May 7, 2010

Grateful, Glad and Giving

Posted by johnmangels under Diocese of Northern California, Looking for God | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Our diocese is trying to do something new with what we used to call stewardship.  We’re trying to focus on what we have to be grateful for — all of which comes, of course, from G0d.

I have to admit that I have a real tendency to notice what I do not have, particularly if I used to have it, and often do not pay nearly so much attention to what I do have.  Which is a lot.  And I find this to be true whether I’m looking at money or youth or health or things.  I know I have a lot (a whole lot compared to the rest of the world as a whole).  And I still often notice more what I do not have.  I suspect there are some other people like me out there.  I think our culture trains us this way. (more…)

 

January 19, 2010

God’s Covenant with “all living flesh”

Posted by johnmangels under Bible | Tags: , , , |
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We heard God’s covenant with Noah and all living flesh today in our reading from the Hebrew Scriptures.  And at first I was contrasting, as I read about how Noah was given all flesh to eat (excepting the blood, the life, which belongs to God), I was contrasting this in my mind with the garden, where Adam was given all the plants to eat.  It was only after the fall that people were no longer vegetarians.  Eating meat was not part of God’s original plan for us.

And even here, the blood, the life, belongs to God.  Human life blood, if taken, is singled out for special retribution.  But all life blood is God’s.  It is all talked about together in the same context.  And God’s covenant is made with all flesh, Noah and his descendants and all living creaatures.

So, we can eat animals.  But their lives always belong to God.  They are in this sense sacred.  And their welbeing is part of our care as God’s stewards of creation.  They are not just for our use (and abuse) as we see fit.  They have their own place with us in our covenant with God.

 

August 11, 2009

The Quality of our Lives

Posted by johnmangels under Looking for God | Tags: , , , |
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I’m going to have to stop quoting Sam Portaro’s “Brightest and Best.”  But I can’t resist quoting from the last two days readings.  Yesterday was the day we commemorate Lawrence, a deacon martyred in Rome in 258 CE.  The emperor Valerian had him arrested and held for intensive questioning.  He wanted to plunder the riches of the church.

Laurence assembled the sick and poor among whom he had spent the church’s funds and presented them to the emperor saying, “These are the treasures of the church.”  For his impertinence he was roasted alive on a gridiron (and became the patron saint of cooks!). (more…)

 

July 27, 2009

Sermons

Posted by johnmangels under Sermons | Tags: , , , |
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Our Deacon, Bob Olsen, gave a very nice sermon to commemorate the 8th aniversary of his ordination this past Sunday (and you can hear it here).  I had forgotten he was preaching (I knew it, but I had forgotten to put it on my calendar).  So I also prepared a sermon, addressing how God supplies our needs, as found in John’s account of the feeding of the 5,000, as we ourselves face difficult times.  That sermon follows: (more…)

 

May 23, 2009

Episcopal Cafe’s “Saturday Collection”

Posted by johnmangels under Episcopal Church | Tags: , |
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Episcopal Café offers the following “weekly collection plate of some of the good things that Episcopalians and their congregations have done that made the news this past week.”  In many people’s minds, this may be mission and ministry.  And I guess I wouldn’t disagree.  But in my mind, this is also stewardship in its most basic fashion:  taking care of God’s creation.  In my mind, that’s what God called us to do (dating all the way back to the mythic garden, which sets up and defines our relationship with God).  I guess it’s a question of whether we start with baptism and gifts and ministry or we start with creation and our place in God’s creation.  Both are places I’ve been known to start.  Anyway, here’s the “collection:” (more…)

 

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