Lunchbox of Faith
Recently, my church conference, Mennonite Church Canada had it's annual conference in Winkler, Manitoba. The keynote speaker, a man for whom I have profound respect, was Tom Yoder Neufeld. Using the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, he compares it to our various crises, which applies to our conference but also to each of us in our own lives.

"The only way you can see the connection between enthusiastic generosity and extreme poverty is if you know that what you have to offer Jesus is never the measure of what is possible. Our gifts will never be more than a few fish and few buns. But our offering of them makes the miracle of multiplication possible.

As Mennonite Church Canada we have come through a time of financial turbulence. We are in the midst of ethical and theological turbulence. And we are tempted to think that our success in dealing with these issues will be the result of our resources, our planning and shaping. It won't be!"

Yes, we are right to strategize, organize, manage, talk. We know that these are themselves gifts of the Spirit. But we are dead wrong to think that they are anything more than a lunch bag of the raw stuff Jesus needs to make manna. They are never the measure of what God will do with what we bring. And that is the supremely good news!"

   [ posted by William @ 2:38 PM ]