Abundance in Scarcity

Luke 20:41-21:4

The Widow's Mite. It's odd--the language appears to contradict the Stewardship messages we received over the past month in which we've been asked to give with a Spirit of Abundance rather than one of Scarcity. But I think the message is there.

The Widow gives all she has, thus giving the greater gift from the Rich Man. I wonder how many of our churches see it this way? We are asked to give--joyfully, in the spirit that God will provide for us, but then we're still faced with the bottom line: You're not giving enough--we'll have to make cuts. How do we reconcile the bottom line with the Spirit of Abundance--the knowledge that God has given us everything we need to carry out His mission in this time and place?

As a working mother, I frequently feel as though I'm running on empty--that there just isn't enough of me for work, husband, baby--forget self. But we always eat, and there's always a bedtime story and special snuggles for C. Most nights I even get to talk to my husband. And occasionally, I get to read a book in the bathtub or knit while I watch a movie. I don't have enough to be SuperMom--to make sure my toddler is taking yoga and French and Karate Lessons while learning ballet and cooking and mastering the art of the sonnet. I had to stop and recognize what resources I had and how I could make best use of them, knowing that certain needs had to be met no matter what.

And there's enough. There isn't much extra, and sometimes I wish there was more, but we have enough.

I think the same holds true for many of our churches. We have enough, but we have to be brutally honest about the resources we have to offer and the needs that have to be met. Of course we can have dreams of what we want to do and where we want to go and of course that vision is vital to continuing mission. But we need that vision to help us move forward and not cripple us like my visions of SuperMom. We do have enough if we give our all--like the widow. If we only give out of comfort, we cripple ourselves with the knowledge that we aren't truly willing to commit.

God, Power, and Might

Psalm 18:1-20

I should have posted this yesterday, but I fell asleep while putting the baby to bed. Oops.

This Psalm sums up my childhood faith: God, I believe in you, and you will fly in like Superman to rescue me when I call. As an adult, I can tell you there have been times I've called for God and heard nary a whisper, forget about smoke, fire, and riding on cherubs. And I won't lie--that abandoned feeling led me to stop calling on God for many years.

At different times in my life, I have wanted the God of Victory described by the Psalmist. I've wanted someone who will swoop in, conquer my enemies, and put fear into the hearts of those who persecute me. Some days I still want that. But I've yet to see that God.

Eventually, after getting over my disappointment at the distinct lack of Cherubs in my life, I came to realize that perhaps the quiet God, the God of Jesus, was just as mighty and powerful--perhaps even more so--even with the distinct lack of smoke, fire, and Cherub transportation. That perhaps it isn't a question of vanquishing my enemies by force, but approaching them in a spirit of love and understanding. These things are much less dramatic, but perhaps even more powerful than the mighty God described by the Psalmist.

God, Lawfulness, and Ownership

Luke 20:19-26

If we are to Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's (money) and to God the things that are God's, why does the Church keep asking me for money?

Pardon me--I just posed this question to my husband, which has resulted in much commentary about Church as a business and hypocrisy in religion. A bit of a deviation from the subject perhaps, but interesting nonetheless.

What things are the emperor's? The Church's? God's? Are they distinct, or are some of these possessions shared?