Yes, it's High Holy Season of Rummage at Velda Rose again! I've gone through the aisles for three days now and found treasure each time... certainly things I couldn't live without: yet another two t-shirts...a set of sheets...a coin purse...some candles. I'm still a novice. I've only been to four of these sales now in my time as Associate Pastor. But, I'm starting to see the gospel good news in them. Not only are we doing good stuff for the environment by reusing and recycling, but there's more to it...something deeper that I'm beginning to put my finger on. How often does all our material "stuff" keep us apart? We isolate ourselves behind the brick walls of our back yards, or inside looking at all our screens - computer, TV, telephones. But, the good news of our rummage sales is that it brings people together. Friends and strangers, the well-off and the not-so-well-off, both men and women, young and old, there's something for everyone. As workers, we plan and prepare and categorize and sort together. We share stories and laughter and lives. We're drawn together in a space that we can share both our appreciation and our grumblings. We invite friends and neighbors to join us. knowing the work benefits causes greater than ourselves. Everyone loves a treasure hunt, so there's the shopping that we all like. We are reminded that somehow, our cast-offs might just find a good home with someone else...and somehow, I think that can strike a chord of hope deep within us. In this Christian faith of ours,we've heard some similar promises...about treasures hidden in fields, and blessed are the meek, what is lost is now found, and what is least will be the greatest of all. These are rummage messages...good news for us! The Gospel of Rummage!
