An invitation into lent
Since the start of the year, we’ve been gathering on Sundays to reimagine faith, our life together & a better way of being human here. The gospel of Matthew has been our focus, Jesus’s words have been our guide & our own stories have added so much meaning.
Most recently, we’ve been listening to excerpts from Jesus’s “sermon on the mount”, a series of teachings that reveal a counter-cultural way of relating to one another that defined his life and message. It’s becoming clear that Jesus values relationships over rules, healing over keeping people comfortable, and belonging over business as usual. We will soon see how his radical reimagining will not be rewarded; it will ultimately get him killed instead.
We are left to wonder how we put his teachings and this alternative Way of life into practice. For us, where does the rubber meet the road? How does this “better way of being human” become our way? What does loving our neighbor as we love ourselves look like in our day-to-day decisions?
In particular, what does it look like in our life together with money?
Don’t worry. We aren’t bringing back the offering plate. We are, however, inviting you to journey with us this Lent as we look deeply at how the way we relate to money cultivates connection or disconnection, healing, or harm. Despite how frequently Jesus addresses economics, we have often paid little attention to the meaning and role that money plays in how we practice our faith.
Recent conversations within our own Well community have revealed that we bring more questions than answers to this conversation. Questions like:
How much is enough? What are real scarcity and real abundance? How do we give in ways that help, not cause harm? What stereotypes need to be addressed around money? What assumptions need to be overturned? How do we ask for and accept help? How should we relate to debt? What are some ancient or new practices we can experiment with?
This Lent, it really does feel like we are entering the wilderness.
Thankfully, as uncomfortable as the wilderness can be, it also tends to be a place where something significant happens. Through honest conversations, story-sharing & exploring some of the many mentions of economics in Matthew, I expect we will be shaped, challenged, and invited to grow.
As we keep moving through this gospel story together, we will be with Jesus as he turns over the temple tables and as he is betrayed by a close friend for a financial reward. We will feel the tension in the rooms he entered and the tension in our own lives & communities around economics. And where shame, fear, and scarcity seek to have the final word, we will be invited to reimagine another way.
We would love to have you joins us this Wednesday at Overalls Farm at 6:30 p.m. as we begin our Lent journey with dinner, reflection & ashes (for those who want to participate).