Making Space
A Minister's Message from Rev. Dr. Chris Shorow, Senior Minister cshorow@fccedmond.org | 405.341.3544
One of the most important things we do as a community of faith is help one another stay accountable to the teachings of Jesus Christ. It is all too easy in our culture to fall into destructive patterns: seeing revenge as an answer, forgetting that love is stronger than hate, or learning to despise those who are different. But the topic Jesus talked about more than any other is stewardship — how we care for what we have, how we use it wisely, and how we share those resources with others. That is why our upcoming worship series beginning September 14 is foundational to who we are as Christians.
In this series, called Making Space, we will look at what happens when the world — driven by urgency, noise, and competition — convinces us there is never enough: not enough time, energy, money, or space. But Jesus spoke often of the overflowing abundance of God’s Kingdom. This series offers a counter-narrative, rooted in abundance instead of scarcity. By making space, we begin to notice joy, purpose, and connection that get drowned out by the clamor of “more, more, more.”
One of my favorite theologians who recently passed away is Walter Brueggemann. He wrote extensively about abundance in scripture: “The Bible starts out with a liturgy of abundance. Genesis 1 is a song of praise for God’s generosity. It tells how well the world is ordered. It keeps saying, ‘It is good, it is good, it is good, it is very good.’ It declares that God blessed—that is, endows with vitality—the plants and the animals and the fish and the birds and humankind… But later, Pharaoh introduces the principle of scarcity into the world economy. For the first time in the Bible, someone says, ‘There’s not enough. Let’s get everything.’ And that narrative continues to this day.”
Philip Gulley reminds us that 98% of the wealth in the US is owned by the richest half of Americans. The top 1% control almost one-third of the nation’s wealth. He writes, “Amassing wealth is not a Christian virtue, nor for that matter is it a democratic value. Sharing is a Christian virtue. Generosity is a Christian virtue.” We are not called to accumulate, but to cultivate. Not to hoard, but to share.
When we make space within ourselves and in our world, we begin to live more freely and faithfully. We are reminded that God’s grace is expansive and that we are invited to become co-creators of a more generous future.
In this series we will explore what it looks like to make space in practical ways, freeing us from the pressure to do, be, and get more, more, more.
The conclusion to our Making Space series will be on World Communion Sunday. What more appropriate day is there in the church year to celebrate abundance than the day the whole world is invited to the Table of Christ, reminding us that God’s grace is wide and there is more than enough for all of us.