting power, wealth, and maintaining order, and the Kingdom's focus on justice, righteousness, and peace.
These contrasts are on dynamic display in the readings from Isaiah, the third part of the Suffering Servant passages, and from Mark's account of the woman who anoints Jesus with precious perfume on the night of his arrest to the astonished horror of the disciples.
The life of faithfulness and spiritual values anchored in the Kingdom instead of in the empire challenges our life situations and pushes us to examine our choices and what really matters. Jesus shows us his willingness to take the dangerous good news into the center of power in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, seeking to reveal genuine Kingdom values that directly challenge political, religious, and wealthy elites.
Check out the full sermon video below and find the downloads below the video panel.
| 03-29-15-ff-answers.pdf |
| 03-29-15-giving_embraces_the_promise.pdf |