06 Nov Scarcity, Abundance, & The Eucharist
Sunday, November 6, 2022
Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter
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How should our Christian faith and spirituality influence our economic practices? Throughout the biblical text, we find stories that demonstrate the important connection between our faith and our relationship with money. The teachings and practices of Jesus and his followers suggest that Christians are to live generously. We find joy, connection, and liberation from the lure of greed and selfishness in both the giving and receiving of gifts from others. Over the next three weeks, our stewardship campaign will explore what it means for theologically progressive Christians to live generously.
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This Sunday, we begin our series by reflecting on the notion of economic scarcity in light of our Christian teachings on the Eucharist. The very basis of our free market economic system, trade – giving up something to get something else – assumes scarcity. To be sure, scarcity is the more general hunger of those who want more, without reference to what they already have. But the Eucharist tells another story about hunger and consumption. The Eucharist tells the story about one who came that we might have life and have it abundantly. The Eucharist is a model, an invitation to live generously. To be sure, many of us learned what it means to live generously by modeling our lives after those who inspired us, and many of these people are no longer with us in flesh but reside within us in spirit. This Sunday is also All Saints Sunday, and we invite you to join us as we begin our series on stewardship and remember those Saints who are no longer with us, but whose abundant love still resides within us.