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Celebrating the resurrection is a never-ending joy for the followers of Christ. One of the reasons that it never ends is because we can never truly comprehend the depth of the love that God expressed to us on the cross, or the hope Jesus gave to us when the stone was rolled away. Coming to grips with the radical way that God demonstrated love to us through the life, death, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, is an all-consuming task. When we stop to realize that the love that God offers us through His Son, Jesus Christ, is not just for us -– you and me — but for all of us, every human being on the planet, then an all-consuming task becomes a next-to-impossible one. How can God love me? How can God love you, me and everyone else? Yet God does; and even if we do not think about the ways that God is able to touch and transform the lives of so many people, God still does it.
There was a man in church that day that looked a little out of place. Well, not too out of place, since the church had decided to be intentional about inviting some of the homeless people who always seemed to be in the neighborhood around the church to come to worship. Evidently, one of them had decided to come.
He looked different. The clothes he was wearing may well have come from the church’s clothes closet. If not, they definitely came from somewhere like that. They were in good enough shape, but they were clothes-closet clothes. Anyone could see that just by looking.
He was hard not to notice, but one member in particular lit up with pride when he noticed that a homeless person had found his way to the church’s regular worship service. He had felt for a long time that the church should do more to reach out to the people in the neighborhood. Now they were, and it was working. At least one of them had responded to the church’s gesture of hospitality. Perhaps others would follow if this one who had come this morning had a positive experience. Hopefully, he would.
The service was just as it always was. Nothing was changed just because the homeless people had been invited and that was just fine. Fine, until it came time for the offering. There just happened to be a special offering that day. The church was collecting money for the victims of hurricane Katrina. The minister took a few extra minutes to explain the special offering and to encourage everyone to give sacrificially.
The homeless person did not seem bothered by this special appeal for money, but the member who was so happy that the homeless person had come to worship was visibly anxious. He was worried that the homeless person would be made to feel bad by the way the minister just kept going on and on about the importance of giving to those in need, giving sacrificially, giving extra, digging deep in your pockets. Enough already — take up the offering!
When the offering plate came down his pew, the church member dropped his envelope into it. He did not mean to be nosey, but he could not help but notice that the homeless person had also placed an envelope into the plate. He grew more upset. The church should not be taking money from homeless people. They don’t have it to give and the minister should have been more sensitive. All that badgering about sacrifice had caused the homeless person to give what he did not have to give. That must have been what happened. Still not wanting to be nosey, but not being able to help himself, before passing the offering plate on down the row, the church member glanced again at the envelope the homeless person placed in it.
On the line where you were supposed to put the amount of your offering, there were no numbers just words. The homeless person had written something. Instead of dollars and cents, he was giving “I love you very, very, very much.”
Having no money to give, he could not give it. Yet, having been transformed in some way by God’s love for him he gave what he had, “I love you very, very, very much.”
May each of us and all of us never stop celebrating the resurrection!
Joy and Peace,
Ed
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