I have often described Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve as “tourist” days for churches. I don’t mean this in a negative way; what I mean is that who is in church depends on who is hosting the festivities for the day. And, in our usual practice of commodifying everything, we are always concerned about the numbers. The first thing people ask is “Did you have a lot of people there?” It has always been my firm belief that the health of a congregation cannot be judged by the crowds on the “big” days; our health should be judged by who is there the Sunday after and how much we do for the people around us all year long.
I think the same can be said for our generosity. Giving that free turkey you got from Giant or Kroger to a family in need at Thanksgiving is fine, I guess; giving to the local food bank in the middle of winter is better. Calling your mom on Mother’s Day is expected; calling her on a day of loss is better. People aren’t just hungry one week a year, and mothers don’t miss us on some made-up Hallmark holiday (more commodification); everyone has needs all year round, and helping doesn’t just matter on days signified on the calendar as special. Giving out of guilt or to please the expectations of others does help, but it doesn’t truly show where our hearts are.
I think this may be why Jesus dismissed those who got angry at His incessant Sabbath breaking. “The Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath” (Mark 2) was, I think, His way of pointing out that caring for people in need was more important than personal piety. Generous people give when there are needs – that is, all the time – while stingy people give when they feel they must give. Or for tax purposes. Or to maintain their membership in some group. Generosity is a lifestyle, which is why, I think, we speak about being good stewards in church. We aren’t just generous when we have more than we need; true generosity is a part of who we are every day. It comes as naturally as our heart beating. Life is far too short to be lived like Scrooge.
Where is your heart? Are you a spare change kind of person, or give from your heart kind of person? Do you pledge your generosity all year, or just when NPR won’t stop nagging you? We define ourselves by what we do when no one is looking, not by when we are in the spotlight. Words matter; what we do matters more. Where is your heart?
Prayer – Help our hearts to grow three times larger, just like the Grinch, so others can be blessed by what we do for them. Amen.
Today’s art is “These Three Remain” by Paul Hilario.