Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached Sunday, 9/25 at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches. The text is 1 Timothy 6:6-19 .   Have you ever had a conversation with someone that started out like this, “Jim, how are you doing? I haven’t seen you in so long.” Jim replies, “I’m living the dream!” Sometimes it seems to mean the respondent is doing great. Other times I’ve heard people say this in a sarcastic way because they’re in a very hard place. I would like to make one small change to that statement so that it says, "I'm living the life." At first glance, we think it's obvious that this passage is about stewardship; and it is. But it is about so much more. There is a little phrase at the very end of the passage that I cannot shake. Every time I read this passage it hits me again and again: “…take hold of the life that really is life,”(v. 19b). What does that mean? Does it mean that those who are going their own way, not following Jesus, a...

Well, it's time for an update. We've been back in Gettysburg for  a month. It wasn't that long ago that we were surrounded by boxes and could hardly find a place to sit. We're all settled now except for a couple of boxes in the den. A few days after our arrival, I had a planned surgery on my ankle and Achilles tendon. I was sporting a hot pink cast and making my way around with a Roll-A-Bout . This has obviously limited what I've been able to do around the house. Yesterday had a follow up visit with the surgeon. Now I am sans one hot pink cast. Yeah! And the Roll-A-Bout will be packed up and shipped back. I have a boot that I wear now and use a regular walker to get around. Slowly I am working my way up to weight bearing as tolerated. The best part is that I can now shower! Ray, my husband, has been amazing during the time of my convalescence. He keeps saying he's been "domesticated." He has been cooking, unpacking, and doing virtually everything...