A few people have asked me to share the message I delivered at New World Church on March 18th. I'm certain the version in church was slightly different, but here's what I wrote.
March 18, 2012
“Pine Trees and Cactus Seeds”
(2 Timothy 4:17) Dear God, please stand with me and strengthen me so that the message might be preached fully through me and that all who are present might hear. In Jesus’s Name. Amen. (I’d like to lift Jonathan and Beth Sutton and their new baby Micah. And let us remember Jasmine Moore & Trayvon Martin and pray for their peaceful rest and remember all those who grieve any loss that they may find comfort and strength.)
Grateful for this moment and for those who have come to worship with us today.
I’d like to read you something:
(From my Baptism Certificate) Be It Known that Tracie Jeanette Rivers (who most of you know as Tracie Jae), child of Tinard James Rivers and Sallie Marie Dugat-Rivers born on January 8, 1973 in Houston, TX having been presented for holy Baptism; and her parents and sponsors having confessed their faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and therefore accepted as their bounden duty and privilege to live before this child a life that becomes the gospel, to exercise all godly care that she be brought up in the Christian faith, that she be taught the Holy Scriptures and that she learn to give reverent attendance upon the private and public worship of God, and having promised that they will endeavor to keep this child under the ministry and guidance of the Church until she by the power of God shall accept for herself the gift of salvation and be confirmed as a full and responsible member of Christ’s holy Church, was this day baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and is now enrolled as a preparatory member in St. Paul’s UMC in Port Arthur, TX - Pastor Nathaniel Humphrey and witnessed by Mr. Herbert & Mrs. Joan Alfred on March 18, 1973.
When Pastor Johnson put out the preaching schedule and said I’d be on it – neither he, nor I realized it coincided with the 39th Anniversary of my Baptism. But here we are. No coincidence. No happenstance. No roll of the die . . . Just the Holy Spirit in action. A reminder that if we are open to the Spirit – the Spirit does respond.
New World has been on a daily reading plan since the first of the year called “I Choose Life” which began with John 10:10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” We’ve been invited, as we read, to choose life – abundant life. Here we are 78 days into the year and 78 day into the reading and today’s assigned reading is Luke 6:38 – “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Can I be honest? In truth, I've been holding a grudge against this scripture for a long time. We normally hear it during the offering moment and usually it's followed by now give me your money. Like it’s a stick up. It gets a rise out of people. Makes them feel a certain kind of way.
So when I read through the list and discovered that this particular passage was the reading for the day, I was a little sad. I know, that's not what people expect to hear. We expect the person who is bringing us the message to be excited about the news they are charged to share.
I felt intimidated by this scripture. It seemed everyone in church knew it by memory except for me. The church would erupt in unison and I was sit silently looking around for other faces that looked as confused as mine. Besides that, although I could visualize something being pressed down, shaken together and running over . . . I didn't fully understand what it meant.
Maybe all of you know what it means already, but in case you don't - let me explain. There was a time when you would take your sack with you to market and the merchant would fill it for you. The grains or whatever would be literally pressed down to make room, shaken together to remove the air and filled to capacity. . .sort of like what would happen if cereal companies filled the box to capacity rather than weight.
Hope that helped.
The other thing that bothered me about this scripture is, frankly, that it starts with the word Give and it seems to me, the first time I heard this verse, was during a time in my life when I really didn't feel like I had anything to give.
Can I tell you that we always have something to give? Can I also tell you that sometimes the reason we don’t give is because we aren’t aware of what we have. Everything you need is already in you or at your disposal. (That’s for me – Tracie Jae – everything you need is already in you or at your disposal.)
Let me be clear that this is not a message about tithing. Although, certainly tithing is one way we give. This message is about giving exactly what has been given to us.
The more I read this Scripture, the more it sat in my spirit, the more I started to appreciate what it says. Give and it shall be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.
In the translation of the Bible that I was working from, this Scripture was in a section subtitled – Rules of Kingdom Life and it begins at verse 27 with this first instruction – “Love your enemies – do good to those who hate you”
I don’t know about the rest of y’all, but I could pretty much stop reading right there. That’s a pretty tall order. All last week, we focused on Forgiveness. . . . Again – by no coincidence does this message on giving follow forgiveness.
