It is more blessed to receive than give

I have a friend who has a number of catch phrases. He likes making them up. For example, he likes to remind those he’s teaching that “Any text without a context is a pretext.” Or another favourite, “Its a rough life laddybuck, but she be a short one.” Or another one I saw on his Facebook page recently said, “Any dead fish can float downstream.”  But if there is a saying of his that I remember more and like more than any of the others, it is this one: “It is more blessed to receive than to give.” Now, I know that you might be thinking that this is backwards... that this is not what Jesus said. Jesus said we need to give; that it is more blessed to give that to receive. The Gospel this week supports that notion, doesn’t it? We need to sell what we have and give.

So why would the opposite also be true? One of the things that I have learnt over the years in public ministry, is that until we learn to receive, we have nothing that we can give and we have nothing to offer – not until we learn to receive from God. The words at the offertory in the Book of Common Prayer come back to me at times like this, and memories of standing at the altar with bread, wine, money and stuff for the food bank and uttering these familiar words: Blessed be thou Lord God of Israel forever and ever. All that is in the heavens and in earth is thine. All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee. It continues to serve as a weekly reminder that everything that I have in this life is on loan to me and that I need to be aware of this and not think myself safe or secure because of what I think I have. Car. The roof over my head. The television I watch and the attending Xbox 360 in play on. The food and drink I will consume today. God knows our needs and provides for us so that we can have things in our lives so that we can be a blessing to others: family, friends and neighbours.

The one thing that I have not borrowed is time. Each moment I live, this present moment is a gift that God gives. I am not now living nor have I ever lived on borrowed time. Time and the relationship that I have been given to build them is a gift of God. I am given time to learn to receive. I am given time to learn to give as Christ gave of himself, even if it means that I need to learn how to bleed. This is what my family, friends, the Church and God teach me on a daily basis. They teach me to receive what it is that I need to receive and they teach me to give what I have to offer. Why is learning to receive so important? Well consider this: we live in a world that is concentrating on getting stuff. It concentrates on the hoarding and abusing of wealth for one’s own personal status, position and gain. After all, the Jones’ are worse than we are, they not? All I am trying to do is keep up with the Jones... While at the same time most of the people I know, live in the fear of what happens if that next paycheck is not there? What do we do and where do we go, if we don’t have enough? What happens if God does not provide our daily bread?

Jesus in the Gospel this week (Luke 12.32-40) calls us to consider God and the fact that it gives God pleasure to give us the kingdom. We are told 365 times in Scripture (which means at least once a day) not to be afraid, because God knows you and is willing to give to you. Can you receive? And before some think that I have gone all prosperity gospel on them, let me reassure that this is not the case. Life, eternal life itself is a gift. Grace, love, mercy are all gifts from God: have you received them? Can you receive them or is there something in the way that The problem with the prosperity Gospel and with secular life in general is that they are not able to sustain life – certainly not for an eternity. It makes life all about you. Learning to receive and to give shows us who God is and to show others too. We don’t have to sell everything and make ourselves destitute – and thus holy paupers who are a burden on the community. Rather we are meant to share everything so that all benefit from what has been received.  

In a country and society where so many have so much in terms of material wealth, there is little concern for the neighbour, for God or for the spiritual life. We demand independence and rights with being aware of the need for taking responsibility and living in interdependence. I cannot detect anymore, any real concern in the life of my denomination these days for the life that is to come. There are concerns for social justice and equality. There are concerns for refugees and for the environment. There is a real desire to try transform the world by acting like the world only acting like the world only nicer. People in the Church keep rushing to the mirror to see if they can detect God in what they see, only to discover that they are sorely disappointed.

As a Church, we lack a real concern for seeing people coming into the kingdom and into the life that God offers through Christ.  We lack the passion for seeing people being transformed into the people God has called them to be. The best way to regain that passion, that concern is to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit and to that transformation ourselves. In doing so, issues around structures, budgets and issues become less and or community, centered on Christ grows in faith, the Holy Spirit with spiritual gifts, and God willing, in numbers of worshippers.

So let us ask ourselves: where is our trust? Where is our hearts? Where is our stuff? Because where these things are, so will our lives, here and in eternity be.

Jason+