Unexpected Gifts
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | September 1, 2024
Click here to listen to the service
Read: James 1:17 – 27 (NIV)
The irony is not lost on me that my first Sunday back in the pulpit after my sabbatical is the day before Labor Day.
Now, Labor Day became a legal holiday back in 1894… it began as a way to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers during a period of time when working conditions were less than optimal. Obviously, that is not the case here.
However, these days, many people simply see the Labor Day holiday as a time to rest from their labors… to enjoy the unofficial end to summer and kickoff the back-to-school season with cookouts, parades, and of course, the infamous Geauga County Fair.
Resting from one’s labors… what a novel idea. That had actually been my plan for my time away from the church this summer, but God had something else in store.
And that brings me to the subject for today’s sermon: UNEXPECTED GIFTS.
Before we get to the text, there is one verse from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans that I want to share. It took on new meaning this summer as our family navigated through a few challenges… and that verse is Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Had I not been on sabbatical, it would have been much more difficult to be there for Mom… so it really was an UNEXPECTED GIFT that worked out for good… because I had the time available to do everything that needed to be done… even if it wasn’t quite how I had planned to spend this summer.
Now, the other day, I was going through some old notes I had saved in my phone, and I came across something that I had seen on Facebook a couple of years ago. It seemed rather fitting in light of how things transpired over the course of the past three months.
I am not sure who originally posted it on Facebook or who to give credit to for writing it… so I will just have to make an assumption that it should be attributed to that most prolific of writers, Author Unknown. And it goes like this:
Have you ever noticed how in the scriptures men are always going up into the mountains to commune with the Lord?Now, in sharing this piece with you this morning, just know that I mean absolutely no disrespect to the men in the room or on the phone.
Yet, in the scriptures we hardly ever hear of women going to the mountains. But we know why — right?
Because the women were too busy keeping life going. They couldn’t abandon babies, meals, homes, fires, gardens, and a thousand responsibilities to make the climb into the mountains!
I was talking to a friend the other day, saying that as a modern woman, I feel like I’m never “free” enough from my responsibilities, never in a quiet enough space that I want with God.
Her response floored me, “That is why God comes to women. Men have to climb the mountain to meet God, but God comes to women wherever they are.”
I have been pondering on her words for weeks and have searched my scriptures to see that what she said is true. God does indeed come to women where they are, when they are doing their ordinary, everyday work.
He meets them at the wells where they draw water for their families, in their homes, in their kitchens, in their gardens. He comes to them as they sit beside sickbeds, as they give birth, care for the elderly and perform necessary mourning and burial rites.
Even at the empty tomb, Mary was the first to witness Christ’s resurrection. She was there because she was doing the womanly chore of properly preparing Christ’s body for burial. In these seemingly mundane and ordinary tasks, these women of the scriptures found themselves face to face with divinity.
So, if — like me — you ever start to bemoan the fact that you don’t have as much time to spend in the mountains with God as you would like. Remember, God comes to women. He knows where we are and the burdens we carry. He sees us, and if we open our eyes and our hearts, we will see Him, even in the most ordinary places and in the most ordinary things.
-- Author Unknown
But it really spoke to me in a profound way as I pondered the UNEXPECTED GIFT that I had been given to see God’s hand at work and to have so many prayers answered throughout these past days, weeks, and months.
And while I did not have the opportunity to go up to the mountaintop or even steal away to the beach for that matter… I can truly say that God did meet us in ordinary places as we were doing ordinary things… and for that I am grateful… talk about UNEXPECTED GIFTS.
Now as we turn our attention to our New Testament lesson for this morning, the text comes from the book of James… who was one of Jesus’ brothers. As a whole, this book could be considered a “how-to” book on Christian living.
In it we find encouragement to put our faith into action… because while it can be all too easy to say we have faith… true faith is best demonstrated through the acts of loving kindness that we gift to others.
With that as our foundation, I want to invite us to listen to the opening verses of our text again, this time as they are found in the New Living Translation:
Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession. (17 – 18)What an UNEXPECTED GIFT we have received… to be chosen by God… to be given His true word… to become His prized possession. Not because of anything we have done to earn it or deserve it… but simply because God loves us.
