Priceless!

This week's meditation is adapted from a "golden oldie" in my sermon archives.

You know those MasterCard commercials that end with the word priceless? They go something like this: "Two tickets to Paris - $3,000; Dinner with a view of the Eiffel Tower - $400; That diamond ring she always wanted - $5,000; Showing your wife how much all the years have really meant - priceless."

What makes these commercials so attractive is that they seem to place our spending in perspective. Life is about relationships, it's about love, it's about making our families happy. So if we purchase something, hey, nothing wrong with that! It provides the means to those ends.

Now, we all know of course that money doesn't buy happiness - but, let's face it, it sure can facilitate the deal, right? I mean, who says that the abundance of our possessions isn't what life is all about? OK, actually...Jesus does. (Jesus obviously never had a MasterCard.)

In this coming week's Gospel, Jesus says, "One's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions." (Luke 12:15) Yet, you and I live in a society where the abundance of possessions is obviously the object of our living. You don't think so? Well, take a moment to do a quick inventory of all the stuff that you possess - and see if there is perhaps a little bit of a disconnect. We might say we're with Jesus on this one, but our actual lifestyles betray us.

It is a fool's game to believe that we are so in control of the future that we can purchase it for ourselves. It is a fool's game to believe that we can demonstrate our love for others through what we buy and possess. It is a fool's game to believe that what we possess can stand against death.

Jesus' word to us is this: Setting you free from your possessions and making you worthy to live in the kingdom of God - you can't buy that for yourself. It is only bought at the price of a cross. Getting to live free of death's strong grip and in the kingdom before it comes - priceless. But his message doesn't stop there. The MasterCard commercials may only culminate in one "priceless" - Jesus' message is about abundant pricelessness.

•      Living a life free of worrying about yourself so you can tend to others in a way that foreshadows how the reign of God really works - priceless.
•      Living a life that is rooted in the eternal nature of God so deeply that death cannot expunge all that you have worked for - priceless.
•      Living life in a way that robs death of the power to have the last word - priceless.

In peace,

Fr. Chip

We welcome the Rev. Richard Belshaw while Fr. Chip is on vacation

This Sunday, and again on Aug. 11, the Rev. Richard W. Belshaw of Durham will be our guest celebrant at both Trinity and Christ churches. Until recently, he was Vicar of St. John the Evangelist Church, Dunbarton. A long-time resident of the Seacoast, he is now serving as a local supply priest. He is also the Facilitator of the We the People ecumenical group in Exeter that plans lectures, panel discussions, and events on contemporary and ethical issues that touch on the spiritual. 

Pictorial directory photography continues this Sunday 

This week, our directory photography moves back to Trinity Church. Gary Dozier will be set up in Hobbs Hall immediately following the 8:45 service.

Our remaining photography dates are as follows:                

Trinity Church:   This Sunday, Aug. 4 after church in Hobbs Hall;
                             make-up date, Sept. 22

Christ Church:    Sunday,  Aug. 11 after church in the Classroom; 
                             make-up date, Sept. 15                  

Members of either church may be photographed in either location. If you did not receive information and release forms either by e-mail or by "snail mail," there will be extra copies on hand.