gifts

Gift Receipts

/ JJS / Leave a comment

gifts-1505216_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 67; 150, 2 Kings 4:8-37, Acts 9:10-31, Luke 3:7-18

Have you ever received a gift you didn’t request or want, but which you didn’t feel comfortable returning? Something like a piece of art which you really don’t care for, but made especially for you by a loved one. Or maybe you’ve been given a pet you weren’t ready for. Suddenly we have to decide whether that sculpture has to be on the coffee table all the time or just when Aunt Molly visits, and whether we can afford next month’s planned vacation and a pet sitter.

The prophet Elisha gave an unexpected gift to a Shunnamite woman who had prepared a place for him to stay when he traveled. The childless woman was past the age when she expected to bear children, but through the power of God Elisha told her she would conceive. When her son was older he one day returned from the field with a mysterious headache, and died sitting on his mother’s lap. The woman was left with anger and grief over the loss of something she had never expected to have. Fortunately, Elisha was able to restore the son to life.

A disciple named Ananias was given an unexpected vision from God. Saul of Tarsus, a persecutor of Christians, was laid up blind and Ananias was to visit him so his sight could be restored. Ananias’s response was basically, “Really Lord? This guy?” but God reassured him Paul was to be an instrument of great evangelism. Sight restored, Paul started with a bang and so angered the Jews with his preaching that they plotted to kill him. The disciples had to sneak Paul out of town in a basket lowered through a hole in the city wall. Paul would turn out to be a difficult gift to wrangle for years to come.

The more strongly we feel about respecting the giver, the tougher it is to deny a gift we didn’t want in the first place. Isn’t God the giver we respect the most? Not every gift we have from God will be one we desire. It may be inconvenient. Burdensome. Painful even. We need to figure out what to do with it anyway.

Making room for the unwelcome gifts along with the welcome teaches you not every gift is about you, but might be about the grace that is found in sacrificial love. If you’re not going to go out and get it for yourself, somebody has to give it to you.

Comfort: Every gift from God, even an unwelcome one, is a treasure.

Challenge: Ask yourself which of your gifts you are not using, and why.

Prayer: May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him. (Psalm 67:7)

Discussion: What’s the worst gift you’ve given? How did you find out it was a bad idea?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Decorate Your Own Cookie

/ JJS / Leave a comment

gingerbread-650135_1920

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 65; 147:1-11, 1 Kings 3:1-15, Acts 27:9-26, Mark 14:1-11

One of the most powerful scenes in The Wizard of Oz takes place after Dorothy and her companions have destroyed the Wicked Witch of the West only to discover Oz is not so great and is terrible in all the wrong ways. He has no power to grant them what they asked for (courage, brains, and a heart) but in one of his few authentic moments he teaches them an important truth: they carried these things within them all along.

The Lord visited King Solomon in a dream and instructed him to ask for whatever he wanted. After words of gratitude and praise for all the Lord had done, Solomon asked for “a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong.” The Lord , pleased with this request, assured Solomon it would be so.

Solomon could have asked for riches, or long life, or military victory. In an Oz-like twist, his choice revealed the seeds of wisdom already planted in him. Unlike the fraudulent Oz, the Lord did have the power to grant Solomon’s request – in fact, it appears it was granted long before Solomon asked.

We can waste a lot of time longing for gifts we don’t possess, and failing to recognize the value of those we do. Whether a trait is a gift or a flaw may depend largely on how we use it. Solomon could have used his wisdom to scheme, but he chose to use it to serve his – and the Lord’s – people. When Paul refocused his single-mindedness from persecuting Christians to evangelizing Christ, he was unmatched.

Certainly we need to grow and learn all our lives, but twisting ourselves into a shape not meant for us perhaps isn’t the best approach. Once the cookie has been baked, you can’t force it back into a cutter – even the original one. When decorating that cookie, one person will see a flaw to cover up where another sees the opportunity for an unconventional feature. Instead of wasting time lamenting the gifts we haven’t been given, let’s direct and grow the ones we have.

Additional Reading:
For thoughts on today’s reading from Acts, see Crash Course.

Comfort: You have gifts that matter, because God gave them to you. 

Challenge: Appreciate and use the gifts you have. It’s the only way to grow them.

