The Christmas ads have been running for some time now. You’ve seen them. You’ve heard them. You’re already tired of them. How does that happen? How does something as exciting as Christmas - and take that on whatever level you want to take it: cultural, religious, theological, family, ritual and tradition, deep meaning and wondrous beauty, lump in the throat producing, tear in the eye provoking, whatever - but how does something as exciting as Christmas become boring? Become tedious? Become “not again!”?
I’ll tell you. Because all that stuff, all those ads aren’t really about Christmas. They’re about gifts and about giving. Which is good stuff! Don’t get me wrong. I love gifts. Getting them, certainly (anyone who wants my list, I’ll give it to you!). But mostly giving them. I love finding, buying, procuring, making gifts to give to people I love. I just do. And who could get tired of that? The giving and receiving of gifts, signs of love and acceptance and being claimed and welcomed. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to give gifts. But for them to really do the task intended you have to spend a lot of love.
But, the question for this bible study is this: Have I ever given an indescribable gift? Or received one? Now, let’s define terms here. There have been those occasions when the gift I have given my wife, for example, elicits a raised eyebrow or a puzzled demeanor; a sound of uncertainty or expression of incredulity. As in “what in the world were you thinking?” Let’s be clear, it wasn’t indescribable in the strictest sense. Because this expression was quickly followed by a string of description. Which, come to think about it, might have been more about the giver than the gift. But still, hardly indescribable.
What is an indescribable gift? Why bring it up? Why set the bar so high that we can’t ever achieve it? Because that is what it sounds like is going on. Who in the world trades in indescribable gifts? Well, Paul says God does.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written, "He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12 for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
The point is this. Trust Paul to get to the point. And then trust him to circle around and around it, turn it into a series of metaphors and images, make allusions and then find likes and opposites, and finally throw up his hands and sing a song about it, a song that turns out to be a song of praise to God. Because, you know, that’s how he deals with stuff. Important stuff. Faith centering stuff. Like God and Faith and Law and Grace and Eternity and Obedience and Money. Wait, what? Money? A Faith centering item? Well, yes, Paul thought so. And was quite serious about it. He talks about giving in these verses. (In case you aren’t from the Southport UMC Tribe, we are continuing our brief stewardship emphasis.) He talks about giving abundantly, sacrificially, giving in a way that we notice it. And he talks about our attitude while giving. Give with willingness, give with joy, give - he even seems to imply - with laughter. I know, a bit odd that Paul. But still, it sounds exciting, it sounds powerful. It sounds like something we just might want to be a part of.
Especially when he points out the receipts. Yeah, this is not giving for nothing. This is about investment and expecting a return. “You will be enriched in every way.” Well, we think, really? In every way? Surely he meant in good ways. Surely he meant you will be enriched in every way that matters. Some sort of proviso, some sort of escape clause. Otherwise we fall into the hands of those guys who turn God into a divine slot machine, put a little in and bells and lights go off and we get a lot out. And if the payoff didn’t come this time, put in a little bit more and then do an attitude check. Payoff is coming. Surely he didn’t mean that, we think.
And we’d be right. He didn’t mean that. But we don’t need to change the words to fit us better. Instead we change ourselves to fit the words. Which is always the case, by the way. We want to shape God’s words to fit us where we are, but our real goal is to shape our lives to fit the Word. We become givers, we become generous, we learn about sacrifice when God takes over our lives and we walk by the Word, we live by the Spirit, and then we know we are rich. Because we have received all that our hearts desire. All. All that our hearts desire. We are enriched. What could be more than all? All that our hearts desire? What could that be? That all, that gift? That indescribable all?
I went back to Fort Wayne to do a funeral this past week. It isn’t really our normal practice to return to a former church to perform a funeral. So I made sure it was ok with the current pastor, and he gave his blessing. The funeral was for Paul, a man who was my head usher for the whole ten years I was there. Co-head for part of the time, sharing the responsibility always. He was a man of faith, quiet, helpful, willing to step up and do what he could. He loved his wife and family, especially the grandkids and great-grandkids. They were a gift to him and he was a gift to them. To his family, to his church and his community. An indescribable gift.
At the beginning of the month, my siblings and I made our way to Paris, Tennessee, possibly for the last time. Unless we choose to pass through on our way somewhere else, to stop at the little cemetery in a residential area where Mom and Dad lived for almost forty years. Now they are remembered with a marble stone and a patch of grass and few bulbs we put in the ground to mark the space. We visited with a few who spoke of them both, of all that Dad did for the little county seat town in west Tennessee. He worked with the Scouts, boy and cub both, he lead the county Habitat for Humanity, worked with various churches and numerous individuals, mostly working with his hands, fixing, building, repairing. He was a gift to that community. Maybe more than he knew, certainly more than we, his children who lived so many miles away from him, knew. An indescribable gift.
We are all so blessed by people in our lives who are gifts beyond description. When Paul concludes his message on giving, he says that no matter what is in our hearts to give, we’ve already been given more. We can’t out give God. Because God has given us so much, so many, resources, yes, but more than that love. People who love us whether we are worthy of it or not. People who challenge us, who stretch us, and who shape us sometimes against our will, into what we are yet becoming. That’s the gift. That’s what Paul is celebrating in our text for this week. The family that we are becoming because of generosity, because of our willingness to give. It’s not really about money, except as the sign that points back to the heart. We sometimes give our hearts to Jesus, but until it gets to our wallets and our bank accounts, then there is still a part of our heart we’ve kept from Him. But once it penetrates even into that realm of our lives, then we will know blessing. Then we will be enriched in every way that matters, in every way that we care about. Enriched by love, by relationships, by service and caring and giving and helping and healing. Enriched by life. The indescribable gift.
Whatever we decide in our heads and hearts and bank accounts to give we should give thanks for the ability to give, be proud to be able to give, but also humble enough to know whatever we intend to give it does not repay what has been given to us. And to even describe what we’ve been given escapes us. Our lives are full of indescribable gifts. Thanks be to God.
Shalom,
Derek
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