Sermon for November 16th

What would you do with one hundred dollars? What would you do if you were given one hundred dollars and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or just in the life of one individual? Wouldn’t that be awesome? Just to know that you could do whatever you wanted to do to help someone, to make their day or to give them peace during this difficult time of financial crisis in the world. What would you do with that kind of a gift?

I don’t expect any of you to go look at your checkbook, but think about the balance that is in it right now. And, if that balance is very low, which is quite possible, think about the bills that you recently paid. Where’d that money come from? Where’d your job come from? Where’d your talents and abilities come from? What would you do if your money, your abilities and your job were just given to you as gifts?

What would you do with your life? The heartbeat, breath, functioning kidneys and lungs, the consciousness, the whole nine yards! What would you do with your life if it were just given to you as a gift? What would you do with your life if it were just given to you and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the world one solitary person. Wouldn’t that be awesome? To know that you could do whatever you wanted with your life to help someone, to make their day or give them peace during a difficult time of financial crisis in the world.

Today and next Sunday, we are going to look at and talk about your life and your money. These sermons will cover the same passage from today’s gospel reading: the parable of the talents. I figured that you might be interested in what the Bible has to say about money and your life since everybody else in the country has something to say about it. Every time I turn on NPR there is somebody new talking about Credit Default Swaps or sub-prime mortgages, or why, how and if the government should give car companies 50 billion dollars to bail them out. They say that you don’t have enough money to pay your bills, that your life is getting more stressful and that the government wants to help you out and give you hope. Well, the government is not the only one. God has some specific help and some specific hope to give you during this financial crisis.

This week we are going to focus primarily on what God is giving you. Next week we are going to focus on how you might live your life with God’s gifts. Today, at the children’s sermon, we handed out God’s gifts. Next week we are going to hear what those gifts have done in real life.

In the book of Acts, Jesus says that, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” You’ll be hearing that a lot in the upcoming month and a half with Christmas just around the corner. But that still doesn’t change one important fact for you and me that is as true at Christmas time as it is every single day of the year: The Christian life is not about giving, it is about receiving.

That’s right! Clap your hands quickly over your kids’ ears now before it is too late and I ruin all those hard fought lessons you have tried to teach them. The Christian life is not about giving, it is about receiving! You started this life dirt poor and you’ll end it poor and in the dirt. And in between, the part between life and death, I’d like you to realize that everything you have is simply a gift. A gift from God. God is giving you everything.

You don’t have to share these gifts. They are all yours. There are no poison pills or contractual obligations for these gifts. You don’t have to feel bad about how much they cost. In fact, there are not strings attached—you don’t have to give anything back to God in return. These gifts are for you and these gifts are free.

But what are they? What are these gifts? Well, take a deep breath . . . there it is. Breath. Gift number one. But God doesn’t just stop there does he? No. God is giving you everything. He doesn’t hold back. He gives you food and clothing. House and home. Fields and flocks. Money and property. A devoted family. An orderly community, good government, favorable weather, peace and health, a good name, and true friends and neighbors. When you open up the envelope of your life and see some of those good gifts in it, you can trust that God is the giver. And this might be a very big disappointment for you. Because all these gifts from God are things you’ve already got! Exactly!

What would you do with one hundred dollars? If it was just given to you? Well, it has been given to you and, probably a lot more than that. I know that I have a lot more than $100 dollars! A lot more! And so do you. No matter how poor you think you are. But, what if you were given all that money and you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the life of an individual? Wouldn’t that be awesome? Just to know that you could do whatever you wanted do to help someone, to make their day or give them peace during this difficult time of financial crisis in the world. Well, that’s just it. You were. You were asked. We all were. God has given us everything and he has entrusted his gifts into our hands.

The gospel for today tells this story about a master giving money to his slaves and it sounds almost like a fairy tale to us. Like something that could happen to us one day if we were lucky. But it has already happened. It’s already happening. God has given you his gifts and he is still giving them abundantly. And when Jesus returns to Earth what will he think? What are we doing with everything he has given? If we say that we have not sinned we deceive ourselves.

But still, that doesn’t change the fact that the Christian life is primarily about receiving. Not giving—receiving! We have to receive everything from God’s hands. When it comes to our relationship to God, we receive his blessings and have absolutely nothing worthwhile to give back in return. But, what happens when the money is in our hands? Or in our bank accounts. You and I do not only have a relationship with God; we also have relationships with other people and with the world around us. You can only become a giver in your relationship with others once you realize that you are simply receiving when it comes to your relationship to God. You’re only giving what’s already been given to you.

This is why, finally, God, being the generous giver that he is, must give one final gift to each and every one of you. This is why, finally, even Christmas is NOT about giving, it is about receiving. God Almighty has come down for you because your only hope of eternal life lies not in your 401k, Roth IRA or in a government bailout. Your only hope lies in God alone—a burping, bouncing, bubble-breathing, baby boy named Jesus. He’s got the whole world—and your only possibility for eternal life—in his itty bitty hands, “For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, (that would include you) by making peace through the blood of his cross.” The Christian life is finally about receiving and God is always the giver. God gives and you receive forgiveness of your sins and a new life.

During this financial crisis, our society and the media tempt us to focus on what we do not have. We are constantly reminded that the Dow Jones is falling lower and lower. Our banks don’t have faith to lend out their money anymore. We don’t have faith in our financial institutions or in our government anymore. We all start feeling and acting like that unfortunate slave in today’s story who was given his money and is scared to death of using it or losing it or getting it taken away!

But what would you do if all your money, your time and your life were given to you as a gift? What would you do if you were asked to make a difference in the world, in your community or in the world of one person? To know that you could do whatever you wanted with your life to help someone, to make their day or to give them peace during a difficult time of financial crisis in the world.

God says, “You may not be able to trust the stock market at the moment, but you can always trust me to pay out abundantly.” God says, “If you have lost faith in your financial institutions, you may put your faith in me, the creator and giver of all things.” God says, “If you have finally realized that you are bankrupt, heart, mind and soul with sin, come to me, for I give beyond measure and with no strings attached.” God says, “I give you a new life, a new heat and a new spirit for your portfolio. Here is my only Son, Jesus; he is yours forever. I give you all I have, withholding nothing. Everything I have I give to you. Take my gifts: you are free to use them; What might you do? I entrust all this to you.”

Amen.