"Our Gifts of L.I.F.E."

During the week between Christmas and New Year’s, Lorraine and I made our annual trek to Alabama to visit with my parents for a few days. I’ve told you all before about how, every year, there are certain, predictable things I know I will receive as Christmas gifts from my folks. In most ways, this year was no exception. I did get the box of 10 pairs of knee-hi stockings. I got some money. Instead of blank video tapes, I got blank audio cassettes this year – that was my request. However, there was one gift I did not receive and, frankly, I’m still a little in shock. Among all the packages I had to open, there was NO...Oil of Olay!! I still can’t believe it. I feel myself aging right before your eyes!

But alas...nevertheless there were many other nice gifts. I also received a lot of very thoughtful gifts from people here in this church, and I thank you all. I tried to send out thank you notes to everyone who gave me something, but I have this lingering suspicion that I probably missed someone. And if I did, I apologize and thank you now for your kindness.

It’s important, I think, to acknowledge and give thanks for gifts we receive. There was a young man whose grandmother sent him a sweater for Christmas. Unfortunately, he had a size 14 neck and she sent a size 12 sweater. His mother, however, insisted that he send a thank you note regardless. So the kid wrote, "Dear Grandma, Thanks a lot for the beautiful sweater. I’d write more, but I’m all choked up."

Hey, now, it’s a brand new year...don’t get surly!

It IS a brand new year, and we need to start it out with a good attitude. That’s why, today, we are going to focus on our church’s "theme" for this year: "2001: Committed to L.I.F.E." And L.I.F.E. means "Living In Faith Everyday." The only way to do that, really – to live in faith everyday – is to constantly acknowledge and give thanks for all the gifts we receive, daily, from God.

The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas time is a reflection of the belief that to give a gift to someone is a way to honor them. Our well-known Scripture reading this morning from the Gospel of Matthew was the story of the Magi – the so-called "3 wise men" – who followed the star to Bethlehem and brought gifts to honor the baby Jesus.

Now that story has been broadly shaped across the centuries by human tradition, but in it there is a wonderful meaning and significance to the gifts that were brought to the young Messiah.

Gold was, of course, the most valuable of metals...a gift literally "fit for a king." The significance of gold is to give the best and first we have to offer to God.

Frankincense was a type of dried resin that came from tree bark. It was sometimes used as an ingredient in perfume but more often it was used as a sacred incense burned during temple worship services. The rising smoke from the incense represented prayers rising up to God and the sweet aroma of the frankincense was thought to be a pleasant offering to God. Thus, frankincense represents, for us, worship and prayer as gifts to God.

Myrrh was also a plant extract used in perfumes and incense, but it was largely used to prepare bodies for burial. Now bear in mind that, in those days, there were no mortuaries and funeral directors. Bodies were washed, anointed and embalmed by friends or family members. It was a final act of service for a loved one and so, for us, myrrh represents the service that we offer to others on behalf of God.

Throughout the month of January, we will be focusing on the 3 aspects of Stewardship in our church: prayer, service and giving. This year, we are calling these things "Our 3 Gifts of L.I.F.E." – Living in Faith Everyday through prayer, service and giving. You see, these are the things we can give to God – no matter what our circumstances are and under all conditions. Daily we can choose to honor God and live in faith through our connection to God in prayer, through our willingness to serve God by serving others and by giving to God the first and best of what we have – however little or much that may be.

Of course, it’s one thing when we give gifts to one another. When we give someone a gift, we’re giving them something they don’t already have. They may have something like it but they don’t have that particular thing. Actually, perhaps they have that exact thing. How many folks who’ve had wedding or Holy Union receptions have opened their gifts to discover that they’re now the proud owners of six fondue pots? What happens then, of course, is that – next Christmas – five friends and relatives, who live far away, receive lovely fondue pots in the mail! We call that "re-gifting" and, though its socially frowned upon, I’ll bet lots of us have done it along the way!

When it comes to God, though, "re-gifting" is the only thing we can do! There’s nothing we can give to God that God doesn’t already have. In fact, anything we have to give to God we only have because God gave it to us in the first place! In and of ourselves, we have nothing...but everything we have and are comes from God alone.

Living in faith everyday means, then, that we don’t so much give to God but we return to God, daily, a portion of what God has given us: our spiritual connection to God...our ability to be of service to God...the material wealth that we have. And yes...regardless of how much we may think we don’t have, everyone of us here is wealthy because we have life and we have God’s love and we have the promise of eternity. Everything else we spend so much time saving for and buying and polishing and showing off will be just the remnants of old dust for the next millennium!

Jesus told us, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be." When things that can’t possibly last are the things we treasure most, our hearts are sure to be broken. When we make God our first and greatest treasure, then our hearts have peace and assurance and joy – regardless of the circumstances we may currently be in.

We have the challenge this year, church, to live in faith everyday. I really hope we will rise to the challenge and choose to do just that. If we don’t, we’ll still have "life." But the alternative L.I.F.E. from living in faith everyday is Living In Fear Everyway. On a daily basis, that’s the choice we make: faith or fear. We either choose one or the other, and the one we choose will dominate us, direct us, lead us and embody us. I don’t know about you but I would much rather be dominated, directed, lead and embodied by faith than by fear. Faith frees us; fear paralyzes us. Faith inspires us; fear just tires us. Faith brings laughter out of tears; fear just makes us cold.

Yesterday I had to stop by the church office for a few minutes, and walking back to my car, I noticed that there was a point on the sidewalk at which, if I faced one direction, I felt chilled and saw only shadows and the dirty, watery muck on the ground. But, in that same spot, if I simply turned in the opposite direction, I felt warmth and saw sun and blue sky. I was in the same spot either way; but the direction I chose to face made all the difference.

In the 30^th chapter of the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, speaking through Moses, the Lord said to the people of ancient Israel, "...I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in God’s ways, and to be [led only by God] This day...I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that...you may love the Lord your God, listen to God’s voice, and hold fast to God."

"Choose life...." Choose to live in faith everyday, remembering these things:

1. Faith is what God has already placed within us; we are only returning the favor.

2. Faith is not a set of "feelings;" it’s a set of actions.

3. Faith is the alternative to fear and the antidote to fear.

Some things we can only learn to do by doing them. We learn to pray by praying. We learn to serve by serving. We learn to give by giving. And we learn to live by living – Living In Faith Everyday. Church, in 2001: choose L.I.F.E.!!

MCC St. Louis - Check Us Out!

This page hosted by Get your own, Free Homepage