"Season Your Giving"

Sermon Transcript for December 17, 2000

By Rev. Mike Beck

Scripture Reading: Matthew 2:1-12

 

Our theme for this Advent and Christmas season at Grace Church is "Seasoning the Season". And last week we focused on ways in which we could "season our greetings". Our text was that wonderful verse from Colossians where Paul tells us, "Let your conversation always be full of grace and seasoned with salt." So let me ask you, this past week as you look back on the week, have you saw it to be Christ-like in your greetings to others--through the cards and letters that you have sent, to the persons who crossed your paths, to newcomers here within our church, and most importantly to those family members who live right there in our homes?

Well today we want to look at how we can "season our giving". To ask our self the question of whether our gift-giving can actually heighten the awareness of the presence of Christ in our lives as we give the gift and heighten the reality of the presence of Christ in the one who receives the gift. We trace the whole idea of giving gifts in honor of Jesus’ birth back to the Wise Men who came from the east. As Matthew records the story that Dan read for us, when the Magi arrived, and it was perhaps as much as two years after the Baby Jesus was born, the story says they fell at His feet in adoration and the worship of the Christ child culminated in tangible expressions of their devotion as they presented gifts of gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. Perhaps you have heard the joke about the fact that if these had been wise women instead of wise men, three things in the story would have been different. First of all, they would have arrived on time. Secondly, they would have been willing to stop more often and ask for directions. And, thirdly, they would have brought gifts more appropriate for a baby!

But on a serious note, wherever there is authentic love, by definition there are gifts. When the famous song-writer Oscar Hammerstein lay dying in a New York Hospital, he had many visitors. And one of the most notable of those visitors was a young start of stage and screen who had brought many of the great composer’s lyrics to life. And it is recorded that during her visit, Hammerstein offered Mary Martin these words of wisdom. He said, "A bell is not really a bell until you ring it. A song is not really a song until you sing it. And love in your heart wasn’t put there to stay. For love isn’t love until you give it away." That’s the heart of the gospel. That God so loved that He gave. And God wants us, in love, to follow His example.

I wonder, would the following words describe my giving or describe your giving? First of all, the word "spontaneous". In other words, that there comes times that for no real reason at all we just want to give to another and we give spontaneously. Would the word "generous" describe your giving. In other words, you’re not thinking, "What is the least amount I could give and get by with it?", but you’re thinking, "How can I give more?" Would the word "joyful" describe your giving? In other words, that we are not giving out of duty. We’re not giving because they gave us a gift. That when we give we experience joy in our hearts in doing so. Would your giving be described as "sacrificial". And there are many here at Grace who give at great sacrifice within their own lives. And then finally, is your giving "unpretentious". In other words, you don’t care that other people know what you’ve given or how much you’ve given. That’s not the purpose. You give quietly and silently and unpretentiously.

The Apostle Paul has some excellent teaching about giving in these words to the church at Corinth. And I ask you to hear them from Peterson’s fresh translation of "The Message". God’s word says, "God loves it when the giver delights in their giving. God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you are ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done." As one Psalmist puts it, "The giver throws caution to the winds giving to the needy in reckless abandon. His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out." Let me repeat that. Those words are so fresh. "His right-living, right-giving ways never run out, never wear out. You show your gratitude through your generous offerings to your needy brothers and sisters and really toward everyone. And, meanwhile, moved by the extravagance of God in your lives, they’ll respond by praying for you in passionate intercession for whatever you need. Thank God for this gift, for His gift no language can praise Him enough."

Well, as Christmas approaches, let me seek to expand our thinking concerning the gifts we give to others. In fact, if you looked at the bulletin and saw the sermon title and thought today’s message was about your giving to the church, you were wrong. I want you to invite the Holy Spirit now to speak to your heart as we consider some of the priceless gifts that are non-monetary in nature that we can give to others.

 

• Listening: First of all, the gift of listening. One of the greatest gifts we can give to another person is to listen and to listen without interrupting them, to listen without day-dreaming, and to listen without what many of us are so inclined to do. Oh, we’re listening, but at the same time we’re thinking of the next good words that we want to say. The great gift of truly taking the time to listen to another person.

