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Live faithfully, serve joyfully, and give whole-heartedly!
Anonymous Donor
“Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them; for then you have no reward from
your Father in heaven. So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be praised by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be
done in secret; and your Father who sees you in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:2-4).
Jesus challenges us to give faithfully in secret. After the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expanded His challenging teachings with a clear picture of what it meant tolive faithfully, serve joyfully, and give whole-heartedly.
It seems that within our relationship with our Heavenly Father, there is a sacred trust and reliance in generosity; both God’s generosity towards us, and our generosity towards each other. Can you think of an experience when someone trusted in your generosity, or you relied on theirs?
Back in January 1990, my husband Jim worked late to finish a project. The day was brutally cold. The temperature - a life-threatening minus twenty degrees. It was about 6:30 p.m. when he hurried out across the dark, deserted parking lot to his Honda Civic. Turning the key in the ignition brought a sickening silence. Jim realized he’d left his headlights on that morning and ran the battery dead.
No cell phone to call for help. He shoved his cold hands in his pockets, fingers working to find his office key so he could get back inside to warmth and a telephone. There was only lint in his pockets; he’d locked himself out of the building. That was one desperate moment.
How fortunate that someone drove up the street just then. Someone who saw Jim stranded, slowed down, and called from his car window “Hey, do you need some help?” That person not only started Jim’s car, he may have saved his life.
We don’t know his name. This rescue wasn’t broadcast on the 10 p.m. news, but it was very needed help, generously given and gratefully received with Jim’s (and my) wholehearted thanks. To this day, through the gift of this stranger, we see an angel of mercy, and a reminder of God’s love, that seeks us out to save us.
The teachings of Jesus always confounds worldly thinking. We expect to be acknowledged and rewarded for our giving. It’s good business practice. Stadiums are named after major corporate sponsors. College campus buildings are dedicated to donors. Attention is drawn to the giver, and the giver’s generosity. Once in a while, you see someone remains an anonymous donor. Notice how by doing that, attention is diverted from the giver to the gift!
This year, we all have the chance to be anonymous donors.
The Stewardship Team came up with an approach to giving that is straight from the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 6. During our stewardship drive, January 21 to February 7, we will be invited to make financial pledges to support the coming year of ministry at Maple Grove Lutheran. As in years before, we will record our pledges on cards. What’s different this year
is that our cards will remain sealed in envelopes, our pledges known to only God and ourselves. In the fall, your pledge will be mailed back to you as a reminder.
In doing so, we enter the spirit of Matthew 6, to honor a sacred, unspoken trust, between God and us, to faithfully respond to God’s abundant generosity towards us, with a life of generosity. Maybe you’ll see how that gift touches someone’s life, but probably not. God often works in hidden ways. But we can trust that what is given in secret, God will make known as a blessing in someone’s life.
Blessings,
Pastor Chris