Wilmot First Presbyterian Church

Scripture: Matthew 2:11

Gifts

To be a “gift” something must be offered without condition. If there are any strings attached it is not a gift, but a payment or a form of currency. Presents are exchanged all year in this country for a number of occasions, but especially at Christmas. The fact that they are “exchanged” however, might indicate that a lot of presents are not “gifts” at all. In that sense, we may not be very good gift “givers”, but we are perhaps even worse gift receivers.

We give to friends, in part, for their friendship and to express our affections. We give to employees for their loyalty and production. We give to our enemies the “cold shoulder” to repay a wounding… We give to the church because… we are supposed to. Perhaps understanding this “gift economy” on some level is what makes the unsolicited gift of a child so special? When a nine-month old child holds out a semi-gummed piece of toast in a debris caked fist to share with you, it may make your appetite leave but your heart is fed and it is impossible not to smile. The honest gift is a thing too rare and a blessing that seems remarkably hard to accept.

To receive a gift with nothing expected or asked in return feels… wrong. Homeless people and beggars on the street need charity, not us! We NEVER want to be that person who can’t or doesn’t repay. Why? We make notes of who sent us cards so we can reciprocate. Does part of you cringe when an acquaintance sends something because now you must then likewise think of a gift to send them? Have you ever been embarrassed because you received a gift of significantly greater value than you gave?

When Jesus sends his disciples out to minister he tells them “freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:8). Those who follow Christ are to be gift receivers and gift givers. This is not an economy of gift “repayment” this is a joyful expression of what they have been given, and not sparingly given at that. Luke 6:38 expresses “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.” When we realize what God has given (freely) to us, and that what is given is too much for the container, it can’t help but spill over. Christ received is Christ shared; strings-free, repayment free, sometimes garbled like the toast in a 9 month old’s hand, but spilling into our world where ever we find ourselves in that world.

The Magi brought gifts to the newborn King without expectation of favor or return on the investment. It was charity, it was love. Their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh are famous, but the real gift is overlooked. Scripture tells us they “worshipped him… then they opened their treasures.” (v 11) The purest gift the Magi brought was not in a chest, but in their chest because at it’s heart, at it’s core, worship is nothing less than the giving of the self, of one’s very life as the original gift to us comes spilling back out. Worship is not “repayment”, worship is spillage of what God has already first given. The Magi did not bring gold as currency, they brought it as part of themselves and God will always accept that gift (2 Cor 9:7). As it will shortly turn out, the gold, frankincense and myrrh will be needed for a flight into Egypt. This was not yet apparent to Mary and Joseph but they accepted this providence of God with no I.O.U’s. The Magi’s camels would be lighter on the return home, but so would the Magi’s hearts. It is ironic and poetic that these men for all their vast sums of money left richer than when they came; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, spilling over.

Prayer: Lord, You alone are the true giver of all good things. Teach us to freely receive and freely give all that we can know of you. Thank you for the gift of life given to us in Christ Jesus. AMEN.

Activity: What holds you back from “spilling” the grace given to you in Jesus Christ? Find one way to bring your faith into conversation today, or share a kindness/charity to someone who can not repay.