Introduction

This article is the November 2009 installment of my monthly message in the parish newsletter for Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb.

With Joy and Thanksgiving

The grace of God pours down upon us like rain falling from the clouds. We cannot, with our wills or desires, squeeze the water from those clouds. We can only turn our faces to the heavens, close our eyes, and be washed by the gentle touch of the showers. Then the waters may cleanse and refresh us like God’s grace.

We cannot command the clouds to bring forth rain, but we can catch the rain in barrels and ponds and use the water to help grow flowers and vegetables. We can take this gift from God and make something more, something beautiful, something that blesses others, something that enriches God’s creation to his glory.

It’s the same with God’s grace as it touches each moment of our lives. He gives us life–at our births–by his grace. He rinses us clean–in Baptism–with his grace. He washes away our confessed sins–in Penance–with his grace. He inspires us–in Preaching–with his grace. He strengthens us–in the Eucharist–with his grace. He sustains us–through our lifetimes–by his grace. He gathers us–when we die–by his grace.

We cannot command God to pour out his grace upon us, we can only see these simple gifts as clouds, full of his grace, and then stand beneath them, humbly and expectantly, with faces upturned and arms outstretched.

And so, that is why we pray these words in worship when we bring our gifts to God’s altar:

Merciful Father, we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us–our selves, our time, and our possessions–signs of your gracious love. Receive them for the sake of him who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 87)

The words are so familiar to us, it’s easy for us to glide right through them. But look again, with a freshly washed face, at what we pray.

Signs of Your Gracious Love

Our merciful Father pours out his gifts upon us–first! He creates us, he gives us a lifetime, and he provides for us. He fills the ponds and rain barrels of our lives. And then he invites us to make something from these gifts, something that blesses others and gives him glory.

It’s no coincidence that we use the word “stewardship” both when we talk about soil and water conservation and when we speak of caring for and using God’s blessings in our lives. In each case, we gaze at our reflections in the rain barrels and ponds of our lives, dip our hands into their waters, and then take action to make something of what God has given us.

We Offer and God Receives

This month as we turn our parish’s attention to stewardship and as we gather our families around the table at Thanksgiving, we are reminded of God’s showers of grace. Our merciful Father has given us his gifts and invites us to respond with “joy and thanksgiving,” to care for the many “signs of his gracious love,” and to offer them, in the Spirit, for the sake of Jesus Christ.

When you pray for God to guide you in making faithful decisions about your stewardship, consider beginning your prayers with the words, “Merciful Father….” By his grace, may you discover refreshment and cleansing in our offertory’s call to joy and thanksgiving for those signs of gracious love that remind us of the Father’s greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessings,

+ Pastor David Frye