| March 4,, 2001 Deuteronomy 26:4-10 + Romans 10:8-13 + Luke 3:1-13 |
| On each of the six Sundays of Lent, the scripture readings invite us to look into our spiritual scrap book, as it were, in an effort to reconnect with some of ancestors in faith. This week it is Moses who stands before us, next week, Abram who became Abraham after his encounter with God. The purpose of this look into our old family album is not just to reminisce over heroes of the distant past, but rather to realize veiy consciously our roots in them and their stoiy so that we might share in that experience unfolding in our own time the consequences of that experience which we share with them. |
| The people are being instructed by Moses about their conduct after they arrive in the promised land. Once they are settled and begin to produce harvest from their labor and the land, they were to take the first fruits of that labor and bring it, as we read from today’s verses, as an offering of Thanks to God. The acknowledgment of gifts received is made by gifts given. Grateful people are giving people. |
| It works that way with forgiveness. A people who believe and acknowledge that they are forgiven by God then forgive others.It works that way with talents. Music, Art, Skills of all kinds, the gifts with which we seem to have been born and have been willing to develop. A people who believe and acknowledge that these are gifts that come from God, knowing full well that they did nothing themselves except seize an opportunity, do use those gifts to enrich the lives others, lighten their burdens.It works the same with the produce of our labor, whether it’s the fruits of the field or the paycheck we receive from our work. A people who believe and acknowledge that these are gifts that come from God, acknowledge the gifts received by gifts given. |
| This is what we do at this altar The gift of Jesus Christ is given back to the one who gave.This is what we do in this liturgy The gift you have, the gift that sustains and feeds you, clothes you, houses you, gives you fun and pleasure, keeps you healthy is, in the behavior of faithful and grateful people, returned to the one who has given. |
| The three-fold discipline of Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving, calls us to examine our spirit of gratitude and honest |
| acknowledgment of gifts we have been given. Our Lent is often marked by all sorts of prayer and fasting. All of that is convenient and easy An extra Mass now and then, some prayer at home, stations of Friday, not too hard, really Many take the fasting seriously with chosen acts of self denial that turn our hearts back to the Will of God, but that’s not too hard. It’s only for forty days. It is the sacrifice however, the offering, the giving that is so hard and so easily ignored, or put off to another time. |
| There is probably nothing that reveals our values and exposes our faith more than what we do with our money All the talk, all the prayers, all the fasting comes to nothing if there is no behavior to give it credibility Sitting in this church week after week, singing and praying for all to see is nothing when the instruction we receive from Moses is ignored, postponed, or rationalized away It is theJirs_t fruits that go to God, not the left overs. Before the electric bill, the rent and the groceries, the gift to God comes first if we understand what God asks of us through the prophet, Moses, not what’s left after we pay the bills, eat out, see a movie, and buy new shoes. |
| Now those of you who are uncomfortable, I’m not talking about “money” today I am talking about gratitude, faith, the acknowledgment of God’s gifts, and Lent’s call to examine our lives, our values, and our behavior This is the time, these forty days, for conversion’s change, for a renewal, and for openness to God’s Will, to God’s further blessings, and to God’s gifts. We’re in the promised land now, that’s what Jesus came to reveal. The measure of what we give to God shows what we think God has given us. If we are not generous with our forgiveness of others, then I guess we don’t believe that God has forgiven us very freely Ifwe don’t have time to share our talents, and use them only for ourselves, then it would appear that we think we are the source of those skills and talents.The season asks us to look at the proportions – the measure of our acknowledgment, awareness of God, and gratitude. It asks us to finally put God first in the use of our time, in the use of our talent, and the use of our treasure. Practically speaking, it might be a good Lenten practice to look at our tax return and wonder why we might chose not to itemize our gifts. The straight deduction is sometimes a way of hiding the truth of how little we give, not just a way of saving time throughout the year It’s Lent now Time to do the difficult things, time to look honestly and sincerely at our values and behavior, and time to change. |