God is listening are we talking? Proper 22B

 Remember a few weeks ago we had a gospel reading in which the disciples say to Jesus, “Master this teaching is difficult.” Today I want to say to Jesus, “ditto.”
These sentences about divorce are difficult. It’s important to know that the Pharisees are trying to back Jesus into a corner but, as usual, Jesus gives as well as he gets. But that’s not what’s burning a hole in the guts of those of you who are divorced, so here’s the deal: I would bet that none of you who are divorced went into your marriage with no intent of it not lasting until you were parted by death. The question of divorce during Jesus’s time was the penchant of men to divorce women willy nilly. Of course by divorcing them the men are assuring that the women—who remember had no standing in society without connection to a man---will be ostracized and marked as “tainted,” forever. So, stop beating yourself up!
I think what follows this exchange with the Pharisees shows just how disinterested Jesus was in the rules and restrictions of the “law.” People were bringing little children to Jesus but the disciples were forbidding it, not wanting to disturb the teacher. Of course, Jesus rebukes the 12 because what Jesus knows, and quickly tells us, is that the kingdom of God is made for children…that how we are to receive the gifts that God freely and abundantly gives us as children do: with glee and gladness.
Which brings us to the collect for today—one of the best collects in the church year. Remember that the collect of the day is the prayer of the day, outlining a theme. Let me repeat it here:
Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
God is always ready, willing and I’d even say anxious to hear from us. It is us –we—who forget, fail, and  resist reaching out to God and, when we finally do receive that which God is  offering us, often feel that we don’t deserve that which God is giving us. Or probably more often than we care to admit, we don’t desire that which God is offering us---because God is almost always offering us opportunities to serve in God’s name, to give in God’s name, to do in God’s name, but we tend to turn away from those opportunities because they’re usually inconvenient, uncomfortable and maybe even risky. Which is exactly what the next sentence of the collect references;  “forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid and giving us those things for which we are not worthy to ask…”
Friends, today is the official kickoff of our stewardship campaign—Walk in Love—I’ve written more about this in the bulletin, let me just say that I ask you to pray—mightily—to hear, see, and notice those things God is presenting to you. Do not give back to God your last fruits, instead have the courage and the willingness to give back to God your first fruits. Think not of what you can afford to give, but think about what you cannot refrain from giving. May I suggest you pray this collect all week and then listen for what it is God is calling you—and us—to do.
Let the little children come to me,  it is for these that the Kingdom is made: innocent, open, risk-taking and ever loving children. I pray to be one, too. How about you?
Amen.