Prayer: Thank you, God of creation, for making me as I am. I will honor you by making the best of it. Amen. 

Discussion: How do you feel when people acknowledge your talents?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Dream of Service

/ JJS / Leave a comment
nebuchadnezzar

Daniel Interpreting Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream, Mattia Preti (1613-1699)

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 99; 147:1-11, Daniel 2:17-30, 1 John 2:12-17, John 17:20-26

Have you ever heard the advice to be good to people while you’re on your way up the ladder of success, because you’ll be running into them again on the way down? No matter how successful or powerful we are, no one is completely independent. Take King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon: when he was greatly troubled by a dream, he had to depend on others to interpret it. The self-proclaimed wise men of the kingdom were unable to do this for him – though they still pretended they might – and so he ordered the execution of them and others beside. Daniel heard what was about to happen, so he prayed with his friends that God might have mercy on them. When God revealed to Daniel (in another dream) the meaning of the king’s visions, he sought an audience with the king.

Daniel took no credit for knowing the dream or its interpretation. He said no person could do that, but that God could and had. It’s important to remember our gifts are not meant to exploit others for our own benefit (as the wise men would have exploited the king) or to abuse others (as the angry Nebuchadnezzar would have done to innocents). They exist for us to serve God and God’s kingdom. Daniel wisely presented himself as no one special. It was this very humility, the willingness to cast off his ego and get out of his own way to answer the call to service, that made him very special to the king.

We like to feel special. When other people recognize our talents and efforts, it feels good. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging our abilities – false humility doesn’t serve much of a purpose – but we must always remember to give credit to God. Whether we are kings or captives, we are the same to God because all we have came from God. Whether we find that humbling or heartening reveals something to us about our own attitudes.

On our way up, down, or simply holding steady, we should remain focused on God. That’s the best way to keep our balance.

Comfort: You are special to God …

Challenge: … but no more special than anyone else.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the time and talents you have given me. Teach me to use them well. Amen.

Discussion: What gift do you think you have faithfully put in service to God?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group , visit comfortandchallenge.tumblr.com, or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Speaking of gifts…

/ JJS / Leave a comment

1478490001436.jpg

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 19; 150, Joel 1:1-13, 1 Corinthians 14:1-12, Matthew 20:1-16

Paul encouraged followers or Christ to seek and develop what he called Gifts of the Spirit. These were abilities granted by the Holy Spirit and meant to be used for the benefit of the church. Such gifts included, among other things, the abilities to prophesy and to speak in tongues. To prophesy in this sense was not to predict the future, but to “speak to other people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.” Speaking in tongues was speaking a language, either earthly or divine, that was not known to the speaker.

Not surprisingly, even though there was no need or directive to do so, people wanted to rank these gifts, and also looked more favorably on Christians who demonstrated them. Speaking in tongues seemed to be very common, possibly because – let’s be honest – it’s relatively easy to fake. Paul didn’t level this accusation against anyone, but he did tell them he’d rather see them strive for prophesy. While speaking in tongues might have been flashy and dramatic, in few cases did it have any real, positive impact on the life of the church.

Whatever gifts we have – whether the specific spiritual gifts listed by Paul in his letters, or the more mundane gifts granted us at birth or through study – we are meant to steward them well in service to the kingdom. The most immediately impressive ones, like strong leadership or inspirational preaching, are rare for a reason: we don’t need that many people to do them. Many Christians think seeking a purpose through ministry means they should be the face of a unique calling – but Jesus tells us the first are last and the last are first. Being in the trenches with other people who share a common gift is not a sign of insignificance, but of value. Rebuilding homes for the victims of disaster, preparing meals for grieving families, and visiting the sick in hospitals are the work of the kingdom; making a name for ourselves is not.

We don’t value what comes easily to us, but it may be gold to someone who doesn’t have it.

Comfort: Your gifts are valuable.

Challenge: When considering how to use your gifts, start by finding where they are lacking elsewhere.

