Spiritual Life Management

May, 2014

Food for Thought ...

An entire labyrinth of canned goods - that is what eventually got delivered to Nourishment Network for distribution to those in need.

I suppose we could have measured the amount another way, by weight or number of cans perhaps; but we built a labyrinth out of it at the Youth's 30 Hr. Famine, so I will always think of it as exactly one (1) labyrinth's-worth of food.

And as I watched the kids walk the labyrinth made of canned goods, I had a few thoughts about why we give. Part of it is physical and part of it is spiritual. The cans helped highlight that reality for me.

We give food because people need to eat. It is a physical necessity. We, as a parish, brought in a lot of food. It takes a lot of stacked cans to make a full sized labyrinth...trust me, I helped lay it out. And we all know that the physical needs around us are great. We will have helped to feed a lot of hungry people. I am guessing everyone here feels good about that. But as I watched the kids walk our labyrinth, I remembered that it is not just physical needs that we are attempting to meet.

It was the most prayerful part of the retreat. It was walked in the middle of the Eucharist with which we broke our fast. It was deeply spiritual...for us!

I am not saying that we do not also want to meet the spiritual needs of the people who will eat the food we collected. I am just reminded that to give is a spiritual need, for us. We need to give just as people need to eat.

The food labyrinth is gone. It only lasted an hour or two, but our permanent labyrinth is always available out back. Walk it when you have a minute, and think about your own physical and spiritual needs.

Steph+

Scripture

Psalm 116: 12-14 - "What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people."

Tradition

Hymn 182:

"Christ is alive! Let Christians sing. His cross stands empty to the sky. Let streets and homes with praises ring. His love in death shall never die.

Christ is alive! No longer bound to distant years in Palestine, he come to claim the here and now and conquer every place and time.

Not throned above, remotely high, untouched, unmoved by human pains, but daily, in the midst of life, our Savior with the Father reigns.

In every insult, rift, and war where color, scorn or wealth divide, he suffers still, yet loves the more, and lives, though ever crucified.

Christ is alive! His Spirit burns through this and every future age, til all creation lives and learns his joy, his justice, love and praise."

Reason

"Christian stewardship is the grateful and responsible use of God's gifts in the light of God's purpose as revealed in Jesus Christ. Christian stewards, empowered by the Holy Spirit, commit themselves to conscious, purposeful decisions. Stewardship is lived out in:

living and telling the Good News;
sharing God in seeking justice, peace, and the integrity of creation in an interdependent universe;
wisely employing God-given human resources, abilities, and relationships;
sharing the material resources we hold, and giving them in service, justice, and compassion;
providing for future generations, sharing in the life, worship, and responsible stewardship of the Church and of its mission.

Both for the individual and for the community, stewardship is a joyful act for the sake of God's world." �

� The working definition of Christian Stewardship from the Standing Rules of the Ecumenical Stewardship Center.