From Selfishness to Generosity

Christians strive to be generous. How we change from selfishness to generosity is a mystery; but what happens afterwards is very clear: our quality of life gets better! Maybe that's why God wants us to be generous. It's for our own good! My sermon explains what I mean by that.

How do you encourage another human being to be generous? I know that many parents ask themselves this question while they are trying to raise their children to be responsible adults. I know that I did. We can teach them to drive a car, to balance a checkbook, and to cook macaroni and cheese; but it’s considerably more difficult to teach them to be generous. We humans are, after all, hard-wired to take care of ourselves; so generosity is not a quality that comes naturally. And yet, generosity is part and parcel of God’s nature; so, if we want to reflect the love to God to others, generosity should be part and parcel of our natures, too. But how can we move from being selfish to being generous? Charles Dickens thought that he had the answer to that; and he told us about it in his most famous story A Christmas Carol. You remember Ebenezer Scrooge, who changed from being the most tight-fisted man on the planet to the poster child for generosity. He learned to be generous after becoming enlightened about his own loveless childhood, learning that happiness is not in money but in human relationships, and being threatened with a lonely death if he continued to ignore his fellow human beings.

But when Jesus met Zacchaeus, he didn’t do any of that (Luke 19:1-10). He didn’t recall memories of a loveless childhood or threaten a lonely death. In fact, it doesn’t appear that Jesus talked about much of anything after he told Zacchaeus to come down out of that tree. But something obviously happened, because Zacchaeus changed from being a corrupt tax collector who had made a fortune by over-taxing his fellow citizens to a generous man who promised to return all the money that he had overcharged them; and then, give more on top of that! What happened, anyway? I wish that I could give you an answer to that question. If I could, we could all use it to help other people become more generous, and the world would be a better place! But I don’t know how Jesus did it. What I do know is that the transformation of Zacchaeus from a miser into a generous man was just as much of a miracle as any of the healings that Jesus ever did! But even though I can’t tell you what happened to change Zacchaeus, I can tell you what Zacchaeus was like after that change.

He became satisfied with what he had. He no longer overcharged people when he collected their taxes. That’s because generous people aren’t driven by the desire to get more stuff. They don’t need designer clothes and a big house in order to be happy. What makes them happy is the satisfaction that they get from helping other people, whether they do that by being generous with their money, their time, or their talents. Generosity and satisfaction go hand in hand, like soup and a sandwich, or macaroni and cheese.

Zacchaeus also learned to say “yes” when folks asked him for help. Generous people have an amazing ability to say “yes.” They may not have more money, possessions, or time than anybody else; but they figure out a way to say “yes” when someone needs help. That’s because the good of other people is important to them! And generous people don’t hoard their possessions, because they know that everything they have belongs to God, and that God intended for us to be channels of God’s own generosity. Zacchaeus even learned to ask, “What can I do for you?” Generous people don’t wait for opportunities to come to them. They look for ways in which they can bless others. They carry Blessing Bags in their cars so that they can help someone begging at an intersection. They keep extra cans of nourishing food on hand so that they can donate to the Boy Scouts when they are collecting for the local food pantry. They are quick to make a casserole for the neighbor who had a sudden death in the family. They know that some of the neediest people will never ask for help; so the generous person goes to them.

And Zacchaeus took himself a lot less seriously than he ever had before. He stopped worrying about whether he had enough money, and started wondering how he could help other people with it. Giving up your attachment to all the stuff that you own is incredibly liberating! Life is an adventure if you’re always looking for someone to help; but a terrible burden if you’re always worrying about what you have. Maybe that’s why the people who have the least are often the most generous. I have heard story after story of people who are homeless gladly sharing the little they have with others who have even less.

