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From November 12, 2006 "How about we stop at the mall on the way home. Anything you want, I want you to have." What girlfriend wouldn't rejoice at those words? What girlfriend wouldn't want her sweetie to take her on a stroll through the aisles of places like Neiman Marcus or Sacs Fifth Avenue where her every wish was his credit card command? When he suggested this spree, the boyfriend knew it would be music to his woman's ears. Trouble was, it came the day before Christmas. Trouble was, it had snowed the night before and so the four hour drive home for the holiday was going to take longer than usual. Trouble was, and this is what had her politely decline, the woman knew that since Thanksgiving her man had avoided thinking about her gift. Somehow the idea a splurgy race through her favorite departments--purses and perfume--didn't leave the woman feeling treasured. Instead, it left her feeling empty. And sad. Mostly for him, this man who confused an open wallet for an open heart. This morning as our season of stewardship reaches its climax, we come with gifts for God. Promises about the time, talent, and treasure we intend to give to God's church in the coming year. What gift do you intend to give? What promises have you come this day to make? What lies at the heart of your giving. Giving is living. Not long ago on TV, I saw a show in which the program's hostess urged her audience to create a gift closet. That way all kinds of beautiful and thoughtful items could be stockpiled. When you needed a quick gift for your kind neighbor or you nearly forgot auntie's birthday you weren't sunk, you were ready. Create your closet one shopping trip at a time. Pick up a little something every time you're out, she said. Watch the sales, she urged. Think about all age and interest groups. To make her point, the host took her camera crew to Target, where they filmed her pushing her cart through the aisles and tossing in something for each category of friend and relative she could think of. And while you're at it don't forget the gift wrap, the hostess said with a grin, grabbing several all-purpose prints and carefully setting them in her cart. Good for her, I thought. And good for all those busy people who are helped by her advice. It's just not something I picture myself ever doing: opening the closet, surveying the goods I've stashed, and finding something, anything, that will suffice. When I give a gift, I don't just want my hands to be full, but my heart, as well. Why? Because gift giving is far more than an exchange of goods. It's a reflection of affection. Giving is never about the gift itself; you know that. It's merely a way to give expression to the real gift: relationship. Which is why, when the boyfriend in our story offered to take his beloved shopping, she wasn't interested. Trolling the aisles in search of something, anything, was the opposite of what she wanted. It certainly wasn't what she needed: which was to feel loved and to return that love. At the beginning of my ministry, older and wiser colleagues commented on how much the church had changed over the years. They were grieved that the church had fallen victim to the prevailing thinking of our secular society. I wasn't quite sure what my peers meant until a fellow and his wife expressed interest in joining the church. "I have a few questions for you, pastor," the husband said. I was more than ready for a theological conversation about what he believed or didn't; how lovely it would be to assure him that ours was a church that would welcome and nurture every member of his family, no matter what. "Here's what I want to know," the man began. "If we join your church, what's in it for us? I mean, what are you prepared to offer?" Never before had I felt like a car dealer or an accounts manager at the local bank. What was he thinking? That he would get a toaster for joining? A free month at Energy Fitness maybe? For this man, bless his heart, the church existed largely for give and take. He would take what we had to give. And if he was pleased with the services we had rendered, he would see that we were duly compensated. I don't remember what I said, just that I felt I was speaking across a great gap in cultures - one earthly and the other heaven-on-earthly, one dominated by commerce and the other guided by covenant. Whatever I said, it wasn't what he was prepared to hear. Sadly, he and his family never returned. This morning we are given a vivid parable. One about a man who, before leaving on a journey, entrusts his three servants with varying and sizeable portions of his wealth. While he is a way, each servant does something different with what was given; the first two manage to double their master's investment and the last one safeguards it by burying it. Upon his return, the master calls for his servants. The first steps forward and gives back the five talents, plus five more. The second gives his master his two talents, then two more. Both times the master rejoices, offers up his heartiest praise, and promises to reward these two with even more responsibility next time. When the third servant comes forward, he makes a startling confession. Having taken into account the questionable virtue of his master, this one elected to play it safe. So he dug a hole and hid his talent. Who knows what would have happened if the master returned and the servant had nothing to give him? As you well know, instead of rewarding his servant for this prudent approach, the master is furious. Even if the servant hadn't been able to trust him, he fumed, surely he was smart enough to trust the local banker. If Jesus told parables to stir up questions about God and God's kingdom, which he did, certainly he succeeded with this one. What is Jesus wanting us to understand? Is it that God, like the master in today's story, has doled out to us varying talents, expecting a miraculous return on God's investment of trust? Is God off and away, like the master, waiting to see which servant we will be, one who turns a tidy profit or one who fails miserably? Even if we're tempted in this direction, we'd best think again. And bring to mind the qualities of the God whom Jesus knew intimately and wanted us to know every bit as intimately. Remember, Jesus' God is a God of compassion and boundless grace. A God of abundance and joy. A God who--as in another parable, the parable of the prodigal--is a God whose love is unchanged by his children's terrible choices or worst mistakes. Instead of hearing this parable with our "worldly ears," we need to listen with the ears of confident faith. God does not need us to prove ourselves or please God by doubling God's investments; that's the world and its ways creeping in and creeping us out. Instead, as I've suggested, view this parable through the lens of Jesus' relationship with God. By entrusting us with what is precious to God, God is making a statement about our supreme worth, about our value. Why would God do this? Because God loves and trusts us. And is hopeful we'll love and trust God back, and in the process develop a relationship that is both powerful and empowering. What did the first two servants have that the third one didn't? They certainly had boldness and creativity enough to take huge risks with their master's wealth. What they didn't have was fear. Which is what paralyzed the third servant, his fear of the master. Our giving today, our giving any day, is not about the gift itself. First and foremost, it's about the relationship between the giver and the taker, the blesser and the blessed. First and foremost, our giving is about the love we feel in our hearts for God, a love that is the consequence of having been loved, and lavished, first. Giving lies at the heart of every healthy relationship. Giving that is tinged with fear, giving that is impersonal or perfunctory, giving that is laced with uncertainty or resentment or confusion is not the kind of giving that God in Christ has modeled for us. Nor is it the kind of giving that gives God reason to rejoice. God is not interested in the "what" of your gift. It's the "heart" of your giving that God cares about. Why? Because beating within each gift given in love is the heart of the giver. The only gift that truly matters to God is the gift of your wide-open heart. Join me please in a moment of prayer: Amen. © Rev. Karen Winkel |
"Never place a period where God has placed a comma." - Gracie Allen
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