Giving Up; Giving Of

On Valentine's Day (which also happens to be one of the COLDEST days I can recall in recent memory), I was asked to be pulpit supply at my church.  Here's a brief overview of what I said today.  (And wishing you all a Happy and WARM Valentine's Day!  My wish for all who read this is that you be safe and warm on this day.  Put on those comfy warm clothes and cuddle up with those who you love.)

Call to Worship:

God, you know our hearts.  You know our deepest desires, fears and worries.  Help us to journey during this Lenten season into a new awareness of your presence in our lives.  Save us from our own temptations, so that we may more freely follow you. Amen

Luke 4 1-13:

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, ² where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. ³ The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

⁵ Then the devil^[a] led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. ⁶ And the devil^[b] said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷ If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” ⁸ Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God,
    and serve only him.’”

⁹ Then the devil^[c] took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰ for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,
    to protect you,’ ¹ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’”

¹² Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”¹³ When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Meditation:  Giving Up; Giving Of

Seeing how it’s Valentine’s Day, it’s the perfect time to talk about one of my favorite things; chocolate.  I love my son, my husband, my family, my friends AND chocolate. When you think of Valentine’s day, you may think of cards and flowers, but I think of chocolate candy.  Of course I don't just think of chocolate on Valentine's day, I think about it and eat it probably just about every day of the week.  It's not unfair to say that I have a chocolate obsession.

But this year, Valentine’s day just happens to fall on the first Sunday in Lent.  I'm not happy about that and you can probably guess why.  Every year for the past 20 of so years I give up chocolate for Lent.  Now some people may say that giving up a favorite treat is not a sacrifice, but having done this for two decades now, I can tell you it does NOT get any easier.  What would be easier would be to just give up the giving up.  To simply say that I've proved that I could live without chocolate for Lent and move on.  Why should I keep doing this?  Why should I put myself in a situation where I am constantly tempted? Chocolate is EVERYWHERE, especially when I am not allowing myself to consume it. There is Valentine’s Day Chocolate, there are Easter Bunnies already in the stores just begging to be eaten.  Every year I actually dream about chocolate during Lent.  It hasn't happened yet, but trust me, before Easter arrives I WILL; chocolate will wind it's way into my dreams.  But it is because it is NOT easy that I continue to give up chocolate at Lent.  The temptation and the dreams remind me of why I am doing this.  I am forced to think and be aware. 

Lent is a time of reflection, and of preparation.   While preparing for this mediation, I read, that an experience of want, however temporary, can help us to appreciate the true abundance in our lives.  I know that when I finally break my "Chocolate fast" on Easter morning, I DO truly appreciate the taste and flavor. On Easter morning do we truly appreciate what God has done for us?  By "giving up" for Lent we can symbolically walk the same path that Jesus did when he went into the wilderness.  I realize that giving up chocolate for 40 or so days is nowhere near as harsh as fasting in the wilderness, but it does make me appreciate what is to come on Easter, and it's not just the taste of chocolate, but the understanding that Christ has risen and life can start anew.

Last week during the children's message, Christina mentioned some things that the children were giving up for Lent.  As some of you may recall, my son said that he was giving up cursing.  Was I surprised by this?  No, we'd actually discussed it back in January.  I don't want you to think that he is spewing profanity everywhere.  As a matter of fact, he usually asks me or his father if he can curse.  saying “Can I say a bad word?"  If we thought it was appropriate, we'd tell him yes.  Then he would say whatever "bad word" he wanted to and that would be that.  Of course when this first started the "bad" word was more often than not "crap."  Now a days his language is a little more "colorful" and he asks permission to do so less often.)  What's more important is that after he has  said whatever he had to say, we  have a discussion.  Was it really appropriate to use a swear word?   Why did he feel that way?  Amazingly enough, mindfully allowing him to use bad language opened up a family dialog.  

It also made me realize how often I unconsciously swear.  Words sometimes just flow out of my mouth without any thought behind them.  On Ash Wednesday a few choice words flew out of my mouth just this morning as I was leaving the house.  I was not angry, just slightly annoyed/frustrated.  As the words came out, I remembered that James had given up profanity for Lent and that I wasn't being the best example.  I wasn't thinking before I spoke.  I wasn't being  mindful.  We should all always think before we speak, although to be honest, we rarely do.  With the season of Lent upon us, I realize that I should be mindful of my words, and of my actions.

  

During Lent I am also reminded that God gave up something for us 2000 years ago and it changed the world forever.  “God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son”.  He didn’t do it because he had to but because he wanted to.  I give up something that may seem silly, but means something to me.  That I have a connection with.  And I do so because I want to. I do this year after year because for me it means something. Doing so forces me to be mindful and reflect. If God gave his own son for me, surely I can show my own love for God even if it is in a simplistic way.  It is my token; it is my way of showing that I am willing to give up something.  It may be a small token, but it is one none the less.  And if you any of you have chosen to give up something for Lent, no matter what it is, I hope it is something mindful.

But Lent is not just about giving up; it is also about giving OF.  It is a time of giving of oneself.  Think about the phrase "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son." in a different way.  God GAVE to us.  Jesus GAVE OF himself.  During this Lenten time how can we GIVE of ourselves?

In Matthew 25 it says:  31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. 34 Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? 38 And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? 39 And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’ 40 And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family,[g] you did it to me.’ 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’

It doesn't have to be complicated.  Just giving a smile could be enough.  what might be considered just a simple action could have a great consequence, even though we might never know what those consequences might be.  And we don’t need to know. It is like when we throw a pebble in the water; the ripples extend out and on past the point of our view.

 Or it could be more ambitious; making time to volunteer for something that you've never found the time to do before.  Large or small, it is the commitment that we should make.  It is the dare to do what we should do. And while as Christians we SHOULD be giving of ourselves all the time, during Lent we should be mindful as we give of ourselves. Couldn't we all make a conscious effort to give of ourselves, to do an act of kindness every day?   By giving of ourselves, especially during Lent, we are serving God.  The smile that you gave to a stranger, is a smile you've given to God.  Each one of us has the power to heal; with a smile, a touch, a hug or by just lending an ear to someone needs to be heard.  We have an opportunity this Lent to give of ourselves, to take this opportunity to is follow in the footsteps of Christ.