Reading of the Day: Psalm 145:15-16
“The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.”
My grandmother lived with a deep awareness that all of life is a gift from God. Each time we sat down at her table, whether it was for a Sunday dinner, a weekday meal, or even just for an afternoon coffee break, she began with a table prayer. She always began by praying verses 15 & 16 of Psalm 145. Years later when reading through the Psalms, I realized that my grandmother had added a couple of words to the 16th verse. Instead of “you open your hand,” my grandmother said, “you open your ‘kind and loving’ hand, satisfying the desire of every living thing.” Although not part of the original text, I continue to value my grandmother’s editorial additions to that line of Psalm 145.
She always believed that any abundance she received was a gift from God, poured out from God’s great treasure house of loving kindness. Even in meager times, her faith never wavered. She trusted deeply in God’s mercy that is new every morning. I learned some of life’s greatest lessons from her. Life, every day of it, is truly a gift from God. Faith in Christ that gives joy and meaning to life is the most precious of all one’s possessions. We are all loved with a love so enduring and vast that it is stronger than death. God’s love for each of us is for eternity.
When you live with an awareness of being held in the embrace of this love, then you look for ways to share that love with others and with the world. You have a desire to “offer with joy and thanksgiving” what God has first given to us…” our selves, our time, and our possessions.…”
Once again, the community of Gloria Dei is given an opportunity to express “with joy and thanksgiving” our gratitude for all the abundance that God so generously showers upon us. As we make our pledges and commitments to support the ministry of Gloria Dei, we make tangible our gratitude for the blessing of sharing life together in this community of faith. God’s “kind and loving” hand is always open to us. May our response reflect the love that has claimed us forever as God’s beloved children.
PRAYER: Let us pray. Gracious and loving God, you open your kind and loving hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. Strengthen our faith that with joyful and generous hearts, we may gladly share from what you have first given us through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pastor Harvey J. Leuning