RESPONDING TO GOD'S EXTRAVAGANT LOVE -- GIVE THANKS!

Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Luke 7:34-43



The latest trend in my part of the world is for grandmothers-to-be to proudly display ultra-sound pictures of their new grandchildren on their smart phones.  I think it's really cool, but since I don't have a smart phone, let alone children, I'm stuck with telling cat stories.  So here's one.

Harley, my calico, hates (hissing, growling and screeching) traveling in her pet carrier, especially when the destination is the vet.  For two or more days after her yearly check-up, she prowls around hissing and growling at Blondie and me.  On those occasions when Blondie goes to the vet without Harley, it may take as long as two weeks before Harley stops treating her like the enemy.  Blondie smells wrong.  She doesn't smell like herself -- she smells like (horrors!) the vet's office!

Wednesday, Blondie went to the vet to get her teeth cleaned, and while it was amusing watching her try to walk across the kitchen floor under the lingering influence of anesthesia and pain killers, I was concerned that Harley might actually attack and hurt her while I was at work.  So, the next day, Harley, along with her litter box, food and water, was shut into one of the spare bedrooms in the basement.  Blondie wobbled down the steps to be near her.

"Dumb cat!"  I thought as I trudged up the stairs.  Harley growls, hisses and swipes at her, and she still wants to be with her.  Go figure.

Hmmm... Isn't that what God does?  When I'm growling and having a hissy fit and lashing out in anger, frustration or fear, God doesn't run away and hide from me.  God sticks with me, no matter what, and loves me through it.  God loves me at my worst so that in Christ, I can  be my best.  The enormity of the cost Christ paid on the cross for my sins is beyond my comprehension.  That's over the top, take my breath away, extravagant love.

In response to the priceless gift of my salvation, what can I do but love God with everything I am and have in gratitude for what God has given me in Christ with as much extravagance worship as I can muster.

That's what the woman in Luke 7:34-43 did.  She and her sin are not named, but really, she could be any us -- me, you, all of us.  All of us have committed unloving, selfish, unjust acts that have lead us down the path that leads to separation from God and spiritual death.

Upon hearing that Jesus is dining at the home of Simon, a prominent religious leader in the community, she rushes out of her house and crashes the party.  Weeping, she welcomes Jesus by washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair.  She worships and adores him, kissing his feet and anointing them with the most costly thing she owns, the expensive perfume she keeps in a vial around her neck.  She loves Christ with everything she is and has.

The woman, a sinner like us all, responded to the extravagant love of God she experienced through Christ with an extravagant outpouring of love and gratitude in an act of worship.  Worship is the way we respond to God's love for us and an expression of our love for God.  It is a means of grace, a spiritual practice that deepens our understanding of and love for God.  It draws us closer to God through Christ, increasing our love for God.  Through God, we engage with the presence of God among us, opening our hearts in gratitude.

Together, on Sunday morning, we worship through the liturgy, the words we say and pray, and the music and hymns we sing.  Worship, though, is more than talking and singing about how great God is.  Worship is also about giving thanks, in very tangible and personal ways, just like the woman in Luke did.

Our weekly offering is more than passing a plate and filling with with envelopes, cash and checks.  As we celebrate God's extravagant love and all we have been blessed with, we worship God with our love and our gratitude in a very tangible and personal way.  We make an offering from our personal financial resources.  We give a portion of that which ensures we have a place to live, food on the table, clothes and all those creature comforts we enjoy.  In response to the extravagant demonstration of love through Christ's sacrifice, we offer a small sacrifice of what means much to us.

Giving is a spiritual practice that draws us deeper in love with God, strengthens our faith and shares the extravagant love of God with the world.

How will we say "thanks" today?


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