Lord, teach me. . . .

Give till it hurts, until you feel the pain. If we worry too much about ourselves, we won’t have time for others. –Mother Teresa For many of us, it’s that time of year. That time when the church pledge cards arrive in the mail . . . and we talk about next year’s budget . . . and we ask ourselves, “How much should we pledge to give next year?” And there’s always that other burning question: “Why does the pastor have to talk about money ???” We’d really rather talk about almost anything else, wouldn’t we? After all, Jesus flipped the tables of the moneychangers and drove them out of the Temple, right? We shouldn’t even be bringing up dollars and cents in the church—should we? Yes. Yes we should. Jesus spoke a lot about money and stewardship. It was one of his favorite topics: responsible use and sharing of our resources. (See Acts 2 , for example.) But how much should we give? Should we tithe? (Should that be pre- or post-tax?) What did Mother Teresa mean, anyway, to “

All my life, my heart has yearned for a thing I cannot name. –Andre Breton Remember what it feels like to be in love? Maybe a waffle cone brimming with Mitchell’s ice cream is all it takes to make your pulse quicken. Maybe the object of your affection was a new puppy whose cold, wet nose and wiggle-all-over happiness set you giggling with joy. Or maybe—that special someone who started out as “just a friend” has become more , someone with whom you’d love to spend the rest of your life. Different degrees of the same emotion: there are no words adequate to describe how you feel. How about on your faith walk? Have you ever felt that way, simply having no words to describe what you’re feeling? Have you had a time when the Holy Spirit so filled your heart and soul with peace that you never wanted it to end? And when someone asked you to explain—you just couldn’t find the words. . . . But that’s okay. Keep trying. Keep trying to understand. Some people believe the only

You have been chosen, and you must therefore use such strength and heart and wits as you have. –J. R. R. Tolkien Remember those days back in middle school or high school, when Gym Day meant choosing up teams for basketball or volleyball? Maybe you were a team captain, the one whose task it was to pull together a group of misfits and ragamuffins, plus maybe a couple of talented athletes, and make a game of it. Or maybe, like me, you were one of those misfits, who would rather sneak off in a corner and have nothing to do with such stuff. Maybe you have a memory of being chosen last, of wishing you could just sink into the floor and disappear, because suddenly, in the eyes of your classmates, you seemed worthless. Not good enough. Thankfully, God never sees any of us that way. At his baptism, Jesus clearly heard the voice of the Creator: You are my Son; I love you, and in you I am well-pleased (Mark1:11). And the same is true for each one of us: We are, each and all, be

Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side, for God is always right. –Abraham Lincoln It was God’s will. Those words, often spoken in the face of incomprehensible tragedy, can be real showstoppers. The well-intentioned speaker is (usually) attempting to explain the unexplainable, but their words fall far short of bringing much comfort. (And as a side point-- why do we never explain the good things in our lives as “God’s will”?) In 1998, when a young man named Matthew Shepard was beaten, tortured and left to die, some said it was “God’s will” because gays needed to be taught a lesson. Two years ago, when Hurricane Sandy ravaged our coastline, causing massive destruction and the loss of many lives, some said it was “God’s will” because America needed to be taught a lesson. In 2001, when fanatical terrorists flew jet planes into the Twin Towers, some said it was “God’s will” because we all needed to be taught a lesso