Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly
will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously
will also reap generously. Each of you should give
what you have decided in your heart to give,
not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver.
And God is able to bless you abundantly,
so that in all things at all times,
having all that you need,
you will abound in every good work.

– 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

The reflection below was originally written by Reverend Deanna Boynton of North Mountain Lutheran Parish, Toms Brook. I came across it when I was looking for a devotion to share at July’s council meeting;. Laurel  Hofeldt and I were planning to introduce the budget for the upcoming fiscal year that night, and this reflection seemed fitting. Before I began reading this abbreviated version out loud, I asked the council members to consider how these words could also apply to the budget process.

– Jessica Henry, RLC President-elect

Boynton writes:

We gather around many tables in our lives: daily dinner tables, weekly communion tables, fellowship church and funeral meal tables, and grand Thanksgiving tables. Many have experienced the anxiety of scarcity as they set these tables. However, more often than not, those of us reading this devotion have left the tables at which we sat full and blessed. Miraculously, the food stretched to fill the bellies of all who ate, or we who were gathered found nourishment in fellowship that filled even more than our physical hunger.

When we look around the table, we realize the depth of preparation that went into the food for the community gathered. The hands that prepared the dishes, the market merchants who sold the food, the farmers who grew and harvested the basic ingredients. We realize that it all started in God, and that as we gather, God has blessed us with abundance, sending us forth into our various vocations to share the grace that God has given to us. As this gathering, blessing, and sending occur again and again, we begin to lose the anxiety of scarcity and see that what we have gathered is enough, and with God, enough turns into abundance.

Prayer

Creator God, all good things start in you. Gather us and all of our resources, and bless them into abundance for the service of others. Send us forth into the community to scatter the seeds of your love and grace. Amen.