October 17
Beloved of Good Shepherd Church
Grace to you and peace in Jesus Christ our Lord!
Our entire tradition can be summed up in this way: Love and Let go. The Old Testament is a long, arcing collection of stories, prophecies, sayings, and songs aimed at teaching us how to love. The New Testament is instruction in learning to let go for folks who have learned to love. If your dream is to go deeper on the spiritual journey then a rhythm that is at once simple and rigorous of loving and letting go is sure to help you plumb the depths.
I have been thinking a lot about letting go lately. Because we are in stewardship season here at Good Shepherd, I have also been thinking and praying about money lately. Letting go of some percentage of my money by giving to God through the ministry of the church has been vital to my spiritual growth. Giving is a grand gesture of gratitude for me, but it is also a way to put something I value out of my control. Every time I give up control I grow spiritually. I know I am getting traction with my giving when I realize that I am not doing something because I gave the money to do it away. I don’t know why, but I always smile when that thought occurs to me.
The other thing I want to let go of is participation in any kind of negativity. I grow spiritually every time I dismiss the urge to say or think something negative about another person or a state of affairs. Nothing good has ever come to me because I started or spread negativity. So, I want to practice an absolute refusal to participate in negativity. How has letting go affected you spiritually? How has the spiritual practice of giving helped you grow?
Please join me on Sunday, October 27th for Consecration Sunday. It is going to be a marvelous day on which we all take up the spiritual practice of letting go through giving. My dearest friend, The Reverend Ben Nelson, will be our special guest that day as we all take the opportunity to fill out our estimate of giving cards during worship. We’ll also celebrate with a festive, catered parish lunch after the 10:00 a.m. service. Will you please RSVP HERE to let me know if you can come? All are welcome!
Remember this always - God loves you, and I love you too!
Love is all,
Hendree+