Satisfaction with what we have; caring about others as we care about ourselves; and freedom from worrying about the stuff that we own: those are characteristics of a life that is lived as Jesus wants us to live it! And those are also the characteristics of folks who are generous. American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie once commented that "No one can become rich without himself enriching others. The one who dies rich dies disgraced." We aren’t all able to give generously like the very wealthy. We can’t give away $27 billion, as Bill Gates has done during his life; or like Warren Buffett, who has given away $21 billion. But we can set aside time to volunteer at a soup kitchen, or to visit friends who are sick or confined at home, or even to take care of a child so that her parents can have some much-needed time together. We may not be able to do much; but we can be generous with what we have. And that’s all God asks.

In the end, we are generous because God has been generous with us. Aside from the possessions that we have or the money in our bank account, God has given us the air that we breathe, the beauty of nature that surrounds us, the friends who love and support us, and the creativity to make our world a better place. And if that is not enough, God came to us in Jesus Christ who died for us, and offers us the joy of eternal life through his grace! Oh, Zacchaeus, come down out of that tree! Jesus wants to stay at your house tonight. In fact, Jesus wants to stay at our house tonight, so that he can transform us into the generous people that God intends for us to be. What a generous gift; and what a loving God!

From Guilt to Freedom

During the season of Lent, from now until Easter Sunday, I will be preaching about some of the people who came to Jesus and were changed as a result. My hope is that you can find yourself in their stories. The first person is the unnamed woman who anointed Jesus' feet while he was at dinner with a Pharisee. You can find her story in Luke 7:36-50.

Everybody knows me. When I go to the well in Jerusalem or visit the marketplace, everybody knows who I am. But no one calls me by my name. They just call me “that woman.” When they acknowledge my presence at all, they stare at me and whisper to one another. Some of them look at me with faces twisted with pity. They know that my husband died suddenly five years ago, leaving me without father, son, or husband; and they feel sorry for me in my loneliness. But they never speak to me. Others look at me with disgust, noses wrinkled and lips curled in a sneer. They know that when I was left without a man to support me, I had to do whatever I could to survive. How could I get money except by selling myself? “How disgusting,” they say to themselves, “we would never do that!” But the worst are the ones who look at me with judgement. Their faces are cold and hard; and they won’t even come near me. “Her husband must have done something terrible for God to take him so young,” they say, “and now she’s sinning worse than he ever did.”

What none of them know is that I judge myself even more harshly than they do. I know that I break God’s law over and over again; but what am I to do? I, too, am disgusted by what I have to do to survive; and I yearn to have love in my life again. I hate my life; and sometimes, I have hated myself, too. That’s what I have lived with for five years: hate and guilt. No love; no understanding; no compassion. But then, I met Jesus. I will never forget that day, not if I live to be 100! I had heard that Jesus was a wise teacher; and that he healed people with all kinds of diseases. But more important than that: I had heard that he was gentle and kind to all those who came to him for help. And I had this wild idea that maybe he could help me, too! I don’t know how I thought he could help me, but… something compelled me to seek him out. When I heard that he would be at the home of a Pharisee for dinner one evening, I decided to try to find him there. I couldn’t go empty-handed, so I spent all the money that I had on a bottle of expensive perfume. Its fragrance reminded me of the little pink flowers that bloom in the spring here in Jerusalem. Those flowers are my favorites, because they remind me of the days when my husband and I would go walking in the fields together outside Jerusalem. I hoped that Jesus would like it.

Everybody in town seemed to know where Jesus was having dinner; so it was easy to get directions to the house. No one was at the front door – they were all in the room that was reserved for meals – so I just walked in. I had no idea what I was going to say to Jesus; I suppose I thought that words would magically appear in my head when I saw him. But when I entered the dining room and saw who was at the table, no words came, only tears – tears of embarrassment, shame, and anger. I didn’t know the house, but I certainly knew the man who owned it. Jesus’ host at dinner was none other than Simon, one of the men who visited me regularly, week in and week out. Simon, who always looked at me in disgust after he had used my services. Simon, who would not even hand me my fee before he left. Simon, who would throw my fee in the dust on the floor for me to pick up after he had left. As I stood there, frozen in shame, Simon turned and recognized me. I almost ran away; but I couldn’t do that, not when I was finally so close to Jesus! So I knelt at his feet, weeping – crying with big sobs that shook my whole body – weeping for what had become of me, for what I was forced to do to survive, and for a life that had no love or compassion in it. I had intended to give Jesus the perfume bottle; but instead, I broke it open and I poured the perfume on his feet. Its fragrance and the memory of those beautiful flowers made me cry even harder. Oh, it was quite a scene: I was weeping and pouring perfume on Jesus’ feet, while Simon scowled at me from the head of the table.

