Monday, Monday.....

This "meditating Monday" a time of reflecting on yesterday's sermon. As always,  Pastor Cole gives much "food for thought."

He gave as an 8 second example of sharing one's faith. (2 Corinthians 8:9) Cole has a way of cutting to the chase. He is a master in the fine art of making a point. I on the other hand, ramble around with a plethora of words--struggling to pare it down or pitch it out. Not just with words but with everything.
Poverty is not just an economic state---it is also a social factor. It can be relationally distancing---even isolating. The "poor" can be exploited and easily taken advantage of. God's will is to close those relational differences by drawing near to God in order to draw near to others.
These "poor" ones in our society are often seen as having nothing to offer. How relationally demeaning that is!!

Yet, the passage from 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 emphasized those Christians who gave from the "muscle" of their means---NOT their fat, because there was none. "Their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality." (8:2) They gracefully gave out of their own lack!

A Shared Cuppa

They might have been sipping from their own cuppa pover-TEA but they were willing to share with others.
Now there's a truth to savor on this Monday, Monday.....

Monday, Monday, so good to meMonday mornin', it was all I hoped it would be (Mamas and the Papas)

...because the truth of this passage began to sink in and just like the "Grinch" I felt like my "heart grew three sizes that day." (Dr. Seuss)

SABBATH SNAPSHOT : pover-TEA to plen-TEA

Lila, by award winning author, Marilynne Robinson, is partially set in Gilead, which is also the title of her 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning book.

As the story opens, Lila, the young protagonist, is the personification of abandonment and anguish. Even much later when she "wanders" into a small town church in Iowa, she has a difficult time accepting kindness from others, especially the Reverend John Ames. She is offered "plenty" compared to the despair and poverty which she has known. Eventually Lila becomes the wife of the widower, Rev. Ames---"Old Man" as she calls him.
Haunted by the trauma and impoverishment of her earlier years, Lila doesn't know what to do with this new-found plenty---so she often distrusts it. She even distrusts herself.
It's a book of redemption and hope and the human condition, with the reality of depravity shown throughout the narrative.

“The river was like the old life, just itself. Nothing more to it. She thought, It has washed the baptism off me," thought Lila. And "Old Man" once again in his patient ways had to reassure her  about God's grace. Lila might have struggled with words, but she found her way to the scriptures, as she looked for a reason for her own existence.

Pulitzer Prize winning books don't always appeal to me but----Robinson's simple, yet somewhat unorthodox, style of writing grabbed me, though the occurring events were not told in chronological order. Though confusing at first, this "switching" added intrigue for me.

I started with book #3 in the "Gilead series," which is not recommended by some reviewers, so I've decided to learn more about the intriguing Lila and have "checked out" Gilead and Home the other 2 books, in which Lila is introduced.  Plus, I checked out another Robinson book as well because I thought the title descriptive of me---When I was a Child I Read Books. I do my part to keep up the "circulation stats" of our Memphis libraries---- closing any public library would be a travesty.

Pover-TEA & Plen-TEA

“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God (Proverbs 30:7-9, NIV)

Pondering and seeking the Lord's choice for my morning cuppa, notations in my journal had me rereading Proverbs 30:7-9 several times. The notes* reminded me of a needed perspective of thankfulness. Maybe Thanksgiving being just days away prompted this meditation as well.

Plenty---a BIG cuppa plen-TEA is what most Americans want! 

"Economy sways are voting, not character.  "Plenty" tempts us to think we can get along without God.  (H. Clark, 2005) 

Without thankfulness, one can become selfish and cynical, regardless of how much $$$ one has.

Poverty---a cuppa pover-TEA that can become bitter as one becomes sulky and sorrowful. 

Viewing life as if God has forgotten us can fuel feelings of jealousy and resentment. 

• A change of perspective is often what is needed most. 
• Without the pang of hunger, food is not a gift. 
• Fatigue helps us appreciate rest, 
• Darkness helps us seek light, 
• Illness increases one's awareness of the gift of health.

Thankfulness vaccinates us against ungratefulness. (H. Clark, 2005)

Pover-TEA and plen-TEA---two cuppas that can be a BIG cuppa enmi-TEA. In excess, either can become an enemy o of a thankful heart. Sip in moderation. Allow the cross to cover any enmity.

*(Howard Clark,  "POVERTY & PLENTY ENEMIES OF THANKSGIVING" sermon notes, 11/20/2005)