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"Gift"A Sermon of Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost Text: Matthew 23:1-12 I Today, we celebrate "Gift Sunday." Please think of a gift you have received that is important to you and please write it down. Now, please turn to your neighbor and share with each other about the gift you have received. I could have written down "G-O-D," but instead I wrote down "D-O-G" -- which I will talk about soon. The past few years I have been trying to live with a greater awareness of the gifts that I have received. The more aware I am of the gifts God has given to me, the more I want to give back in return. If I don't think that I have received anything, then how can I give anything back? If my neighbor asks me for a cup of water and I look in my cup and it seems empty, then I will say to my neighbor, "Sorry, I'd like to give you a cup of water, but I just looked at my cup and it's empty. It's not my fault that I can't give you any water." If you see that your own cup is full, then it's easier to to give water to your neighbor. Sometimes we have blinders on -- we can't see how full our cup really is. Our cup may be full -- but we think it is empty. "Sure, I'd like to be a generous person, but I've got too many of my own problems." I have to see that my cup is full before I will share some water with my neighbor. II For example, a few years ago, our family got a dog. Before we got the dog, whose name is Logan, I asked my son and daughter if they would be responsible for the dog, to feed it and take it out for a walk. They said yes. Now, who do you think is taking care of the dog? Well, I was doing it, but I didn't feel good about it. I took Logan for a walk, but all the while I complained to myself that this was not my job. Poor me, I'm stuck with the dog-walking duty. I may have done it out of a sense of responsibility, but I didn't have to like it. Then one day, I was reading a little booklet, Forward Day by Day, which has a vignette for each day. I read a brief account by a woman giving thanks for her blessings and for a particular blessing that really grabbed my attention. She wrote: "God, I give you thanks that you have given me a beautiful dog as my pet and my friend. When I take my dog out for a walk I am aware of what a beautiful creature this is and how happy I am to have this pet in my life." I was immediately aware that that was not how I looked at Logan -- but something clicked with me. That night, when I took Logan for a walk, I noticed that he really was a beautiful creature. I thought to myself that our family was fortunate to have a pet like this. In subsequent weeks I began to notice that Logan has a sweet personality and is always pleasant to the people we meet on our walks. Logan, a Brittany Spaniel, has great sniffing ability, and he delights each night in exercising this ability to the full. As time went on, I saw more and more what a beautiful creature he was and how blessed I was to have this pet to take for a walk. I started noticing the moon and the stars, feeling the cool breezes, and I was getting a lot of good exercise as we walked around the neighborhood. My cup was full all along, but I thought it was empty. I needed a new attitude. I needed to become a humble servant -- as Jesus teaches in today's Gospel passage. In becoming a humble dog-walker, I received a great blessing. III My attitude toward my dog changed. Now I want to talk about how my attitude toward money changed. Money, of course, is more of a taboo subject than dogs. Money is something very private -- something we do not want to talk about in church or any place. Yet, on this Gift Sunday, it is appropriate that I talk about money. My attitude toward giving to the church was somewhat like my attitude toward walking the dog. I gave out of a sense of responsibility, but it was not something I was eager to do. It was something that needed to be done -- like walking the dog -- but I wish someone else would do it. I gave because I had a responsibility to do my share to help the church fix the roof, repair the windows, or pay the heating bill. I gave in response to the church's needs. Then, several years ago, my attitude changed, not by reading an article, but through meeting a person. Our Stewardship Committee invited a lay man named Bruce Rockwell to lead a workshop for our parish and to preach at the Sunday services. Bruce is a former banker who had a successful career in banking, but who now works for the diocese of Western Massachusetts assisting the bishop on stewardship. Bruce explained that he gives not because of scarcity, but because of abundance. He gives not because of the church's needs, worthy as they may be to fix the roof or pay the heating bills, but rather because of his need to respond to God's abundant gifts to him. Do you see the difference? Bruce gives a tithe -- 10% -- of his income, the gift asked in the Bible. However, a full tithe may be too big a demand for you today. Rather, look at what you currently give and increase it by 1%. If you are currently giving 1% of your income, then this year give 2% of your income. If you are currently giving 4%, then this year give 5%. For most of us, our standard of living will not decline drastically if we give 1% more of our income to God. Last year, I gave a full tithe, 10%. Now that a year has gone by, I want to report that nothing bad happened to me because of my decision to tithe. Just the opposite. Tithing helped me to realize my dependence on God. It taught me that money was not my private preserve, but a gift to me from God. Since God gave me 100% of what I have, I could give 10% back. Tithing gives me freedom. It gives me confidence: I stepped out to do something difficult and God didn't let me fall. I began this sermon by asking you to think about a gift you have received. Think now how that gift and all of God's gifts fill your cup. Your cup is full. Because it is full, you have something to give back. Let us pray. O God, on this Gift Sunday, we ask that you help us to see the gifts we have received. Help us to see that our cup is not empty but is overflowing. Help us to see the abundance in our lives. Out of this abundance, O God, help us to give back generously to you. Help us see that it is a privilege to make a gift back to you for the gifts you have showered on us. Amen.
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