Readings:
Sermon:
I wonder what the most precious gift is that you have received, or given?
The preciousness of a gift might be measured by its monetary value. On the Antiques Roadshow there is very often the situation where someone brings an heirloom they have inherited for valuation…a set of military medals or a silver watch for example. Having heard the valuation, the item is quickly moved from a home on the mantlepiece into a bank vault and suitable insurance is taken out.
But preciousness is often measured in what is termed sentimental value. A gift that reminds us of someone we love might be our most precious possession. Sometimes my grandchildren have drawn a picture for me. The scribbles of felt tip or crayon represent a gift that is so much appreciated; it is a tailor-made gift from them to me using the talents that they can offer.
Sometimes people find gifts hard to receive. I spent a year in rural Kenya. I found the generosity of my neighbours amazing. However, I sometimes found myself reluctant to accept their hospitality out of a sense of guilt at my western affluence.
Both our readings today concern gifts. The reading from Romans comes in the middle of a long treatise on the nature of salvation. In today’s reading Paul warns that the forgiveness that God freely offers us should not be seen as an invitation to treat sin as a light matter. In verse 18 he exhorts us that now we are free from sin we must become rather ‘slaves of righteousness.’ The chapter rises to a crescendo in the final verse: ‘For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord.’
So here is a gift that is free! A free gift doesn’t sound very special. But this gift was not originally free. It was bought at a price, and that price was the blood of Christ himself. It is therefore the most precious gift that there could ever be. God offers salvation to all who have faith, and that salvation is a gift, it does not need to be earned. Personally, I still find this hard to accept. I would so much rather say that I have earned salvation. However, none of us can stand before God in our own righteousness. In contrast we can completely rely on the generous hospitality and love of God who invites us all. The gift itself is eternal life: that is an eternity that starts here and now, living with God and for God.
In our gospel reading there is quite a different gift. Matthew chapter 10 is about mission. Jesus has sent the twelve disciples out on a practice mission. The verses that follow are Jesus’ teaching about the challenges that will face those who preach the gospel. The last three verses of the chapter make up today’s gospel reading and these focus on the rewards that will be due to those who give a positive response to the missionaries. In verse 42 this extends to a gift: ‘whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in name of a disciple – truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.’
A cup of water. That doesn’t sound much of a gift! I have water that gushes at speed from a tap. It takes a mere second to fill a cup. True…it’s far from free…but it’s plentiful. How different it would have been in first century Palestine and how different it still is in so many parts of the world today. Water often needs to be drawn from a well or a river and then carried, painfully, for maybe miles. A gift of a cup of water therefore represents generosity, hospitality and care.
As a lay person in non-stipendiary ministry, I am grateful for those in our churches who have responded to the call of full-time stipendiary ministry. There is a responsibility on us to make sure that the needs of our ministers are met. Hopefully this means rather more than a cup of water. In today’s world it should mean the dignity of a proper stipend and housing.
God’s greatest gift to us is eternal life and that comes to us as a free gift. In response let us share the many gifts that God has showered on us, including our time, talents and money, in a generous and open-hearted way.
Questions:
- Think of a precious gift that you have received and what factors make it precious. Does anything about this gift remind you of what you have received from God?
- Think of the gifts that your church community has of time, talents and resources. How effectively are these shared for the glory of God?