A woman was out shopping and decided to stop for a cup of coffee. She bought a bag of cookies, dropped them in her purse, and then went into a coffee shop. All the tables were filled; she ended up sitting down with a man reading a newspaper. She sat across from him, in the opposite chair, opened her purse, took out a magazine and began reading.
After a while she looked up and reached for a cookie. The man across from her also took a cookie. She glared at him; he just smiled at her and she resumed reading.
Moments later she reached for another cookie just as the man also took one. Filled with anger, she stared at the remaining cookie. The man then reached over, broke the cookie in half and offered her a piece. She grabbed it and stuck it in her mouth as the man smiled again, rose from the table, and left.
The woman was really steaming now and angrily opened her purse. Her coffee break was ruined and she put her magazine away. Inside her purse she saw her bag of cookies, unopened. All along she’d unknowingly helped herself to the cookies belonging to the man she sat with at the table.
This Sunday is Commitment Sunday and it will be a huge celebration of joy! You are invited to invest in the ministry and mission of Christ: to make disciples of Jesus Christ, bringing hope, love, joy, and peace to the world. Our scripture lesson from 2 Corinthians will highlight the benefits we receive when we give with generous hearts.
Commitment cards will be received this Sunday. It is with great joy that I invite you to join our family in committing 10% of our income in 2022 to Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church. The most joy-filled people I know understand this: Everything we have is God’s, not ours (including the cookies!). When you give with a generous heart be prepared for the bi-product: abundant joy!
I look forward to connecting with you for this celebration of joy this weekend!
Peace,
Pastor Cathy