Ways to Give; Matthew 25, John 12

May the mumbling commence!

What is the best attitude to take when you are giving?  The Bible tells us to be generous with the wealth we have (2 Corinthians 8:9) and to be cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7).  Jesus tells us not to let our left hand know what our right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3-4).  I invite you to read a familiar prophetic parable from Matthew chapter twenty-five and a story of extravagant giving from John chapter twelve.  Read the Matthew passage below:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.  All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.  He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 

Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' 

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?  When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' 

The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' 

Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.  For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,  I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' 

They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' 

He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' 

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."  (Verses 31-46)

Helping out the poor and vulnerable people in our world is the most tangible way to serve Jesus.  Whenever we serve our vulnerable brother or sister, we serve Christ.  It is an important lesson to learn.  But there is another, equally important lesson to learn from this prophetic parable.  We often will not recognize the presence of Christ in these people that we either choose to help or not to help.  Indeed, our right hand will not allow our left hand to know what we are doing.  So that we would not be glorifying ourselves. 

Now read the passage from John chapter twelve:

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.  Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.  Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.  

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages."  He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 

"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.  You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." (Verses 1-8)

Now, that is extravagant giving!  Think of what a year’s worth of wages would be today for you.  Can you imagine spending – let’s say $27,000 – on something to glorify the Lord’s name – like a new projection system and sound system for the church building? 

The counterculture of Brethren and Mennonite circles would blanch at the opulence.  We are called to be frugal and wise with our money in witness against the dominant consumerist-driven economy.  But, when we are giving to glorify the name of our Lord, we should be generous and cheerful givers.  

Both types of giving are important.  When done right, both bring glory to the name of the Lord.  O God, help us to balance our extravagant giving to glorify You with our anonymous giving to help our fellow brothers and sisters.

Enough mumbling for now… 

Peace Out