Proper 28
November 18, 2018
Bloom where you are planted
The quote above has been variously attributed to Gandhi, Einstein and Churchill and they could have all said it. This adage implies another, which is: “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.”Our experience in life will likely determine whether we believe this adage. If one has bloomed where they were planted or if someone has experienced comfort and fit throughout their life, then they might well agree with phrases like “Bloom where you are planted.”If one has met a lot of failure in life or always felt out of place, they would likely question the value of this phrase, no matter who first said it. If we push the metaphor of a plant, we know that sometimes plants are replanted and they grow better in the new conditions. In the same way, sometimes people move and make other changes, such as in their careers, and do well. The AA movement asserts that “geographic cures do not work,” and uses other words to make the same point not to move from where you are.
Psalm 16:8-9
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
These words come from a joyous psalm of thankfulness. A celebration of the writer’s trust in God to provide at all times and places. While certainly consistent with the idea that you can “bloom where you are planted” because of God’s presence and direction which produces safety and security, it does not follow that at some point you may need to be replanted somewhere else.
Reign of Christ
November 25, 2018
No one has ever become poor by giving
Anne Frank, at age 15, wrote a short piece entitled “give.” Here is how it ends:
Give and give again. Keep hoping, keep trying, keep giving! People who give will never be poor! If you follow this advice, within a few generations, people will never have to feel sorry for poor little beggar children again, because there won't be any! The world has plenty of room, riches, money and beauty. God has created enough for each and every one of us. Let us begin by dividing it more fairly.
Psalm 132:15
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
Both the Hebrew and the Greek scriptures make constant reference to meeting the needs of the poor. It is both a promise of God that it will happen, and a teaching to God’s followers to do it. Anne Frank seems to get it. God will provide for the poor, through the work of those who follow in God’s ways.
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Trinity Sunday to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to Reign of Christ
For more on Glenn Morison and his book that led to this page, check out The Things We Say.
All this material is copyleft. Feel free to use it however you see fit, with or without attribution.
If you wish to value this page, please make a donation to the Winnipeg Quaker Meeting.
November 18, 2018
Bloom where you are planted
The quote above has been variously attributed to Gandhi, Einstein and Churchill and they could have all said it. This adage implies another, which is: “You are exactly where you are supposed to be.”Our experience in life will likely determine whether we believe this adage. If one has bloomed where they were planted or if someone has experienced comfort and fit throughout their life, then they might well agree with phrases like “Bloom where you are planted.”If one has met a lot of failure in life or always felt out of place, they would likely question the value of this phrase, no matter who first said it. If we push the metaphor of a plant, we know that sometimes plants are replanted and they grow better in the new conditions. In the same way, sometimes people move and make other changes, such as in their careers, and do well. The AA movement asserts that “geographic cures do not work,” and uses other words to make the same point not to move from where you are.
Psalm 16:8-9
I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.
These words come from a joyous psalm of thankfulness. A celebration of the writer’s trust in God to provide at all times and places. While certainly consistent with the idea that you can “bloom where you are planted” because of God’s presence and direction which produces safety and security, it does not follow that at some point you may need to be replanted somewhere else.
Reign of Christ
November 25, 2018
No one has ever become poor by giving
Anne Frank, at age 15, wrote a short piece entitled “give.” Here is how it ends:
Give and give again. Keep hoping, keep trying, keep giving! People who give will never be poor! If you follow this advice, within a few generations, people will never have to feel sorry for poor little beggar children again, because there won't be any! The world has plenty of room, riches, money and beauty. God has created enough for each and every one of us. Let us begin by dividing it more fairly.
Psalm 132:15
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
Both the Hebrew and the Greek scriptures make constant reference to meeting the needs of the poor. It is both a promise of God that it will happen, and a teaching to God’s followers to do it. Anne Frank seems to get it. God will provide for the poor, through the work of those who follow in God’s ways.
Year A of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year B of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Trinity Sunday to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to The Reign of Christ
Year C of the Revised Common Lectionary (Click on the season you wish to see)
Advent
Christmas and Epiphany
Transfiguration and Lent
Easter
Pentecost to Proper Sixteen
Proper Seventeen to Reign of Christ
For more on Glenn Morison and his book that led to this page, check out The Things We Say.
All this material is copyleft. Feel free to use it however you see fit, with or without attribution.
If you wish to value this page, please make a donation to the Winnipeg Quaker Meeting.
