Giving and the Poor Widow

This past Sunday the Gospel reading was of Jesus teaching in the Temple condemning the practices of the Scribes and lifting up the example of a widow whom he observed give two small coins which was all she had to live on. I did not preach this Sunday, the Community of the Holy Trinity had it's annual community retreat at St Gregory's Abbey. I had been able to arrange for Rev. Dave Hedges to come out to preach and preside. So I heard his take on this story as well as Abbot Andrew's take on this story. Both Abbot Andrew and Father Dave questioned our use of the story of the widow as an example of sacrificial giving. Abbot Andrew was careful not to completely throw out the widow as exemplar, but qualified this interpretation with calling on us to look at the larger context of the story including Jesus' saying in condemnation of the Scribes who live of taking advantage of the generosity of widows. What I took away from Abbot Andrew's sermon was that the widow's exemplary generosity is tragic in that it was not necessary but occured because of injustices in the system, and the practices of some religious leaders. This should lead us to examine our wealth and incomes to see if and how we benefit from the poverty of others. Jesus call's attention to a person who would be otherwise ignored to show disparity and reorient our thinking about not only what we give but how we have gained what we have.

Father Dave, turned our attention away from the widow as exemplar of sacrificial giving: he was retooling the sermon from his stewardship sermon he gave in the morning to his parish. So his sermon was still concerned for what this passage might have to say to us about giving, and was less concerned with Abbot Andrew's emphasis on letting the reason for the Widow's poverty and exemplary generosity teach us something about the Gospel and our responsibility in the world. Father Dave directed us to see how Jesus turns our attention to the proportions and not the amounts. The proportions are disproportionate: The wealthy give large amounts but hardly notice the offering and are praised for their generosity, and the widow gives her whole living, and because it is such a small amount goes unnoticed except that Jesus points it out. The point is the great disparity, the proportions are unjust, it should not be looking at the amount but the proportion and a widow should not have to give all that she has to live on.

What I take from these two interpretations of the Gospel text is that in giving we are to be mindful. Mindful not only of what we give and in what proportion but of how we come to have what we have live on and to give. We are not only to give proportionately (not all of what we have to live on nor an unnoticeable proportion of what we have, even if it is a large amount) unconcerned about the amount, but also with the awareness of how we have attained what we have to give. Thus giving has to do with how we live, how we make money, how we develop our abilities and what we do with both our money and abilities. We can be and are called to not live as those Scribes who impoverished Widows by making a living off their disproportionate giving. This is certainly a challenge when it is not always clear where what we have comes from and who may have been impoverished so that we may have our way of life. The Fair Trade movement is one way that we can seek to not only be aware of injustices behind things we have or purchase but also seek share in more just economic processes and avoid economic processes that in the very least at their origin keep people in poverty. However, there is also the challenge of the reality of Slavery in our time where slaves are often used to cultivate cocoa, that is then purchased by Chocolate manufacturers. This slavery is hidden partially at least because until recently people were not asking questions, and is coming to our awareness as we realize that slavery is alive and well around the world though not in the exact form we are most aware of from our courses in history. Jesus calls us to awareness of disparity and injustice, and to seek ways of living that do not require the life of others and their impoverishment. The point though is not to necessarily be aware of all the twists and turns of everything one buys or has, but to be mindful of how one lives and its effects on others, and to give not out of a wealth based on injustice but to live our live proportionately within bounds and with an eye to others and awareness of the poor.

Eat Well Food Tour

This Sunday, June 28th, Many Peoples Church in Rogers Park is hosting the Chicago stop of the Eat Well Food Tour: What do food and faith have to do with one another? Is it enough to pray before our meals? Giving thanks to God is certainly important, but there are also many other ways Christian values can influence our food-related habits. This is a free workshop on how to put faithfulness into practice around the table and beyond. The Eat Well Food Tour is co-sponsored by the Christian Reformed Office of Social Justice and *culture is not optional.

Time: Sunday June 28th
6:00 pm, potluck, 7 pm workshop
Place: Many Peoples Church
1507 W. Morse Ave. Chicago, IL 60626

For more information about the tour, visit them on the web.

Reconciler Update for June 15, 2008

"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good....For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body..." 1 Cor. 12: 4-11


+++ REFLECTION +++

Dear Friends,

There have been a few things recently I feel particularly excited about -- that I think speak to our health as a religious community and areas in which we are growing.