Prayer: Thank you, generous God, for the for the many gifts you have given your people. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever been surprised that something you could do, which seemed unimportant to you, was important to someone else?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

The Mix

/ JJS / Leave a comment

1478225850637.jpg

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 97; 147:12-20, Zephaniah 3:1-7, Revelation 16:12-21, Luke 13:18-30

Potential energy is “energy possessed by a body by virtue of its position relative to others, stresses within itself, electric charge, and other factors.” Such bodies include batteries, tightly coiled springs, and a boulder balanced on a high peak. Until these things interact with the rest of the world in some way, the energy remains dormant – a potential which may or may not be realized – within them.

When Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a tiny mustard seed that grows into a great tree, or a pinch of yeast that leavens an entire loaf of bread, he is talking about releasing the potential energy of the Spirit into the world through his followers. He describes something small – say a group of twelve people in the outskirts of the Roman empire – transforming the world.

Such potential is released when its bearer interacts with its environment. The mustard seed must be sown in the earth and exposed to the elements; the yeast must be kneaded into the dough and allowed to rise. Leave a packet of either on the shelf, and eventually it expires. You can read about gardening and baking, or sing songs about them, but in order for the mustard and yeast to meet their potential, they – or rather we – have to be in the mix.

We may not know whether we are mustard or yeast until we’re given a chance to grow in the right environment. Throw yeast on the ground or mustard into the dough, and you won’t get the desired results. Some of us will grow until the birds nest in our branches, and some will toil unseen alongside countless others to feed the hungry. Both are equally important to the kingdom, which is also like a banquet, a pearl, a field, a faithful servant, etc. There is no one right way to be part of the Kingdom.

Maybe you’ve already found the way to unlock your potential. Maybe you’re still waiting. Trust the gifts God has instilled in you, and you could be amazed by them. You’ll never know until you get into the mix.

Comfort: You already have everything you need to be part of the Kingdom.

Challenge: Make a list of your talents, and your suspected talents. Think about how you could best use them to serve God.

Prayer: God of Potential, help me discover all the ways I am yours. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever been in a situation that revealed a gift or gifts you didn’t know you had?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group or follow @comf_and_chall on Twitter. You’ll  have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!

Astounding Gifts

/ JJS / 2 Comments

1472184908647.jpg

Today’s readings (click below to open in new tab/window):
Psalms 88; 148, Job 9:1-15, 32-35, Acts 10:34-48, John 7:37-52

“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” (Acts 10:45)

This verse illustrates the difference between superficial acceptance and true inclusion, a distinction sometimes lost on the most well-meaning individuals and communities. Sitting at a table with Gentiles was a major step forward for the Jewish apostles, but until the Spirit poured gifts upon the new arrivals, the apostles were unready to accept them as worthy of the same baptism in Christ.

How long do we wait until we truly include new people in our faith community? We almost always let them in the door, and eagerly recruit them for bake sales or nursery duty, but when do we stop thinking of them as the “new” people? Do we wait until they somehow earn our approval, like the apostles did, or do we start treating them as equal members of the body of Christ ASAP? Each person brings their own astounding gifts, so by keeping them at arm’s length we do a disservice to ourselves. Each person also comes with their own baggage and flaws, and we can’t be present with them in their struggles until we accept those, too. It’s not like we don’t have our own… Beyond that, it is simply the Christian thing to do.

Conversely, sometimes we withhold our own gifts until we are confident a community has fully embraced us. While it’s natural to be cautious when entering a new group, too much hesitation may send a false signal that we want to maintain distance. Our own gifts are for sharing, because life in a Christian community is a two- (and twenty- and two hundred-) way street. Being part of a community means offering support to it as we are able, as much as expecting it to be there for us.

We may not even know we possess a gift until the community invites us to take a risk. A gift is something you give, not something you hoard. Let us give and receive them with equal enthusiasm.

Comfort: Christ teaches us we are truly accepted, and to be truly accepting.

Challenge: Look for opportunities to share your gifts. Don’t be shy.

Prayer: God of truth, thank you for bestowing, revealing, and using the gifts of your people. Amen.

Discussion: Have you ever been surprised to discover a gift in yourself or someone else?

Join the discussion! If you enjoyed this post, feel free to join an extended discussion as part of the C+C Facebook group. You’ll be notified of new posts through FB, and have the opportunity to share your thoughts with some lovely people. Or feel free to comment here on WordPress, or even re-blog – the more the merrier!