Giving Secrets
Giving Secrets - Lenten Sermon Series – Practices for Better Living, 1
A sermon delivered electronically by Rev. Dr. Randy K. Hammer, Feb. 14, 2021
Proverbs 19:17; 22:9; 31:8-9 NIV;
Today’s Gospel reading comes from the
so-called Sermon on the Mount. But just
how important is Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount – that is, Matthew chapters
5-7? What if we had no other New
Testament writings besides the Sermon on the Mount? Would those three chapters be enough upon
which to base our lives and spiritual practice?
I have read the Sermon on the Mount dozens
of times over the past 48 years. But of
late I have looked at the passage with fresh eyes and renewed admiration. And I think I have decided that if I were
pressed to choose just three chapters from the New Testament to take with me to
a deserted island, it would be the Sermon on the Mount.
I’ve been reading a biography of Congressman
John Lewis that was given to me as a birthday present. Lewis, you recall, was one of the youngest
and most important of the Civil Rights leaders who marched for voting rights,
sat in at segregated lunch counters, and became one of the Freedom Riders who
worked to desegregate interstate bus travel and places of lodging. I have learned just how important Jesus’s
Sermon on the Mount was as a foundation and guiding document in the nonviolent
Civil Rights movement.
I have also just finished reading Jim
Wallis’s latest book titled Christ in Crisis? Reclaiming Jesus in a Time of
Fear, Hate, and Violence. And I have
learned that Wallis and several other religious leaders around the nation in
Lent 2018 wrote and adopted a declaration in response to the national fear,
hate, and violence they were witnessing, and much of that document is founded
upon teachings from Matthew’s gospel.
And then when I was thinking about a Lenten
sermon series a few weeks ago, I discovered that the Christian Lectionary
passage for Ash Wednesday – which is this week – is from Matthew chapter
6. As I read Matthew chapter 6, it
became evident to me that this chapter would make for a wonderful basis for a
timely Lenten sermon series which I am titling “Practices for Better
Living.” Even though Lent doesn’t
officially begin until this Wednesday, I decided to start the series today.
As we have seen, Matthew 6 opens on the
subject of giving. It is interesting to
note that for Jesus the act of giving – especially giving to the less fortunate
– seems to be a given: “So when you give to the needy” Jesus says. The verse would seem to imply that there is
not really a question as to if one gives, but rather, when one
gives. Giving alms to the needy is an
integral tenet of most world religions.
Charitable giving certainly is at the heart of the three Abrahamic
religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
We have cited a number of references from the book of Proverbs, for
instance, that are exhortations to give to those in need.
We who have are expected to share with those
who have not. It is part of the law of
love. We take care of the least among
us, realizing that not everyone has the same opportunities and advantages. Some people are born with disabilities, some
suffer a serious injury or debilitating illness, or lose a job or the
breadwinner of the family due to no fault of their own. Today it could be a neighbor down the street;
but next year it could be you or me. So,
again, for Jesus there seems to be no question about giving to those in need,
but rather, it appears to be a given that those who have to give will do so.
But Jesus takes it a step further: When you
give to the needy, don’t announce it; don’t make a big deal about it; don’t
publicize it. Rather, give what you give
in private, secretly. Let it be known
only to you and the recipient. And for
the one who gives secretly, there is a special blessing that comes from the
satisfaction that you have done something good simply for goodness’ sake alone.
As I noted earlier, I’m titling this sermon
series “Practices for Better Living.” I
am going to go out on a limb today by saying that the more we are inclined and
able to give to those in need, and to do so in complete secrecy with the acts
being known only to ourself, the recipient (and to God, of course), the better
we are going to feel about ourselves and the lives we are living.
Several years ago, a retired couple started
attending the church we were serving.
Pretty soon I learned that Harold, as I will refer to him, was giving
away money; large sums of money.
My first thought was that Harold might be in the early stages of
dementia and not realizing what he was doing.
So, one day I telephoned his wife and diplomatically made mention of the
money that Harold was giving away, that I knew about. And his wife said, “Oh, yes, Harold gets
great joy in giving money away.
Sometimes he goes to Dollar General stores and when he sees someone who
appears to be struggling financially, he will walk up, hand them a $100 bill, and
then walk away without giving his name.
Well, I also learned that Harold had made a fortune in Silicon Valley
and was quite wealthy. But the point is,
he didn’t make a big deal out of his giving and he didn’t want recognition for
it, but he found great joy in doing it.
Okay, I have an assignment for you during these
coming weeks of Lent; well, actually two assignments: First, I would like to
challenge you over the next few weeks to carefully read Jesus’s Sermon on the
Mount – Matthew chapters 5-7. But consider
reading it in a contemporary translation such as the New International Version,
Good News Translation, or Common English Bible, and so on.
And second, I would like to challenge you
during these upcoming weeks of Lent to give, as you have the means to give, to
someone in need. Maybe it will be to
someone you know personally. Or maybe it
will be to a local food pantry or Second Harvest Food Bank to help feed
families who are struggling to put food on the table. But do it privately, secretly, without anyone
knowing about it.
In a world that would tell us the more we
accumulate, the happier we will be, the idea of finding joy in giving away may
seem foolish. But such is the way with many of Jesus’s
teachings that turn conventional thinking on its head and point the way to
better living. As Anne Frank wrote, “No
one has ever become poor by giving.” Amen.
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