Peter, a colleague, shared a story
with us. He and his wife were not long married when they attended the wedding
of some friends. They decided to give their friends a lovely picnic basket –
one of the three identical picnic baskets they received when they were married.
They didn’t realize that at the bottom of the picnic basket they gave was the
tag that had been on the gift when they unwrapped it: “To Peter and Susan.”
Oops.
Peter and Susan’s relationship
with their friends changed forever on that day, and not for the better.
Regifting, Peter said, can be risky.
I think that’s true most of the
time, but definitely not always. In fact, there is one whole category of gifts
we are called to regift: the gifts we receive from God.
As we approach our annual fall
pledge campaign (sometimes called our stewardship drive), I am thinking about
money. We can think of our financial resources as “earned,” and while that is
true in some ways, they are also a gift. God blesses our lives with all kinds
of bounty including financial, with the idea that we can and should share it, that
we can and should regift it.
Of course, this is true about all
God’s gifts, not just financial. God gives us 24 hours each day, hoping that
we’ll use about a third of them for renewing our bodies and minds as we sleep.
The other 16 are to use in relationship – with our families, with our
neighbors, and with God. That makes sense when you remember that Jesus said the
greatest commandment was to love God with your whole being and your neighbor as
yourself.
At various stages of our lives, we
receive various talents and skills that we are called to share in some way or
another, empowering that sharing with love. I was in the Post Office the other
day and in front of me in line was an eight-month old in her mother’s arms. The
way she watched the world around her and smiled when we caught each other’s
eyes what a gift to me, drawing me into her wonder and joy. It was completely
natural for her to share her talent with the group in the line.
There’s no shortage of reasons for
why we give. Sometimes it’s for the sake of reputation, or as part of a
competition, or out of loyalty, or out of a sense of guilt. Sometimes it’s a
tax deduction, or a sense of solidarity, or a passion for a cause, or some
inner satisfaction that inspires us.
I look forward to hearing from our
five church members about their motivations, about what encourages them to be
devoted to generosity. I hope you do, too.
In addition to the four
sermon/conversations, our pledge campaign will include an introductory letter
about the campaign and a letter in late October with a pledge form. For those
of you on our email lists, there will be some emails during the month.
It all culminates on November 3 –
All Saints Sunday and Pledge Sunday. Worship will be followed by a lunch (a
baked potato bar; watch for details).
I hope you will learn and grow
from this new approach to our pledge campaign.
Peace,
Pastor Jeff