Paul said it like this in his letter to the Ephesians (2:8 – 9), “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
God loves us just that much… that we have been given the gift of salvation… “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Truly an underserved and UNEXPECTED GIFT.
Now, as I was preparing for this week’s sermon on UNEXPECTED GIFTS… I thought about an invitation to a special event that I had recently received from a younger person. I was particularly struck by the wording on the invitation, “We are graciously asking for monetary gifts from our friends and family as we begin our new journey.” It then listed all of the ways that the gifts could be given… cash, gift cards, Zelle, CashApp, Venmo, or ApplePay.
Now, I am rather old-school when it comes to these things… however, part of me thought about the fact that the straightforward request does make it easier than trying to figure out what gift to get for someone… it takes all of the guess work out of it for the giver and ensures that the receivers get exactly what they want… and all without the hassle of creating a gift registry on Amazon or at some other retail establishment.
And not only that, it also significantly decreases the chances for the gift to simply be “re-gifted.”
But then I started to think about the good and perfect gifts that God gives to us… there really is no guess work involved. And we do not have to tell the Giver the best ways to give us the gift… or even where to go to get the gift.
And contrary to popular belief… when God gives us a gift… it is perfectly acceptable for it to be re-gifted… to bless someone else as we have been blessed… to put feet on our faith so to speak by doing loving acts for others… for example as James says, by looking after “orphans and widows in their distress…”
At the heart of our text for the morning is the repeated encouragement to look to God’s Word for guidance and direction… to not only listen to the word but to also do what it says… to obey God’s command. And what does God command you might ask…
When an expert in the law asked Jesus which was the greatest commandment,
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments” (Matthew 22:37 – 40).Love God and love the people of God… period… full stop.
That is how we re-gift the UNEXPECTED GIFTS we have been given… by loving others even as God has loved us. It really is not rocket-science.
We are called to care for orphans and widows… for the homeless and hungry… for the sick and imprisoned… for the lost and the left-out. And we are also called to care for our families, our friends, our neighbors, and yes, even strangers.
And there is no shortage of opportunities for us to do that… whether it is volunteering at the local hunger cupboard… donating food and other non-perishable items for the bin in the narthex or clothing and other items for the shed in the parking lot… sending cards, making calls, or visiting with those who are sick and shut-in… we can spread the UNEXPECTED GIFT of love with others.
And let me just say this… it is never too late for us to start… the time is now.
In the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “…the time is always right to do right” (Speech given at Southern Methodist University on March 17, 1966. https://www.smu.edu/news/archives/2014/mlk-at-smu-transcript-17march1966).
Sometimes we get caught up in the false notion that we have to have our lives in perfect order before we can reach out to help someone else… that we have to clean up our own act before we can do anything for anyone else. But that is simply not the case.
God is ready, willing, and able to use us just as we are… right where we are. God knows what we have done… what we are doing… and what we will likely be doing in the future… but God calls us anyhow.
For just a moment or two, think about the people Jesus called to become His original disciples… part of His inner circle. For example, there was James and John who tried to get seats of honor and glory for themselves (Mark 10:37).
Then there was Thomas who had more than his fair share of doubts (John 20:25).
And let’s not forget impetuous Peter who denied Jesus, not once, not twice, but three times (Luke 22:61).
And yet, Jesus used each of them, flaws and all… which ought to give us hope because that means we do not have to have it all together to be able to serve the Lord… and obey His command to love.
In fact, Romans 5:8 says that “while we were STILL sinners, Christ died for us.”
While Lamentations 3:22 – 23 says, “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”
One of the most UNEXPECTED GIFTS we have been given is knowing that God loves us not only at our best… but also at our worst… even when we are at our lowest… God’s mercies… God’s compassions… will NEVER fail… they are new EVERY morning.
That means we get to start over with a clean slate each day because God is just that faithful… and that is definitely an UNEXPECTED GIFT that is worth sharing with anyone and everyone.
And with that thought in mind, I want to invite us to stand now and join in singing our Hymn of Discipleship: Great Is Thy Faithfulness #86 Back
