Sermon prepared for Messiah Lutheran Church, Auburn WA

8:30 & 11:00 traditional services – 5-12-02

by Gregory S. Kaurin, associate pastor

 

texts: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 & Matthew 26:6-13

Sermon:

Pouring Oil

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I think that this is a nice coincidence.  In this worship series on the “7 Marks of Discipleship,” the sixth Mark, this “Mark of Giving,” happens to fall on Mother’s Day.  Most of our moms know a little something about giving, don’t they?  In fact, many Moms don’t know how or when to stop giving, and when to start enjoying the sacrament of receiving.

And that’s a good word for both giving and receiving: sacraments.  Giving and receiving are sacraments.  Baptism and Holy Communion are the Sacraments, Sacraments with a capital “S,” but what makes them sacraments, really, is this whole idea of giving and receiving.  In Baptism and Communion God gives to us.  We receive his forgiveness; we receive Christ’s salvation and a new and eternal life.  And at the very same time, the Sacraments become our ability to put ourselves right back into God’s hands: giving and receiving.

That’s what is going to happen in front of our eyes in just about ten minutes.  God is giving little Timothy Cole everything, including a new and eternal life.  And in that same moment, Timothy will be able to love God, not to earn anything, not out of fear, but out of thankfulness and love for his Creator and his Savior.  Sacraments are about giving and receiving. 

With this understanding, all giving and receiving can be blessed and sacred.  It is “sacra-mental”—made sacred—including the giving and receiving of money, talents, and time. 

 

Money, let’s start with money.  Because—if money can become a sacrament—then anything can.  There’s a saying that “all good gifts around us are sent from heaven above.”  I know that can be hard to see with your paycheck: the money you personally earn does not always feel like a gift from God.

But the truth is, God has given us all abilities, brains, muscle, interests, personality, chances, places, and opportunities to work.  Even the salary we might have has more to do with where we are born than how hard we have worked.  I can point to three-quarters of the world, and to millions of people before me that have worked harder than I have, for less than fair wages.  Many people can’t afford the corn they put in their mouths, much less the cookies ‘n’ cream frozen yogurt that I had for dessert last night.  That’s not about my hard work.

Earned it?  No way.  Whatever I have has been given to me.  But people act like that makes it sound less valuable.  Are you kidding?  What I’m saying is that it comes from the hand of God; God blesses it.  If that’s true, then whatever I have is bigger, and connected to an eternal value.  If the Holy Spirit’s hand is in my Monday to Saturday work and pay, then whatever I do and receive becomes more than any material value.  It’s connected to the great Sacrament of giving and receiving…it’s meant to be a part of the work of God’s Kingdom.

If I don’t see that, if I’m only chasing after it for it’s material value, then I’ll never have enough; I’ll never be satisfied; and I’ll never have peace.  I’ll always want more, and worry about what I already have, because I’ll be trying to make heaven out of all of this stuff.  This stuff, material riches—at it’s very best—can only point to heaven, but will never reach it. 

From the Basilica of St. Peter’s in Rome, to our building here.  If the goal is to build heaven, then we have grossly failed.  But if the goal is to point to heaven and pour our costly oils on the feet of Jesus in honor of his sacrifice, then many people have touched the face of God, even here in this place, maybe even today.

 

And let me say something more about when God gives you a gift.  It is God’s gift to you, but it is not just God’s gift to you alone.  It is God’s gift to others through you.  You can hoard it to yourself, if you want (he did give the gift to you, after all).  But when you hoard—anything—it loses all its value.  It stagnates.  It rots.  It becomes a heavy, tiring burden.  And it will die with you. 

Instead, God’s gifts to us are actually gifts that he gives through us, to others.  Like music.  If God gives you the voice of music, he means you to nurture it, practice it, and share it, give it away, and watch it grow. The truth is, all gifts increase in value when they’re given away …out of thankfulness or generosity. 

Money isn’t any different.  It can be hoarded and lusted after, consumed and swallowed and buried like anything else.  But then it will fester and destroy and kill.  That’s why several people can get bloated and miserly while millions of others are starving outside their gates.  And neither one of them is happy.  Everyone loses. 

Imagine the richest person in the world.  If he doesn’t know how to receive things as a gift, and if he doesn’t know how to be generous, he will never feel rich.  Wealth is not what you have.  It is how you experience life.  The feeling of wealth can only come through thankful and generous giving.

 

That’s why I wanted you to listen to today’s second lesson.  Paul was telling the churches in Corinth about their new Christian brothers and sisters in Macedonia.  They were so excited about their new salvation, they were so excited about the mission of the Church, and they were so excited about God’s work that wanted to be a part of it.  So they gave.  They felt God’s generosity, and became thankful and generous.

And then Paul turns to the Corinthians and said, “That’s what I want for you, too!  I want you to feel that kind excitement.  I want you to be a part of God’s work and ministry.  I want all of you to express this freedom that Chirst’s salvation has given you.  Not as a commandment, not as a burden, but out of freedom, out of thankfulness and love for God and for each other.”

That’s what I want for all of you, here at Messiah Lutheran, that kind of excitement, that longing to be a part of something bigger than you, that kind of thankfulness.  And Jesus made it wide open for us; he showed us all kinds of different ways to express it.  The woman poured this expensive ointment on his head.  It poured off his head and soaked into the ground.  Wasn’t that extravagant?  Wasn’t that wasteful?  Think of all the poor who could’ve been fed for weeks off of that money!  But Jesus accepted her offering in honor of his sacrifice.  He thanked her for it.

It’s true we will always have the poor, …so we feed them.  We also have the resurrected Jesus Christ, so we take that woman’s great example and honor him.  Jesus said, that when we do things like this, when we feed, when we clothe, shelter, honor, when we give in worship, or out of thankfulness, or to be a part of his work and mission, we do it for him. 

Even raising your children, feeding and clothing them in God’s name, providing a good education, or sending quilts around the world, or paying your bills as you promised—you see, the way that you use your money, the way you use your all your gifts, abilities, time and resources—these are all your physical prayers to God.  God speaks to you through the gifts he gives, and the way you use your gifts answers him.  —These are your physical prayers to God.  The question is, then, what have you been telling him?

 

Let me finish by explaining three things that I am not saying and three things that I am saying.  First, I’m not asking you to try to be more generous.  I am asking you to practice generosity.  Practice means that you grow into it, you work at it, and you make it a larger part of your life.  Becoming generous is a process.

Second, I am not asking you to add generosity to your priorities, but I may be asking you to change your priorities.  If you think that generosity is more important to you than an extra daily latte, then maybe you can show it by saving and redirecting that money toward something more generous.

And third, I’m not just saying all this to try to get more money into our offering plates.  I am saying that you don’t actually give to the church, anyway.  No matter where, or to whomever you give a gift, if you give it with a sense of thankfulness and generosity, you are automatically giving it to Christ.

So, when given the gift of music, we sing and play.  When we are given the gift of forgiveness, we forgive.  When we are given the gift of work, we work for him.  When we are given the gift of salvation, we will spread the Word.  When we are given time, talents, and resources, we use them to the glory of God. 

Your response to God needs to go beyond any 10% rule, but let every little bit of generosity represent your whole life.  When you live with that kind of faith and joyful generosity, the world opens up for you.  You begin to discover the Kingdom of God under every rock and that your whole life begins to feel like one big Sacrament—made sacred—by God.  Amen.

 

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