• Affection: The gift of affection. Don’t be afraid to demonstrate the love you feel for another person with a hug, with a kiss, or with just a gentle touch of the hand that can say some powerful things in profound ways.

• Compliments: Give the gift this Christmas season, of a compliment. Think about it. What an easy gift that is to give and yet how seldom we exercise it. And think in your own mind, when we give a compliment to another, that compliment often spurs them on to achieve their full potential. But how seldom we exercise that gift.

• Cheerfulness: Give this Christmas season and throughout the year the gift of cheerfulness. That gift is so precious to other persons around you. Complaining and criticizing and feeling sorry for ourselves is such a "downer" to other people. It’s a "downer" to yourself as well! Decide that you’re going to have a good day, no matter what and give the gift of cheerfulness to others.

• A Favor: Fifthly, give the priceless gift of a favor. Have an attitude that you’re going to help out another person in spite of your own busy schedule. A few weeks ago I realized that Sarai was feeling pretty stressed with getting ready for the musical. We were having difficulty finding a female narrator. And I said to her, "Sarai, don’t worry about that. I’ll find one." And with just a few moments of time, I contacted Susie Klotzsche who was glad to be our narrator. And I e-mailed that to Sarai; and she responded back with just one line, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The gift of a favor is such a stress-reliever for another person, but you’ll also discover it’s a great stress-reliever for you as you experience the joy of giving.

• Acceptance: Give the priceless gift of acceptance. If there was one thing that Dr. John Savage impressed upon me in the months that he was here, he often used this comment. He said this is true of churches; it’s also true of individuals. Look in the mirror as I share with you his words. He said, "All of us are radically gifted and we feel really good about that." But that wasn’t the end of his sentence. He said, "We’re all radically gifted, but we’re also all radically flawed." Radically gifted and radically flawed. But when we give the gift of acceptance we overlook the flaws of the other person and accept them for who they are and the giftedness they contain.

• Prayer: Give the priceless gift of prayer. This is one of the finest gifts that we can give. And remember to pray for people not only for their needs, but also to thank God for the blessings that He has poured out upon their lives. What a privilege it is to pastor a church who takes so seriously intercessory prayer. When you turn in one of those blue prayer cards you can rest assured that a minimum of 20 people will be praying on a daily basis throughout that week for your needs. I’ll have to confess, there’s something in me that really misses standing at the door and shaking hands with people at the close of the service. But yet, more and more people are availing themselves of the opportunity to come forward as Sarai plays the postlude for prayer and communion. I think last week there were 7 or 8 individuals that came forward and we had the privilege of praying for some burden or some stress that was in their life at that time. The wonderful gift of prayer.

• Contact: And then finally, the priceless gift of a contact with others. And friends, in this day and age in which we live, the telephone is such a wonderful gift of God for us to use to make contact with others. Gladys Settles, in this week’s newsletter that went out, thanked me for my prayers and contacts with her. Dan was the one that had the Pastoral Prayer ministry. He’s the one that visited in the hospital three times during her hip replacement surgery. All I did was pick up the telephone one morning and spent three minutes with her on the phone. But that contact meant so much to her.

The cards that it takes us five minutes to write. But all of you know that experience when you get that contact through a card from another, you don’t throw that card in file 13. You lay it there on the table or on the desk and you read it and you re-read it.

Or our contacts through a visit. These are perhaps the most precious gifts of all. This wonderful gift of contact is illustrated so beautifully in this dramatized rendering of Tom Hegg’s poem, "A Cup of Christmas Tea". Now, we’re still learning how to use our equipment, I want you to ignore the kind of line that runs through the bottom of it. We’ll figure out how to get that out in time. But the message contained in this little story, "A Cup of Christmas Tea", is so profound. And as you watch it, I want you to ask God through his Holy Spirit to reveal to you some person that He wants you to take an hour of your time to visit sometime between now and the end of the year.

"A Cup of Christmas Tea"

The log was in the fireplace all spiced and set to burn.

At last the yearly Christmas was in the clubhouse turn.

The cards were in the mail, all the gifts beneath the tree.

And 30 days reprieve ‘till VISA could catch up with me.

And though smug satisfaction seemed the order of the day,

Something still was nagging me, and would not go away.

A week before, I got a letter from my old Great Aunt.

