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Minute for Mission: Easter/One Great Hour of Sharing
In the sixth chapter of Matthew, the middle section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus devotes much of his time to the distractions and snares of the world. Part of his message seems to be “Be careful what you ask for.” If what we want is to be seen by others as doing good and praying, that’s all we’ll be left with. If what we ask of the world is material wealth, that’s all we will get, and we’ll recognize too late how quickly it tarnishes or vanishes, leaving us with little of real value. If we want more than that, we will have to change the treasure we seek.
To do this, Jesus invites us, rather than fixating on our own needs, to recognize how generous our God is, providing for even the flowers and birds so that they are richly fed and clothed just in the natural course of things. If we can lose our insecurity and focus on the ways of God, he promises, the rest will take care of itself. Elsewhere, he sums up these ways of God in two commandments — to love God utterly and completely, and to love one another.
What is the connection between these two commandments? Is it that loving God requires us to see each other with the mind and heart of God, which sees each person as a unique treasure? Is it that in loving one another, we constantly encounter new aspects of the face of God? However we see these two [mandates], it is clear that for decades, Presbyterians have expressed them both by giving to one another through One Great Hour of Sharing. Our gifts are a tangible way of sharing the love of God with one another in ways that will protect and enrich the lives of our brothers and sisters. Even more important, in thus placing our priority on loving one another, we affirm that our true treasure lies in returning to God the control over our own well-being.
—Elder Alan Krome, associate for special offerings, General Assembly Mission Council
Merciful God, you know what is best for us and what is merely distraction, yet you patiently allow us to choose. Give us discernment, we pray, to hunger and thirst for what truly feeds us — sharing your overflowing generosity with one another and with your creation. Bless our gifts that all those in whose lives they work may glory in the light of your abundant love. We pray it in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Acts 10:34–43 or Isa. 25:6–9
Christ Is Alive!
PH 108
Thine Is the Glory
PH 122, HB 209
Ps. 118:1–2, 14–24
Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates
PH 8, HB 152, WB 454
Psalm 118:14–24
PH 231
1 Cor. 15:1–11
Wotanin Waste Nahon Po
(Hear the Good News of Salvation)
PH 355
Jesus Christ Is Risen Today
PH 123, HB 204, WB 440
John 20:1–18 or Mark 16:1–8
In the Bulb There Is a Flower
LUYH 88
The Day of Resurrection!
PH 118, HB 208, WB 584
Daily Lectionary
Ps. 93, 150 Ps. 136, 117
Exod. 12:1–14
John 1:1–18 or Isa. 51:9–11
Luke 24:13–35 or John 20:19–23 |
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