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I arranged for a plant...

Illustration
Proper 7 | Ordinary Time 12 - C
Luke 8:26-39
I arranged for a "plant" in the worship service. The man came in, obviously having seen better days, not smelling exactly like everyone else, unshaven and a bit scary looking compared to the upper middle-class congregation. A couple of people did speak to him and one even invited him to join them for lunch at the restaurant. The next week, I told the congregation about the man. He was the husband of one of my wife's friends and was not homeless, dirty, or scary. I wanted to see how people would react to him and I was pleased that a few had reached out to offer help.
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This story begins with gift -- with blessed gift -- with miraculous, blessed giftedness. And I will even tell you now the theme of the story: if you keep your eye on the giftedness of everything, then you yourself can be a gift, you can be a giver, rather than a hoarder.
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