"Looking Toward Sunday" for August 3

"Ruffles, Doritos, and the Economy of God"

8th Sunday after Pentecost

August 3, 2014

This week we'll take a look at Matthew's telling of the Feeding of the Multitudes.  (Click here to read "The Voice" translation of this story.) The crowds follow Jesus to a deserted place, where he spends the day caring for them and healing their sick. When dinnertime rolls around, the disciples become concerned about where the food for such a large number of people will come from. When Jesus tells the disciples that they should feed the crowds, the disciples respond, "But we don't have enough."

Where do we get our ideas of "enough"?  Is "enough" defined by the stories of our faith that assure us of God's provision, or from the narrative of a culture that warns us there's not enough to go around? Do we embrace (in the words of Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann) the Liturgy of Abundance or the Myth of Scarcity? And what in the world does this all have to do with Ruffles and Doritos? Join us for worship for the answer!

See you on Sunday!

"Looking Toward Sunday" for July 27

"Spread the Mustard"

7th Sunday after Pentecost

July 27, 2014

This Sunday we'll take a look at Jesus' Parable Of the Mustard Seed in the Gospel of Matthew. (You can read it by clicking here.) Jesus tells his disciples that the kingdom of heaven is like a tiny little mustard seed, which becomes a tree so large and full that it attracts nesting birds. That doesn't seem like a surprising metaphor - unless you know something about mustard plants! 

Listening to this parable, Jesus' first-century, agrarian audience would have heard something quite unexpected about the nature of God's kingdom. They knew all too well that mustard is a spindly little shrub that's notoriously fast-growing and prolific. Once it establishes itself it spreads like an invasive, tenacious, unstoppable weed, taking over the entire crop field. Perhaps this story is a promise (or a warning!) that once the kingdom of God takes root, it will grow out of control.

Join us on Sunday as we explore that possibility.

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