The offering is the time in our worship when we give gifts to God. But do you realize that we can’t really give any gift to God that wasn’t God’s to begin with?

C.S. Lewis wrote about this in Mere Christianity:

When we talk of [someone] doing anything for God or giving anything to God, I will tell you what it is really like. It is like a small child going to his father and saying, “Daddy, give me sixpence to buy you a birthday present.” Of course, the father does, and he is pleased with the child's present. It is all very nice and proper, but only an idiot would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction.

Similarly, one of our Eucharistic prayers reminds us that we offer to God gifts that “earth has formed and human hands have made.” When we put the bread and wine and money on the altar, we also offer “our selves, our souls and bodies.” We give back to God a portion of the gifts that God has given us.

Several times this summer, I saw people giving back to God a portion of what they have been given. In June, Bishop Nedi Rivera spent six days with the teenagers of our diocese at Camp Huston. This is the fourth year in a row that she has done this, and I dare you to find another bishop in our church who spends as much time with youth as Nedi does. God has given her wisdom, and she has chosen to share it with people who often need more wisdom than they have yet grown into.

At our Vacation Bible Camp in July, 44 youth and adults created an unforgettable experience for 69 children from 11 different churches. I was particularly impressed with the Scouting Skills station, which we created this year simply because it fit the theme “Friendship Trek.” Megan Hoskins, Ragsdale Madison, and a group of charismatic Girl Scouts taught our children basic survival skills, including a way to create a splint using only a magazine and a bandana. The day after camp ended, two VBC participants were hiking with their family, and one fell and sprained her knee. Her brother was able to craft a splint for her on the spot!

By the time this article is published, our El Salvador pilgrims will have returned with many photos and stories for you. We don’t have any particular skills for restoring earthquake-ravaged, politically delicate nations. We just have ourselves. This is, for me, the ultimate reminder that God only requires that we show up. God will take care of the rest.

As we begin a new program year at St. Thomas, don’t worry about whether you’re doing enough. Just show up, and God will put you to work. Our culture insists that we remain busy all the time. But we are most effective at building God’s kingdom when we simply get out of the way and let God work in us.