the fig tree

Good afternoon friends,
Jesus continues his preview of the end by reminding his listeners to stay ready. When generation after generation passes but the end Jesus expected so soon doesn't come, it's easy to think the world is always going to keep going as it is. The truth is, we don't know when things might change dramatically. We can trust that one day God will make everything new. If we remember that there is more to life than we see, it helps us keep the everyday in perspective. When the world ends or we die it will matter a lot more how we have cared for others than the things we have.
God bless,
Sam

Luke 21:29-38
²⁹Then he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; ³⁰as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves and know that summer is already near. ³¹So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near. ³²Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all things have taken place. ³³Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.


³⁴“Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day catch you unexpectedly, ³⁵like a trap. For it will come upon all who live on the face of the whole earth. ³⁶Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.” ³⁷Every day he was teaching in the temple, and at night he would go out and spend the night on the Mount of Olives, as it was called. ³⁸And all the people would get up early in the morning to listen to him in the temple.

Thanksgiving

Good morning friends,
Our reading for this morning gives us a glimpse of Israel's thanksgiving tradition. The first-fruits offering was an offering of gratitude for God's gift of a good land for Israel. Not only did the offering remind the people of what God had done for them, it also reminded them of the story of their liberation from slavery. Telling the story again with each offering helped keep their gratitude alive. The offering also reminded them of their responsibility to care for others. They offered their first fruits to God by celebrating a harvest meal with their family along with the immigrants in the land and the Levites. The Levites were the priestly tribe; they had no land of their own so they relied on the offering of their brothers and sisters from other tribes. The immigrants likewise had no land and relied on the kindness of their hosts. As former wanderers the Israelites, and we Americans, are called to care for the immigrants God brings to our land as part of our gratitude to God for his gifts. As we give thanks with family today, may we always remember that all we have and all we are comes from God, and God calls us to reach out to others.

Thanksgiving blessings,
Sam

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

1When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, 2you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. 3You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, "Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us."



4When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, 5you shall make this response before the Lord your God: "A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. 6When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, 7we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. 8The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; 9and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. 10So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me."You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. 11Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.