Have you noticed what word is at the heart of the word Forgiveness? GIVE
At the heart of everything God asks us to do – giving is the central theme. We’ve got to get better at giving.
In fact, too often when we hear Luke 6:38 spoken – we hear it in isolation – out of the context of the other instructions that precede it.
Verse 35: But love your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return
Verse 36: Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful
Verse 37: Judge not. Condemn not. Forgive.
And then in verse 38 – a summation: If you do these these things – When you do these thing - If you GIVE – When you GIVE – it will be given back to you – not just in a small amount but in abundance.
Some of us don’t struggle with giving at all. For some of us – it’s WHAT we give that is causing the problem.
We willing give criticism, aggravation, attitude, back talk, judgment, gossip. We willing give each other a hard time, a piece of our mind, the front of our hand and the cold shoulder.
And then we wonder why life sucks a little bit. If those are the things you’re putting in your sack, then those things are getting pressed down and shaken together and they are running over.
I heard it said more than once, but I think most recently it was Clarence (Pastor White) who said – the things you feed – grow; the things you starve – die. That’s simple logic.
I like simple logic. I was raised in house where simple logic was the rule of thumb. If it rains, you will probably get wet. If you can find the car, you can get in the car.
And my personal favorite – you can’t grow a pine tree from a cactus seed.
What you put in – is what you get out.
Now I know there is someone in the room right now thinking – But I’m doing everything right and my life still sucks a little bit.
Press pause right there. Not any of us is doing everything right. And even in the off chance that you are the exception to the rule – things do not bloom outside their season. It may simply not be your season. “Do not grow weary doing good.” You will be held accountable for your part. Another piece of simple logic from my father – you can only control the fool driving your car. What good does it do you to stop doing good?
You stopped because you got tired? Because no one else was doing good? Because it was too hard? So you quit? Who will be held accountable for your quitting but you?
If you are in that place right now – the place where you feel like you have given all you have to give and you haven’t received anything in return – I’d like to invite you to do something simple –
Inhale.
Now exhale.
Now inhale.
Now exhale.
The fact that you are able to do that – says it’s not over. Yesterday, New World conducted the Homegoing service for a beautiful young woman – 20 years old who was preceded in death by her mother and aunt. The grandmother has now buried her only two daughters and now her granddaughter. One day you will take your last breath. Until then – keep going. Until then – keep giving.
Let’s try simple giving exercise.
Look at the person next to you and smile.
That simple act of giving – comes back to you in multiple ways:
1. Makes you more attractive
2. Changes your mood
3. Relieves stress
4. Boosts your immune system
5. Lowers your blood pressure
6. Releases endorphins, natural pain killers & serotonin: nature’s dope
How hard was that? And it cost you nothing.
If in fact, this exercise was difficult for you because you are just not in the place where you want to smile at someone else today – then I invite you to start with yourself. When you get home – or even before leave here today and look in the mirror and smile at yourself.
If, on the other hand you’re sitting there thinking – oh – that was easy and you want to stretch a little more. Later today, not while we’re all here watching you – say something kind to someone completely out of the blue.
Tomorrow, do something for someone that they aren’t expecting.
Later, expand your giving to a service project – increase your sacrificial giving – donate your talents to a worthy cause.
We are planting giving seeds. And as with all things we plant – we plant with expectation. We aren’t planting and then hoping nothing grows. . . that’s just silly.
At the same time – people who plant, know that not everything we plant grows in the way we want it to – every time. Sometimes things aren’t planted in the right place. Sometimes they get choked up by weeds. Sometimes the birds get them before they get to be plants. Sometimes they look great, but aren’t well rooted. And then there those moments when the depth, nurturing, environment and planter are all in sync. And we plant a pine tree and a pine tree grows. Same is true of cactus . . .if you plant that – it will grow too.
(When I was a little girl, I wanted to plant a garden in the backyard. I was easily fascinated by a lot of things. A snake ruined that experience for me – and I’ve really aspired to a planted garden again. Instead, I rather plant seeds in hearts.)
Not one of us is immune from giving because each of us has been given unto. And to whom much is given – much is required. And as long as God continues to give you breath – which is a manifestation of His grace – they you have the obligation – the duty – the requirement – to Give.
The greatest commandment we were given is to love. And we can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving.
