Someone actually won the $400 million Powerball. What would you do if you suddenly had that much money? How would your life change if all of a sudden you were very, very rich? Would you keep working? Would you be able to provide for aging parents, or have a college fund for your children? Would you buy a house, a car, a sailboat? Would you invest it into very safe stocks, leaving it to build and build, creating an inheritance for your family? Would you somehow share with strangers?
Read Paul’s words about rich people in 1 Timothy 6:6-19 and Jesus’ parable about a rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31.
It is hard for most of us to read this Scripture and not feel a little guilty, to not feel a little condemned or convicted. If you’re reading this at a computer, chances are you are more like the rich man and a little less like Lazarus. How many times do we choose not to meet the eyes of someone suffering on the street or in the hospital bed? How many times do we choose to simply keep to ourselves instead of reaching out to someone on our doorstep? How many times do we choose inaction instead of faithful, transformative action?
This is a story of gaps, a gap between rich and poor, between comfort and agony, between visible and invisible, between full and hungry, between burial and being carried away by angels, between privileged and marginalized; gaps in this world, and gaps in the next world. Where are the gaps in your lives? What are you doing to overcome the gaps in this life, not the next? Are you able to see the invisible suffering going on right here in Topeka, right here at Trinity?
As Abraham alludes to in the Luke story, Jesus’ resurrection did not convince everyone then or now of the truth of God’s words. Yet because of the resurrection, we are empowered, we are bound together, we are called to work to mind that gap – to cross that chasm between east Topeka and southwest Topeka, to work on closing the gulf with ministries like Topeka JUMP.
Maybe in the end we are most like the rich man’s brothers, hearing these words of warning from Moses, the prophets, and the witness of Jesus Christ. How will you respond? Will you open up your feast? Will you see the poor through the eyes of Jesus and Abraham? As Paul writes to Timothy: “Tell the rich people to go after God, who piles on all the riches we could ever manage—to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life.” May we all work to mind the gap and to gain life that is truly life.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Kate
Showing posts with label 1 Timothy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1 Timothy. Show all posts
Thursday, September 26, 2013
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Are you ready for some football worship?! The Triniteens are proud to present the first ever Welch’s Grape Juice Worship Bowl, featuring some excellent play-by-play commentary on the game of worship, as well as rising stars and excellent coaches. What pushes us to victory? Scripture does –particularly 1 Timothy 4:12.
Paul writes to encourage Timothy to not let his youth get in the way of his ministry. In a world where we can tend to infantilize teenagers, in a world where no realistic, meaningful full-time employment is offered to teenagers, in a world where young people are made to stay inside a room for eight hours a day, in a world where teenagers are seen as objects to manipulate and to persuade, the church can be a breath of fresh air. The church can provide a place where youth can join as equal members before they can drive, vote, or drink. The church can provide a place where their voice is heard – where their voice is valued – where their time and talents can be put to the task of glorifying God. The church can provide a place where they can be told they are leaders of the church today, not leaders of some ambiguous future time.
Regardless of whether you currently have kids or grandkids in the youth group, you have a responsibility to the Triniteens. You are part of a church that made them a promise when many of them didn’t even know their own names. You promised that you would encourage and nurture them in their Christian walk. You promised that you would not discount their voices and their opinions because they are young. Paul goes beyond our typical roles for youth today; Paul, in fact, goes on to instruct young Timothy (and young people today) to “teach believers with their lives” – as the Message paraphrase reads - by their words, by their demeanor, by their love, by their faith, by their integrity. The youth are to be examples of faith and to lead us in our faith journeys. Of course, it comes full circle – for the youth develop their words, their demeanor, their love, their faith, their integrity by watching our words, our demeanor, our love, our faith, our integrity. They learn how to lead Christian lives from our Sunday School teachers, our pastors, parents, mentors. You have a part to play in that.
And our great Coach is calling you to come play your part on Sunday, by worshipping with Trinity as the youth lead us to victory in the Welch’s Worship Bowl.
Grace and peace, Pastor Kate
Paul writes to encourage Timothy to not let his youth get in the way of his ministry. In a world where we can tend to infantilize teenagers, in a world where no realistic, meaningful full-time employment is offered to teenagers, in a world where young people are made to stay inside a room for eight hours a day, in a world where teenagers are seen as objects to manipulate and to persuade, the church can be a breath of fresh air. The church can provide a place where youth can join as equal members before they can drive, vote, or drink. The church can provide a place where their voice is heard – where their voice is valued – where their time and talents can be put to the task of glorifying God. The church can provide a place where they can be told they are leaders of the church today, not leaders of some ambiguous future time.
Regardless of whether you currently have kids or grandkids in the youth group, you have a responsibility to the Triniteens. You are part of a church that made them a promise when many of them didn’t even know their own names. You promised that you would encourage and nurture them in their Christian walk. You promised that you would not discount their voices and their opinions because they are young. Paul goes beyond our typical roles for youth today; Paul, in fact, goes on to instruct young Timothy (and young people today) to “teach believers with their lives” – as the Message paraphrase reads - by their words, by their demeanor, by their love, by their faith, by their integrity. The youth are to be examples of faith and to lead us in our faith journeys. Of course, it comes full circle – for the youth develop their words, their demeanor, their love, their faith, their integrity by watching our words, our demeanor, our love, our faith, our integrity. They learn how to lead Christian lives from our Sunday School teachers, our pastors, parents, mentors. You have a part to play in that.
And our great Coach is calling you to come play your part on Sunday, by worshipping with Trinity as the youth lead us to victory in the Welch’s Worship Bowl.
Grace and peace, Pastor Kate
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