On Loyalty Sunday we are committing to sharing our blessings (our finances, prayers, time, and talents) with the church and with the world. And when I think of all things theological, I turn to Frederick Buechner, a theologian, author, and humorist who writes:The word 'blessing' has come to mean more often than not a pious formality such as ministers are continually being roped into giving at high school graduations, Rotarian wienie roasts and the like, and to say "God bless you" to a person, unless that person happens to have just sneezed, is generally regarded as pious eccentricity. It was not always so. In the biblical sense, if you give me your blessing, you irreversibly convey into my life not just something of the beneficent power and vitality of who you are but something also of the life-giving power of God in whose name the blessing is given. Even after old, half-blind Isaac discovered that he had been hoodwinked into blessing the wrong twin, he could no more take the blessing back and give it to Esau again than he could take the words of it out of the air and put them back into his mouth again.
This morning let us commit to sharing our blessings, and in so doing let us covenant to share the "life-giving power of God" that we have been so blessed to know and to be good stewards of.
Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian
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