I don’t know about you all, but when I was a little girl, I always looked forward to the day when the Sears and JCPenney Christmas catalogues came in the mail. The first moment I had some free time, I would get out a pen and some paper, I would turn to the toy section, and I would flip page by page making a list of the toys I wanted that year. I would do the same thing on my birthday. Of course, there was never a big catalogue to go through around my birthday, but I would make my list anyway. Of course, we all know it’s a lot easier to make a list of what we want than it is to try and figure out what to get for someone else.
I remember when I was about 8 or 9, I was trying to figure out what to give my sister for Christmas, I thought it would help if I knew what I had given her the year before, but I couldn’t remember. So I just went and asked. My sister’s response? “I don’t remember, but I probably didn’t like it.” Do you struggle to come up with the perfect gift each Christmas for the special people in your life? It can be tough, but here’s an even more important question: what do you give Jesus on his birthday? This question brings us back to the meaning of Christmas, and it forces us to keep the focus on what Christmas is really all about. Because Christmas is not our birthday, it’s Jesus’ birthday!
So, how do we change the overwhelming focus of Christmas from materialistic self-indulgence to giving Jesus what he desires on his birthday? How can we make it less about us and more about Jesus? What can we possibly give to the Lord of the universe? I mean, if it’s hard to figure out what to get for our own family, how could we possibly figure out what to give the Messiah? Fortunately, though, we don’t have to figure it out. It turns out Jesus liked to make wish lists to, and he did just that as recorded by Matthew in our gospel reading for this morning: “I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me. I was naked and you gave me clothes to wear. I was sick and you took care of me. I was in prison and you visited me.”
When Jesus spoke these words to the disciples, they were absolutely befuddled. For two years they had been with Jesus virtually 24/7. They had followed him everywhere he went, they had listened to him teach, and watched him heal people. But they had never seen Jesus in any such situations. He might’ve had sore feet, or been a little dusty, or tired, but Jesus was never hungry, or sick, or naked, and at this point, he had certainly not been imprisoned yet. What Jesus was saying made absolutely no sense to the disciples.
But then Jesus clarified what he meant: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” In other words, we can’t separate our relationship with God from our responsibility for other people. And what we do or don’t do for other people; we do it or don’t do it for Jesus. Really, it couldn’t be more clear. This is what Jesus wants from us on his birthday, and everyday, that we would love and serve other people in the same way that he loves and serves us.
In first John we are told that evidence of our salvation involves helping other people with their physical needs. “We know that we have passed from death to life,” the letter says, “because we love one another. Anyone who does not love remains in death.” And, “if anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or a sister in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us love…with actions and in truth.” We serve God when we serve others. Simple as that. We give to Jesus when we sacrifice of our time, talents, and resources to meet others’ needs in his name. The church is the body of Christ, and that’s why Jesus has asked these things of all of his disciples!
Throughout Jesus’ earthly ministry, he wanted his followers to know that they were responsible for feeding the hungry in their midst. Think about the famous feeding of the five thousand. It had been a long day, and the disciples were ready to send the crowds away to find food. But Jesus said to them, “You give them something to eat.” Pretty amazing. God creates miracles through the resources that you and I hold in our hands; David’s five smooth stones, Moses’ staff, the widow’s oil, six jars of water at a wedding reception, another widow’s two small coins, and a boy’s lunch of five pieces of bread and two small sardines! These are the resources that miracles are made of! It’s not really that Jesus’ asks a lot of us on his birthday, but that we simply be willing to offer to his service what we do have.
“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” the disciples answered.
“But we are living in the greatest recession since the Great Depression,” we might say today.
“But you don’t understand, Jesus, we simply don’t have the resources.”
“But, but, but…” It’s time for us to commit to losing our big buts! Jesus needs the five loaves and two fish we have in our hands, no matter how little it may seem. And here’s what’s really awesome about the whole thing. Jesus takes the gifts we give him, he blesses it, multiplies it, and then gives it back to us to give to others! This is Kingdom Economics 101! Our willingness to obey Jesus and give to him what is in our hands and in our wallets can literally mean life or death for hundreds of thousands of people around the world. Our willingness to obey Jesus and give to him what is in our hands and in our wallets can literally mean life or death for hundreds of thousands of people around the world!
For example, one child dies every minute from a malaria-related cause that can be prevented by appropriate preventative measures and treatments, all at a cost of less than $10 per person. The United Methodist Church has a program called “Imagine No Malaria.” We are one of the top three organizations in the world fighting the scourge of malaria, and in just the past the years, we have cut the number of malaria-related deaths in half. Our goal is to end deaths related to malaria by 2015. Tomorrow evening at our Christmas Eve service, you will have an opportunity to contribute to this important cause through our Christmas Eve offering. 100% of what you give will go to the fight against malaria. I hope you will all be prepared to give generously to Jesus on his birthday! For “whatever you have done for the least of my brothers and sisters, you have done for me.”
Jesus began his public ministry in his hometown of Nazareth by boldly declaring his mission statement: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The gospel is good news for the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. And if it is not, then it is not the gospel! Also, keep in mind the poverty, in the deepest biblical sense, is any kind of brokenness that keeps people from living in the fullness of humanity that God intends. Many of us born into the blessings of a first-world economy are blind to our own spiritual poverty. Have you ever thought of someone as being poor precisely because of his wealth and material comfort?
Yet, our indulgent celebration of Christmas itself has become a clear sign of our spiritual depravity. We have lost touch with the celebration of our Savior’s birth, and as a result we are destroying the very relationship that Jesus came to make possible! Can you imagine the birthday celebration if every Christian in every church committed to give an equal amount of what they spend on themselves to Jesus Christ as well? We can easily change the world if we are willing to celebrate Jesus’ birthday in a way that honors him! When we acknowledge Jesus as Lord, we give him the rights to define our lifestyles, our values, and yes, even the way we celebrate his birth! We do not exist for ourselves; we exist to be the hands and feet of Jesus in the world. If we are not doing that, we are not being the church
At Christmas we celebrate a Messiah, a Deliverer, who was born to die. And we too are called to give ourselves along with Christ for the world that God loves so much! It is to be more of Jesus and less of us. More for Jesus and less for us. And you know, the more of ourselves that we give away, the more abundant our faith and our happiness with what we do have.
There are people all over the world and in our own city and neighborhood—so many people whom Jesus loves and calls us to care for in his name. When we give to others, and focus less on ourselves not only is our faith strengthened and our lives blessed, but you can bet your bottom dollar that giving to the poor, the broken, the lost, the lonely, the hungry, the sick and imprisoned will make Jesus smile on his birthday!
How can I say this? It comes down to Jesus’ specific gift request: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers [and sisters] of mine, you did for me” or “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.” We serve Jesus by serving those in need. It’s as simple as that! It’s so simple that Jesus even pointed out that many righteous people won’t even realize what they had done. Jesus said, “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?”
It’s so funny that it can be so hard to find gifts that will please certain family members or friends—the people who seem to have everything—and yet it is so clear what the Lord of lords and King of kings wants for his birthday. God wants you and me—our time, our talents, our treasure, our love—used in service to others for the transformation of the world!
Shall we give him what he wants?
