We all have a money story, whether we recognize it or not. The worship series “Our Money Story” invites us to discover and tell our money stories in light of God’s money story of liberation and justice. This series will encourage us to transform our stewardship practices into more full expressions of who we are and what we believe.
This stewardship season we are asked to:
Remember (October 1st)
Release (October 8th)
Reimagine (October 15th)
Restore (October 22nd)
Renew (October 29th)
Last week, we Remembered so many things! We remembered the Last Supper of Jesus and his disciples on World Communion Sunday. We remembered stories from the Bible about love, justice, and forgiveness. We recognized World AIDS Day and remembered all of those we have loved and lost. We remembered our neighbors at the border, especially the children in need of love and support. We gathered after service to pack school and art supplies for 240 children and youth in partnership with the Compassion and Justice ministries of our Annual Conference! Thank you!
This Sunday we will Release many things : The money stories that no longer serve us, whatever is holding us back from trusting God wholeheartedly, our fear, our shame, our guilt, and our regrets. We will also engage in a contemplative practice known as Visio Divina. You can read about this contemplative practice here.
Here are this Sunday’s scripture readings:
Deuteronomy 15:1-11
“Every seventh year you must cancel all debts. This is how the cancellation is to be handled: Creditors will forgive the loans of their fellow Israelites. They won’t demand repayment from their neighbors or their relatives because the Lord’s year of debt cancellation has been announced. You are allowed to demand payment from foreigners, but whatever is owed you from your fellow Israelites you must forgive. Of course there won’t be any poor persons among you because the Lord will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, but only if you carefully obey the Lord your God’s voice, by carefully doing every bit of this commandment that I’m giving you right now. Once the Lord your God has blessed you, exactly as he said he would, you will end up lending to many different peoples but won’t need to borrow a thing. You will dominate many different peoples, but they won’t dominate you.
Now if there are some poor persons among you, say one of your fellow Israelites in one of your cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, don’t be hard-hearted or tightfisted toward your poor fellow Israelites. To the contrary! Open your hand wide to them. You must generously lend them whatever they need. But watch yourself! Make sure no wicked thought crosses your mind, such as, The seventh year is coming—the year of debt cancellation—so that you resent your poor fellow Israelites and don’t give them anything. If you do that, they will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin. No, give generously to needy persons. Don’t resent giving to them because it is this very thing that will lead to the Lord your God’s blessing you in all you do and work at. Poor persons will never disappear from the earth. That’s why I’m giving you this command: you must open your hand generously to your fellow Israelites, to the needy among you, and to the poor who live with you in your land.”
Matthew 19:16-22
A man approached Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus said, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There’s only one who is good. If you want to enter eternal life, keep the commandments.”
The man said, “Which ones?”
Then Jesus said, “Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.”
The young man replied, “I’ve kept all these. What am I still missing?”
Jesus said, “If you want to be complete, go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come follow me.”
But when the young man heard this, he went away saddened, because he had many possessions.
Consider these resources for the texts:
- Overview of the Book of Deuteronomy
- Study Notes on the Biblical Concept of Justice, especially #2: Restorative Justice
- As you read, try listening to this song, “Put Down What You Are Carrying” by Trevor Hall or this song “Fall On Me” by Needtobreathe and Carly Pearce.
Now consider these questions:
- How does the year of Jubilee carry out the Biblical concept of justice?
- “Poor persons will never disappear from the earth” sounds a lot like Jesus when he said to his disciples “The poor will always be with you” (Matthew 26:11) just before his death. What might the year of Jubilee and the willingness of Jesus’ death have in common? What do they say about the nature of God?
- Do you think the rich man left Jesus saddened because he did not want to give up his possessions? Or was he saddened to realize how much weight he had been carrying by worrying about his social standing and possessions? Or both?
- Have you ever needed a year of Jubilee and/or release? (or even a week of Jubilee?)
- How may you live Jubilee in your every day life?