And then Jesus spoke: not to me, but to Simon. “I have come to Jesus for nothing,” I thought. “He is going to ignore me.” But that’s not what happened at all! Jesus criticized Simon, right in front of all the dinner guests! “This woman,” Jesus said, “has done more for me than you have, SImon. You haven’t showed me any respect at all; and she has showed me love!” And then he turned to me – and I’ll never, ever forget what he said – he said, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! Jesus forgave me! Jesus didn’t look at me as a disgusting piece of trash; he treated me as a human being worthy of love! I wept even harder then, because it had been so long since I had heard kind words. And I will never forget Jesus’ eyes when he looked at me. They were loving and compassionate – like the eyes of my husband had once been. I thought I’d never see eyes like that again! It took a little while for me to collect myself so that I could thank Jesus and leave Simon’s house; but no one dared to sneer at me – at least, not while Jesus was there.

I’m still “that woman” in Jerusalem. People still look at me with pity, or disgust, or judgement. That hasn’t changed. But since I met Jesus, I have changed. I don’t hate myself any more. Since Jesus loves me, I know that I am worthy of love. And because Jesus loves me, I can love others again. But the most marvelous change in me is that I’m free! When Jesus told me that my sins were forgiven, all the guilt that I felt melted away like olive oil flowing out of the press. I was free from the chains of guilt that had kept me a prisoner for so long! You might not think that I deserved forgiveness; but Jesus thought that I did; and that’s all that matters. He set me free from the guilt of my past, and because he did, he gave me new life. Do you feel guilty? Do you hate yourself because of some of things that you’ve done? Come to Jesus; he won’t turn you away. He can set you free, just like he set me free. Just ask him! Let him throw off the chains of guilt that are holding you; and then, my friends, you will truly be free.

Transformed

What happens to us when we live in the presence of God? Do we change; and if we do, how do we change? In this sermon that I preached on Transfiguration Sunday, I consider those questions. I hope that you find yourself somewhere in it.

Every bride is beautiful on her wedding day. My mother used to say that, and I’ve become convinced that it’s true. On every other day, a woman might be as ugly as a mud fence; but on her wedding day, she is beautiful. And it has nothing at all to do with her dress. A bride is just as beautiful in a plain pantsuit as she is wearing a $50,000 gown encrusted with lace and seed pearls. The beauty of a bride doesn’t come from her clothing, but from within her very being! On her wedding day, a bride is surrounded by love: the love of her family, the love of her friends, and the love of her new spouse; and her face shines brightly with the fullness of that love.

You don’t often see that shine elsewhere. You can sometimes catch a glimpse of it on the face of a person who is being ordained to the Christian ministry. That person, too, is surrounded by love on the day of her ordination: the love of companions who have walked with him on his journey of faith; the love of her friends who are taking part in the ordination service; and, certainly, the love of God that called him to ministry in the first place. Of course, those shining faces don’t last forever. Brides turn into wives and mothers; and they are usually too tired to shine much. Ordination leads into daily ministry; and local church pastors rarely have shining faces as they juggle church commitments and try to preach faithfully Sunday after Sunday. But sometimes – on those days that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are loved; on the days when we begin new, exciting chapters in our lives and we know that God is guiding us – then our faces shine as though we have come face-to-face with God in all God’s glory.

