Friends,

Last Sunday, I preached on Jesus' story of the lucky farmer whose grain harvest exceeds his ability to store it. He decides to build bigger barns, store his harvest, and then kick back, relax, and enjoy life. "You fool!" God says to him, in Jesus' parable. Real security is not about our wealth or our possessions. Real security is to be found in God and in the webs of interdependence, of trust and reciprocal giving, that we find in generous community. Real security is “what we long for but cannot ever purchase – being valued for your own unique gifts, earning the regard of your neighbors for the quality of your character not the quantity of your possessions, what you give, not what you have." (Robin Wall Kimmerer, in The Serviceberry) You can read more about this book in a MPR interview with the author.

Jesus invites us out of the economy of scarcity and competition and into an economy of gift and celebration (check out the parables about the lost coin, the dinner party with guests from the highways and hedges...). We told a story from Robin Wall Kimmerer's latest book, The Serviceberry, to illustrate the different mindset that gift economy offers.

To catch up on that and other recent sermons, click here.

Susan+

Tags: scarcity, abundance, God's Economy, Rev Susan