The liturgy of abundance and the myth of scarcity

A world shaped by material scarcity needs people like us, Phil Kniss, lead pastor at Park View Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, VA, said in his second sermon on "Trustees in God's Kingdom." Drawing on the words of Jesus in Matt. 6 on not worrying about life's basics and what renowned Biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann calls the "liturgy of abundance" and the "myth of scarcity," Kniss described a God of abundant generosity, a giving God showering His abundance often to undeserving recipients, as contrasted to the influences of our culture which emphasizes scarcity to the point of hording for financial security and exploiting our uncertainties to the point of self preservation that ignores the needs around us.