Dunbar United Church of Christ - December 13, 2009

I. I was walking out of a Chinese restaurant with a friend and he found a twenty dollar bill -- right there on the floor as we walked out the door. We said “Woa!” He picked it up and we both looked at it -- like it was a gift that fell out of the sky. And he said, “Look! Twenty dollars! God just gave me twenty dollars! Right?”

But he thought a moment and said: “I guess someone lost this and I really don’t feel good taking it.” So he took it to the cashier and explained what happened and said, “If someone comes looking for it, please give it to them, and if they don’t, you keep it.”

II. That was just a little incident -- it was over in a minute. But our day is made up of hundreds of these -- we make decisions constantly. Maybe we’re not even aware of how many times in a day like this we will make decisions that will affect our spiritual health.

It’s like food. When we’re hungry we eat. We can eat a dozen donuts, or a spaghetti dinner and salad. Both of those will fill us up pretty well -- but we’ll probably feel better if we cut out the donuts.

III. It’s the same with everything we do. We can be mean and nasty to others, or we can be kind. Maybe kindness doesn’t come easy. Well -- it wasn’t easy for my friend to give back that twenty dollars either. Just because something isn’t easy doesn’t mean it’s not worth the effort.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul said, “Let your gentleness be known to everyone.” It’s not easy being gentle, patient and kind when you’re having the worst day of your life. But if Jesus is our guide -- and I hope he is -- the effort is worth it.

IV. When John the Baptist told people to repent, they said, “What do you mean, "Bear fruits worthy of repentance?” And he said, “It’s not complicated. If you have two coats and someone doesn’t have any -- give them one of yours. Share your stuff. If you have health insurance and someone doesn’t, make sure they do -- even if you have to help pay for it. If you have a home and someone doesn’t, then help them. And if you’re going to say something mean -- just close your mouth and stop the poisoned words before they slip out and do their damage. That’s what repenting is.

And look at Jesus -- all through the day. Practice looking at him. Jesus in our thoughts, our words, our actions -- that’s what repentance is about. That’s what Christmas is: we carry Christ with us, like Mary did -- everywhere -- and eventually, we give birth to him in our actions.