Looking Forward to March 25, 2007 -- 5th Sunday of Lent

The Scripture Readings this week are:

• From the Jewish Scriptures: Isaiah 55:1-9
• Psalm 63 (VU p.781)
• From the Gospel: John 12:1-8

The Hymns are:

• #603 In Loving Partnership
• #87 I Am the Light of the World (verses 2-4)
• #700 God of Freedom, God of Justice
• #427 To Show By Touch and Word

The Sermon title is The Church in the World: Poverty and Wealth

Early Thoughts: This Gospel story is troubling. Whenever I read it I find myself agreeing with Judas -- and I really doubt that was John's intention. But really, his complaint makes sense. Why waste all that money on perfume for the feet when it could buy food for someone who is starving?

And Jesus' response is truly less than helpful. "You will always have the poor with you" I mean really, doesn't that sound like saying "You can't solve the problem so feel free to waste money on other stuff". And yet the witness of Scripture is uniform. WE have a responsibility to care for the least among us. WE have a duty to work towards the eradication of poverty. Jesus himself points out this duty several times in the Gospel accounts (poverty is by far a larger issue in Scripture than sexual ethics). What's up?

The question of wealth and poverty is a hard one. The question of what to do about resource distribution is a hard one. But since we live in the world with all its inequities we have to ask ourselves about these questions. WE have to ask why the poor are always with us. We have to discuss what to do about that unfortunate fact. Join us on Sunday as we try to explore these questions and deal with the fact that we may be cheering for Judas after all.
--Gord