One is the recent Fair Trade event, sponsored by our Social Justice Committee. For this event, the committee got together a group of three panelists, one a Loyola professor, the other a fair trade worker from Ethiopia, and the third a member of Chicago Fair Trade.

Each of the panelists spoke convincingly and compellingly -- in his/her own unique voice -- about the need for fair trade. I appreciated the opportunity to buy and sample fair trade goods. The hand-out packet listing venues that sell fairly traded goods will be very helpful. I liked the combination of in-depth background information and specific suggestions for action steps. Members of the audience had thoughtful questions and comments. Several expressed interest in worshipping with us. The hospitality was a nice touch (wicked good chocolate chip cookies there).

Another significant piece was that the Reconciler laypeople who organized this event were demonstrating the priesthood of all believers. Ministry is not just for ordained people or professional clergy, it's something for every member of the church, to the degree to which they feel called and capable. Clergy serve as representative leaders, icons if you will. Ordained ministry represents a specific level of commitment and training. But clergy do not have -- and are not meant to have -- a monopoly on ministry, which belongs to all the people of God. Paul talks in 1st Corinthians 12 about the variety of spiritual gifts, and likens church members to parts of a body which united is greater than the sum of its parts. We worked on this passage together on our retreat in December, when we identified areas in which we as a church wanted to grow.

In seminaries and churches there is much talk about every-member ministry and the need for lay people to be actively engaged and empowered, but often this is more talked about than lived out. I am glad to see Reconciler showing health and growth in this area, as demonstated by the Fair Trade event and the harmonious work of our search committee for a new Baptist pastor.

Another exciting new development is our invitation to explore a partnership with North Shore church, a Baptist church in our neighborhood, that is seeking to assist a church in New Orleans with its re-building efforts. To that end, North Shore is planning several mission trips to New Orleans. Larry and I attended an exploratory meeting last week at North Shore, with members of other Chicago-area churches.

Another thing I'm excited about is a conference on the emerging church, sponsored by the Episcopal diocese of Chicago, which I recently attended. Reconciler demonstrates many earmarks of the emerging church movement, including a merging of old and new traditions, an emphasis on community and relationality as exemplified by the Trinity, a concern for social justice, a general "thinking outside the box." And again, an understanding of the church as the body of Christ, a la Paul. Our new bishop, Jeffrey Lee, is supportive of innovative ways of being and doing church, and expressed enthusiasm for follow-up conversation and a visit to Reconciler. I found the emerging church conference exciting, heartening, and instructive, and will be excited to share more with you about it in the days to come.

Yours in Christ,

Laura+
for The Pastoral Team
The Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler

+++ ANNOUNCEMENTS +++

Melissa Browning, our candidate for the Interim Baptist pastor position, will be preaching today at our 5:00 p.m. worship service.

The Pulse: A Gathering for Christian Artists, is having a special event on Saturday June 28th, 1 PM at the Brixen Ivy Community Center 1242 West Addison. The event will be featuring the Labco Dance Company and the Matoto Children's Choir.

Pastor Laura and her family are in the process of moving. She is inviting the Reconciler congregation to a "P" party at her home: Pizza and Packing with Pastor. Date to be announced soon.

We will have a booth at the Clark Street Festival on Sunday July 13th. Talk with Kate or Daniel if you'd like to help set up, take down, and/or take a shift staffing the booth. It's fun! and good outreach to the community.

Reconciler's next church council meeting will be next Thursday June 19th, 7:30 PM at the 'Nidge. All are welcome to attend.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Fair Trade Panel Discussion

Doing Justice in the Global Economy: Fair Trade, a Panel Discussion

Thursday, June 5th, 7-9pm
Immanuel Lutheran Church

Panel and discussion with

David Schweickart, author of After Capitalism,
Professor of Philosophy at Loyola University

Kelemwork Bayu, a former fair trade worker
in Kenya, Ethiopian refugee to the US

and other guests

faith-based, academic, and experiential
perspectives on Fair Trade and the globalized economy
Learn what you can do about it!

For more info contact Jeremy John
Jeremy@jubileeUSA.org
773-262-2975

The Social Justice League of Edgewater
Is a ministry of Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler

Hope to see you there!