I intended the question I posed at the end of worship my first Sunday as your pastor: "Could it be that one of the spiritual gifts of this congregation is the gift of generosity?" I've seen evidence enough to make me think the answer may be "Yes." During that worship time, I witnessed your generosity to Pastor Susan, a gift that expressed your love and respect for her, a gift that responded to her need. Throughout the long process that led to your calling me to be your new pastor and getting Pam and me moved here, we experienced repeatedly your generosity. These are the evidence that makes me wonder, the evidence I've seen so far with my own eyes.
No doubt, as the next months unfold, I'll see many more signs of this gift at work in Immanuel's ministry and mission. I'll see it, for example, in our response to the immediate needs in Haiti. I'll see it as we prepare for our Lenten One Great Hour of Sharing collection. I'll see it as I learn more about the mission projects we support with money and with labor. I'll see it in the gracious ways we relate to each other — because generosity involves more than money.
While it's pretty much worthless if it isn't tangible, however, generosity is really a way of looking at life and relationships. It's a way of understanding the proper value of things as instruments of peace and justice and mercy and grace. It's a way of understanding ourselves as people gifted by God.
As the month of February unfolds, generosity will give way to sacrifice. We will begin our journey with Jesus to the cross. We will learn again from Jesus how to die to selfish and sinful ways. We will learn again to receive life by taking up the cross Jesus offers us and following him along paths of discipleship and service. By Easter, we will begin to know that these paths are the paths to life.
Because I have just now moved here, we've had no time to do proper planning for Lent. So it will have some of the feel of "making it up as we go along" — which gives us the opportunity to work it out together. With your generous spirit, help me shape our Lenten journey.
Pastor Dan
