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Under the Broom TreeMay 19, 2020Today: Cookies from God…?“Which father among you would give a snake to your child if the child asked for a fish??If a child asked for an egg, what father would give the child a scorpion??If you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” Luke 11: 11-13, Common English BibleSince I’ve been stuck at home I’ve been baking a lot. It might be fueled by binging The Great British Baking Show (I did try a Mary Berry recipe). But I think the greater source of my kitchen focus has been the need to nurture and be nurtured. About the second week into this, I decided that if we had to stay in, at least we would have good desserts to keep us company. I followed that thought up with pumpkin cake, spice cake, chocolate cake, cheese cake, walnut cake, chocolate/white chip cookies, orange scones, brownies, bread pudding, chocolate chip cookie bars…that’s what I remember. It feels good to me to have something special to treat Steve and I with after supper, and it gives me a reason to share with my kids. At a time I can’t hug them, or spend much time with them, offering a sweet treat seems like the best substitute I have at hand. And their “thank yous” are music to my soul. Nurturing and being nurtured. It’s a basic human need. Actually, it’s a basic God-given need. After creating humanity in God’s own image, God’s next act was to nurture us in a fertile garden, where, “God grew every beautiful tree with edible fruit.” (Genesis 2: 9) As far as we know, they didn’t have cheesecake and chocolate chip cookie bars, but I’m sure God could have provided them if it seemed necessary. God created us to be nurtured by God, and to nurture each other in God’s image. Jesus expanded on this by teaching in Luke 11 that no matter what we offer to each other, God offers us more. If our children want an egg, or chocolate cookies, we give it to them out of love. If we, who are flawed and sinful, give our children cookies, how much more will God, the author of the universe and of our salvation, give us?This made me think about what cookies God has given me recently. Where have I been nurtured by God’s grace? I think of the flowers and chocolates and soft pajamas my family gave me for mother’s day. I think of the birds at my feeder, spreading the joy of their color and songs and life into the corners of my days. I think of some special “thank yous” I’ve gotten. I think of my awe at the amazing ministry of some in our congregation. It’s way better than chocolate chips and cheesecake. As much as I love a good dessert, I would give them up entirely for these gifts God gives to me out of the abundance of God’s love. One of my favorite theologians, Richard Rohr, once said something like, “There is no other way to understand God’s nature than to daily stand under the waterfall of his divine grace.” Today, I am pondering my oven and pans and mixing bowls, and picturing a waterfall of orange scones, a fountain of bread pudding. It’s a very mixed metaphor! But it brings me close to God—the God who nurtures me with daily blessings, who works in me to share the sweetness of that blessing with others. What cookies have you received from God lately? What cookies have you shared?God of love, by your grace I receive all good things. Open my eyes to your gifts all around me. Open my heart with gratitude, so that your peace can enter and change me. Open my hands to share your abundance. In the name of Jesus, who opened himself that I might live, amen. ................
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