Trivia and Gospel in our Midst

Saturday night our Church Women hosted a Trivia Night (the theme was hats). There were twelve tables of six people each. One of  the exciting aspects was the number of non-members who were present. It looked like a couple dozen. The event is so much fun and it is nice to see a group of folks together laughing and enjoying one another's company. It is an excellent way to bring people into a church community without intimidation. For some folks, the worship is too much and it keeps them away.

In the early church, when people wanted to join the church they were not allowed to stay for the second half (eucharist and communion). Instead they were only allowed to hear the Word, then they went off to study the Christian faith. Jesus said, "Do not throw your pearls before swine." At least some understand this to mean that do not push people before they are ready for the deeper levels of the mysteries. We do well to remember the Celtic method of evangelism. First interact with one another in a Christlike way, then talk about Jesus. It has more integrity and draws folks in more effectively.

The purpose of the event was to raise funds for our Outreach Ministries. This means that our fun was at someone else's benefit. People provided their own (simple) food and drink and the overhead was low. The profit margin, therefore, was excellent! In the days ahead we will pick the group(s) to send the money. I know the Lord blesses that.

Every contest has a winner and ours did as well. But in reality, the winners were all  the people who came, to laugh, to play, to enjoy. And the real winners are the agencies we support and the people they serve. We can never know how those dollars are translated into benefits to mind, body and spirit of other humans in need. It truly is a situation where everyone is a winner. Sort of like the Kingdom of God! Which brings me to the Gospel...

I conclude with the words of Jesus literally fulfilled in our midst. One table, all guests as it turned out, created awesome hats. However, they were not so good at answering the questions. After ten rounds, they were dead last. As is often the case, the last place team won an award. But it goes on, one of the women at their table won the best hat contest. She also won two raffles. She also won the 50/50 split. She was last but she walked away with a haul that definitely made her first. And as I looked at her I heard the words of Jesus, "the first are last, and the last are first." Her winning hat was sitting on my head this morning during announcements. The money raised to entice me to do that will benefit others who are "last." It is nice to see Jesus in our midst, especially when we are having fun. I hope our eyes are also open to see the hand of God at work and our ears are open to hear echoes of the words of Jesus!