FROM THE PASTOR
Living in God’s Abundance
First, I want to join the participants of the Adult Forum and the children in Sunday School to come together for a brief opening worship in Henderson Hall at 8:30. It will be a great blessing to “Connect in Christ,” across the generations. The children all wear Name Necklaces so that we can greet them by name and get to know them. So let’s join them at 8:30 for prayers, a brief lesson based on the Gospel for the day, and joyful songs. This invitation is to any adult at St. Luke’s, whether you attend the adult forum or share conversation around a cup of coffee. Let me repeat the invitation. Adult Forum will join Sunday School for opening worship at 8:30, then begin the Bible study in the conference room at 8:45.
Second, I want to lift up the final comment from Tom Malin’s Temple Talk on stewardship on Sunday:
“Finally, remember that, as stewards, we see and live in the abundance which God provides, instead of the scarcity that fear and selfishness promote.”
I want to share an example of what a stewardship of abundance looks like in the Lutheran church in Tanzania, Africa. I have lifted up this congregation before in a sermon. Our delegation approached the village of Bushasha, near Lake Victoria by the border with Uganda and Rwanda. Even at a distance, beating drums anticipate our arrival. The villagers shout in Swahili, “Karibu! Karibu!” (Welcome!) In this part of the world, getting enough to eat is a daily struggle and yet they have prepared a feast for us. The rubble of their church lies in the background, destroyed by Idi Amin’s bombs years ago. They cannot afford the bricks to restore it. Out under some trees we worship the God of abundance and celebrate the Eucharist.
During the offertory the people rise and move toward the altar. Some bring money. Those too poor to bring money offer what they possess: sugarcane, a goat, a bunch of bananas, bolts of cloth, an egg, cassava, yams. Everyone brings something. Everyone has a gift. After the liturgy the gifts are auctioned. Those with money buy from those without. It all goes to the Lord in a renovated economy where all have gifts.
They prepared a feast for us. The pastor told me that they had saved food for days, but not just to feed us. This impoverished congregation used our arrival to collect the food necessary to feed others in Bushasha. As the liturgy ended, neighbors came streaming down the hillside to be fed by the stewards of Bushasha. So, in a place where it looked like there weren’t even two loaves or any fish, God’s generosity and the great faith of the people produced a vision of what it looks like when people hear the words of Jesus, “YOU give them something to eat.” (Matthew 14:16)
The African church believes that the one who gave the command is the one who provides the food. The very act of feeding the poor and welcoming the stranger with the large and small gifts of every person was a powerful critique of the myth of scarcity. Our God is generous indeed! Our best way to walk away from fear and a culture of scarcity-there is not enough, we are not enough, God is holding out on us- is through our transformation into disciples and stewards who live God’s vision.
In Christ’s Abundance,
Pastor Stephen Paul Bouman