It read: "Of course, I’ll understand completely if you can’t,

But if you find you have some time, how wonderful if we

Could have a little chat and share a cup of Christmas tea."

She’d had a mild stroke that year which crippled her left side.

Though housebound now, my folks had said it hadn’t hurt her pride.

They said: "She’d love to see you. What a nice thing it would be

For you to go and maybe have a cup of Christmas tea."

But boy! I didn’t want to go! Oh, what a bitter pill

To see an old relation and how far she’d gone downhill.

I remembered her as vigorous, as funny and as bright.

I remembered Christmas Eves when she regaled us half the night.

 

I didn’t want to risk all that. I didn’t want the pain.

I didn’t need to be depressed. I didn’t need the strain.

And what about my brother? Why not him? She’s his Aunt, too!

I thought I had it justified, but then before I knew,

The reasons not to go I so painstakingly had built

Were cracking wide and crumbling in an acid rain of guilt.

 

I put on boots and gloves and cap, shame stinging every pore,

And armed with squeegee, sand and map, I went out my front door.

I drove in from the suburbs to the older part of town.

The pastels of the newer homes gave way to gray and brown.

I had that disembodied feeling as the car pulled up

And stopped beside the wooden house that held the Christmas cup.

How I got up to her door, I really couldn’t tell...

I watched my hand rise up and press the button of the bell.

I waited, aided by my nervous rocking to and fro,

And just as I was thinking I should turn around and go,

I heard the rattle of the china in the hutch against the wall.

The triple beat of two feet and a crutch came down the hall.

The clicking of the door latch and the sliding of the bolt,

And a little swollen struggle popped it open with a jolt.

She stood there, pale and tiny, looking fragile as an egg...

I forced myself from staring at the brace that held her leg.

And though her thick bifocals seemed to crack and spread her eyes,

Their milky and refracted depths lit up with young surprise.

"Come in! Come in!" She laughed the words. She took me by the hand,

And all my fears dissolved away, as if by her command.

We went inside, and then, before I knew how to react,

Before my eyes and ears and nose was Christmas past...alive...intact:

The scent of candied oranges, of cinnamon and pine

The antique wooden soldiers in their military line;

The porcelain Nativity I’d always loved so much...

The Dresden and the crystal I’d been told I mustn’t touch...

My spirit fairly bolted, like a child out of class

And danced among the ornaments of calico and glass.

Like magic, I was six again, deep in a Christmas spell,

Steeped in the million memories the boy inside knew well.

And here, among old Christmas cards, so lovingly displayed,

A special place of honor for the ones we kids had made.

And there, beside her rocking chair, the center of it all...

My Great Aunt stood and said how nice it was I’d come to call.

 

I sat...and rattled on about...the weather and the flu.

She listened very patiently, then smiled and said, "What’s new?"

Thoughts and words began to flow. I started making sense.

I lost the phoney breeziness I use when I get tense.

She was still passionately interested in everything I did.

She was positive. Encouraging. Like when I was a kid.

Simple generalities still sent her into fits.

She demanded the specifics. The particulars. The bits.

We talked about the limitations that she’d had to face.

She spoke with utter candor; and with humor and good grace.

Then, defying the reality of crutch and straightened knee,

On wings of hospitality, she flew to brew the tea.

I sat alone with feelings that I hadn’t felt in years.

I looked around at Christmas through a thick, hot blur of tears.

And the candles and the holly she’d arranged on every shelf...

The impossibly good cookies she still somehow baked herself...

But these rich, tactile memories became quite pale and thin

When measured by the Christmas my Great Aunt kept deep within.

Her body halved and nearly spent, but my Great Aunt was whole.

I saw a Christmas miracle...the triumph of a soul.

The triple beat of two feet and a crutch came down the hall.

The rattle of the china in the hutch against the wall.

She poured two cups. She smiled, and then she handed one to me,

And then, we settled back and had a cup of Christmas tea.

That brought back some real memories in seeing that. I wonder if someone whose life is perhaps mostly spent, how blessed they would be by a contact from you this Christmas season. Let us pray: "Dear God, as the days wind down to Christmas, we are mindful of the example of sacrificial love that You gave in coming to earth as a child. Season our giving with Your grace. May we give of ourselves to others, that our lives may be a daily witness to Your love. Amen."