What a great time of the year to be reminded of all the blessings we have! God has given us so much.
If you stop and count your blessings, you’ll be amazed at how blessed you are compared to most of the world we live in today.
And it is out of the abundance of our blessings, that God asks us to give back. You have many options as to where you give your money; you have the choice of how much to give; and I want to thank you right now for the way you give to your church, your community and others.
Your giving to your community of faith helps it to be a light and share the good news of God’s inclusive love to all people. Your giving to the community helps very important organizations succeed and helps others less fortunate than ourselves. We give of ourselves and our resources in response to God’s goodness and generosity in our own lives. We take that which we value – our time, our attention, our love – and we commit each during the week with our faith community or charity; building an ever more lasting and profound relationship with God and one another. This commitment is a holy act.
Talk of money may cause discomfort to some; it may be jarring and disquieting. Money is associated with the material world objects, bills, things which bring us back to earth and away from our heart and spiritual longing.
But just as we bring our unique gifts to God, we present ourselves as an offering through our financial gifts. Financial offerings are not separate from our spiritual journey; they are a part of that journey.
Giving is a holy act. Our offering is a part of worship. It is an act of worship to God. Money is a material symbol connected not only to our efforts, but also to our talents and abilities, all of which are unique gifts from God.
Our primary reason for going to worship (wherever that may be), is to find greater connection to God and the Light within us. Our faith community is spiritual, but it also possesses a necessary financial component. And when we know how our financial gifts are being used to do God’s work, we are reinforced in our giving. Our financial gifts enable us to build and maintain ministries, programs and outreach in support of God’s work.
When we support our faith communities, we put them in a position to dream; to contemplate – and make real – the potential we all have to affect the community around us in extraordinary ways.
In progressive and inclusive faith communities we can stand in formal opposition to those misguided faith communities that are causing so many people in the LGBT community much suffering – even causing them to reject a God that loves them.
It is important to find spiritual healing within a congregation which accepts us the way God made us. Also, there is power when we stand together with a progressive, inclusive and dynamic community of faith – with the moral authority and institutional power to oppose bigotry by using the words of Jesus as He intended them to be used.
So, think about how much you give to your community of faith. Do you believe in their mission? Do you believe in their vision? Do you support their core values?
Each of us doing our part has a very personal role to play. With the loving participation of you doing your part – these communities of faith can continue to reach out and make a difference in the world – one person at a time.
PS: I invite you to our annual Blessing of the Animals Sunday, Oct. 14. See our Web site for more information.
Rev. Dan Koeshall is the Senior Pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met) in San Diego, California, themetchurch.org