And maybe we have done just that, on those magnificent, once-in-a-lifetime days whose memories stay with us forever. That has happened before, you know. The book of Exodus tells us that it happened to Moses long ago (Exodus 34:29-35). Moses spent forty days on Mt. Sinai talking face-to-face with God while he was receiving the Law; and when he came back to the Israelites, his face shone like the sun. It shone so brightly that the people were afraid of him! He finally convinced them that he wouldn’t bite, but he finally had to cover his face when he was talking with them. He spent so much time in the glory of God’s presence that he was permanently changed.

The very same thing happened to Jesus (Matthew 17:1-8). The churchy word for it is the “Transfiguration.” In some ways, it’s very much like the story of Moses. Jesus took three of his disciples – Peter, James, and John – up to the top of a mountain; and while they were there, Jesus was changed – transfigured – right in front of their eyes. His face shone like the sun, radiating the glory of God while the disciples cowered in fear. This story of Jesus sounds like the story of Moses, doesn’t it? Just like Moses’ face shone by being with God, Jesus’ face shone, too; and it shone even more brightly because he had been with God for far longer than Moses. In fact, all of Jesus shone brightly! That’s what happens when we live in the presence of God day after day, week after week, year after year. We are transformed by that presence.

Now, I don’t mean to say that when we live in the presence of God, we all start to glow like we live inside a nuclear reactor! But I do mean that when we stay close to God, we are changed in important ways. Maybe the impatience that we’ve always struggled with starts to lose some of its power. Maybe the resentment that we insist on carrying in our pocket starts to drain away. And certainly the hate that lurks in the dark corners of our soul starts to be replaced by the love that God offers us so extravagantly. Oh, it doesn’t happen quickly. It takes years – sometimes years and years and years – but it does happen! When we look back on our lives, sometimes we can catch a glimpse of it. Paul claims that we are being transformed into no less than the image of Christ himself; and isn’t that our goal as Christians who follow the Master – to be like him in every way? We can’t do that ourselves; but God can help us to do it if we ask him – and allow him.

The season of Lent is a time to work for this kind of transformation. We talk a lot during Lent about “repenting.” That word brings up images of wearing dark colors, and giving up our favorite foods, and owning up to what we have done wrong through prayers of confession. There’s nothing wrong with those things; but if that’s all that we do, we’re not repenting. We’re only talking about it. The word “to repent” in Hebrew means “to turn around.” If we realize that we have done wrong, and if we are sorry for doing it, then we need to repent – to turn around – and to do things differently in the future. During Lent, the different thing that I hope you do is to intentionally draw closer to God. It’s no coincidence that every Lent, I recommend that you make time for prayer and meditation; because prayer and meditation can help to bring you closer to the God who will transform you if you will only let him do it.

So, what happens if we do repent and move closer to God? What does this transformation look like, anyway? No glowing faces – we understand that – but how will people know that we’ve been transformed? For that matter, how will we know that we’ve been transformed? Well, transformation is a very personal thing; but I do have a few clues that suggest that you’re going in the right direction.

Are you worrying more about other people’s feelings and not just your own? That’s a good start.

Are you realizing that you aren’t always right, and that other people might have something valuable to say? You’re definitely on the right track.

Are you able to feel gratitude to God for something every single day? Now you’re getting the hang of this!

Do you find joy in God’s creation – not only in nature, but also in other people – as well as in yourself? You’re on your way!

And do you, at least occasionally, feel God’s peace that passes all understanding, because you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God will bring something positive out of even the most difficult situation? You’re doing just fine!

During this Lenten season, my sermons and meditations will focus on the kinds of transformation that God offers us: from guilt to freedom, from selfishness to generosity, from legalism to compassion, from brokenness to health, from isolation to fellowship, and from fear to courage. I invite you to join me on this journey of transformation; and to give thanks to God who so freely offers us glimpses of his transforming glory – and then, uses it to transform us!