It came in a plain brown paper grocery sack...

It came in a brown paper grocery sack, neatly folded with a letter. We took it out and spread it on the floor, colors tumbling all over themselves as it lay in a thirteen foot square… a quilt for the inside of the high barn made of outdoor material. One of our friends, Linda Urquhart, who with her husband had recently visited us, made this beautiful expression of joy as a surprise gift. She named it “The Barn Dance”. We will hang it this week and it will brighten the inside of the barn just in time for our barn dance this Saturday night. Linda and Grant are coming so she will get to see her work of art in place. An extravagant gift, given from a generous heart, created by hand just for us… it takes our breath away.
Generosity is one of the most winsome of the virtues for me. In teaching our children to share, we are really trying to teach them how to be generous with what they have been given. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus used a litany that illustrated the gifts of generosity. Judge not and you will not be judged. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and it will be given to you in the same measure. An open hearted, open handed, open to love spirit is to my mind, the hallmark of a generous soul, one who gives without any thought of repayment.
Sunday morning, World Communion Day, Pastor Pat reminded us that Jesus sat at many tables and shared meals with many people. She spoke of the importance of family meals, meals where we share more than food, where we lay down who we are and embrace those who sit with us to eat bread and sop the gravy off our plates. When Jesus ate with Levi, the reviled tax collector, it was a communion meal, open to all those who were considered to be unclean, unfit, undesirable. In short, it was a table where we have a place saved for us. For none of us, no matter how good we look on the outside, are righteous enough to earn a place at the table. Jesus’ generous heart, his ability to bless and call forth the best we have to offer, caused Levi to turn around his life and can do the same for us. Generosity in all its forms leaves love and warmth in its wake.
Dear Lord, let me be generous this week. Help me to see places and people who need something I can give. Let me give with a laughing heart as I remember the riot of quilt colors that came out of that plain brown bag. Remove the spirit of judgment in my soul and replace it with forgiveness. Help me forgive myself as well as others so that I may come to you with a clean heart and open arms. Amen.