Today we celebrate the second Sunday of Advent, and we are half way through our Advent message series, “Unwrapping Christmas.” Thank you for joining us here at Resurrection Parish as explore how we can become more like God, who is a generous giver.
God is a giver, and everything we have is a gift from God. He has given us birth and life,
friends and family, time and talent, opportunities and advancements.
God is a giver. God is a generous giver. At Christmas we celebrate that God gave us his very best. At Christmas we celebrate that God the Father gave us his Son. Perhaps the most famous line in all of Scripture sums it up best: “For God so loved the world he GAVE his only beloved Son” (John 3:16). And then the Son loved the world so much he gave too; he gave his life for us on the cross, that we might have eternal life in him.
Since God is a generous giver, to grow as followers of Christ means growth in giving. If you are becoming more like Christ, then you are becoming more generous as he is generous. Nearly every moment of every day we have opportunities to give something to someone else. Giving doesn’t require any kind of extraordinary service or special skills or heroic virtue. It simply involves thinking more of others sometimes, than we think of ourselves.
Last week, we looked at the gift of giving people our presence. One of the most frequent promises God makes to the heroes of the Bible is, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12). The story of the Bible isn’t about humanity’s search for God. It’s about God’s desire to be with his people, and unfortunately, his people’s sometimes lack of desire to be with God.
Your presence matters because it shows what and who you value. It also matters because it shows your support for others and, of course, can be of great value for others.
This weekend we are looking at a great opportunity to be generous in a way that will have a huge impact, now and for the future. We believe that the Holy Spirit has prepared works for us to do that will advance the kingdom of Christ.
In his commission to his disciples Jesus said: “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We understand that to be three distinct commands to service in three distinct places: our own local area of Delran and Riverside, nationally, and globally. In the service of the Lord we are challenged always to do more.
In the season of Advent always hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. This Sunday, in a verse that practically defines the season, God tells the prophet to write: “Comfort, give comfort to my people says your God” (Isaiah 40:1).
Isaiah is addressing the people of Israel in their defeat at the hands of their enemies, and their exile from their homeland. They were in distress and disarray. Being separated from their home, they felt far from God as well.
The prophet speaks words of comfort because their situation is about to change. God has decided that he is going to change their situation in sending his son.
To give comfort means to ease or alleviate distress. Its normally not something we can do for ourselves. This weekend we have the opportunity to pray about how we can give the gift of comfort to God’s people. We can bring comfort by meeting needs that they cannot meet on their own.
It really does all begin with prayer. This past Tuesday, like I am sure many of you, my mailbox was full of emails from various groups asking me to support them on “Giving Tuesday.” While there may have been a few questionable pleas, most were from very good organizations who do excellent work in caring for people in need. Whether it is helping people who are sick – such as the American Cancer Association –, or those who work with the homeless, the starving, or the impoverish, there are just so many good groups who could really benefit from our generous donations. No one can give to all of these good organizations, so how do we choose?
We pray. I know some people who print out all the requests, and then put the printouts in front of a crucifix or religious icon and pray over each one to see if God stirs their heart for one. Others have a personal connection with an organization. Maybe they or a loved one has diabetes, so the American Diabetes Association is dear to their heart. A lawyer friend of mine supports the Mount Carmel Guild in Trenton because when he was a child, he and his mother were poor and the Guild provided them with food and other assistance.
I suggest that people pick one or two charities for each, “local” and “global.” As an example, I give to the parish through our Parish Giving program, and because I have worked with their executive director, I just gave a donation to Seeds of Service, a food bank plus more in Brick, NJ. Those are my local charities. I also send money each month to pay for the education of Francis, my “spiritual son” who lives in Uganda. Francis and I correspond with each other, through Yamba Uganda, so it is not just my giving money, but I am part of his life, and he is part of my life. We share stories of our families, how we celebrate the events in our lives.
There is another important charity which I would like to call attention to. How many of you were taught by nuns and/or religious brothers? I know for those of you who have your roots in the St. Casimir side of the parish, you have a long history of the ministry of the Franciscans. These religious women and men gave the best years of their lives for the loving ministry to children, the poor, the sick, and others in needs, and they did so for little to no pay.
Next weekend is the national collection for the Retirement Fund for Religious; if you receive envelops from the parish, you should have an envelop for it in your package. Across the United States, hundreds of religious communities lack financial resources sufficient to meet the retirement and health-care needs of aging members. Many elder religious worked for years for small stipends, leaving a large gap in retirement savings. At the same time, fewer religious are able to serve in compensated ministry. Today, retired religious outnumber wage-earners by nearly three to one. Like many Americans, religious communities face the monumental challenge of funding eldercare.
Again, especially if you were ministered to by members of a religious order, I ask you to prayerfully consider supporting the Retirement Fund for Religious by making a donation next weekend. If you do not have one of the designated envelops, just put your donation in an envelop and mark it “Retirement Fund for Religious,” and leave your gift in the baskets at the doors of the church.
God is calling each and every one of us to “give comfort” to his people.