"Through him, then, let us continually offer a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." [Hebrews 13:15-16]
If you think it's hard shopping for birthday or Christmas presents for your spouse, your parent, or your closest friend, imagine the quandary of finding something to give to the living God! What do you give, after all, to the One who literally has everything and needs nothing?
Well, in a sense, you can't give anything--at least not to God. There's nothing we can give to God that God doesn't already own, that isn't God's by right and by creation already. And there's nothing that God needs, either. God isn't powered by our prayers or fueled by our faith. God doesn't need our money, and God doesn't have any interest in our attempts at making desperate bargains like, "If you let me pass my driving test, I promise I'll go to church for a month straight!" There's just nothing that God needs from us, or from anybody else, that we can offer.
But we are made for relationship with God--and in a sense, that's what God is really after. Not in a sense of neediness on God's part: it's not that God is a lonely bearded fellow sitting on a cloud and waiting for a friend. But rather, God so delights in loving us that God has created us, and has made us to be fulfilled when we are in relationship with God. God so wishes our joy that God has made us to be filled with joy by living in that love--with God, and with one another. So, while it's true that there's nothing we can give God, we can echo back God's love for us in gratitude... in thanks... and in love. We are most fully found when, as the old hymn puts it, we are "lost in wonder, love, and praise." It's not that God is so emotionally needy as to require constant ego-stroking or fawning praise. God isn't some insecure dictator at a podium somewhere, basking in praise and starving for attention. God has simply made us to be fully immersed in joy when we are moved to praise and thanks back to God and stirred to love and care for our neighbor. Like Thornton Wilder says, "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." And once we realize what blessings have been placed in our hands, what else can we do but offer thanks to God for them and then share them with the people around us, who are also beloved of God?
So, rather like that sentiment I have often heard attributed to Martin Luther, it's fair to say "God doesn't need your good works, but your neighbor does." And neither does God need our sacrifices, whether animals from the flock, harvest from the field, or money from our paychecks. God doesn't "need" it--but we can show our appreciation and thanks to God by taking these things and using them to do good for the sake of others. Much like I don't have any need for my kids to give me their toys or other prized possessions, but rather would like them to treat each other kindly all the time, God doesn't need the things we might bring as offerings... but God does want our resources to be used for the sake of others.
The writer of Hebrews is simply inviting us to take that seriously in our daily lives. Rather than thinking God somehow benefits from us killing a calf or a sheep on an altar and then burning it up to offer to heaven, our author points out that the thing God would really value is our recognizing God's goodness and love toward us (which is really what praise is--telling the truth about God's goodness!), and then for us to use what we have been blessed with by God to share with our neighbors. The greatest way to show God your love and praise is to share what you have with the person around you who needs it, and to do good for the neighbors around you who could use some help. In other words, the greatest way to love God is to love your neighbors.
Taking this seriously will change everything about how we "do church," I think. And if our ways of practicing Christianity aren't changed, it will mean we haven't really paid attention to what this passage really is saying. The writer of Hebrews would rather have us use our resources to feed a neighbor who doesn't know where their next meal will come from than to build or maintain a giant albatross of a gothic cathedral church building or erect a religious monument. The writer of Hebrews knows that God doesn't need our flocks, our herds, our harvests, or our paychecks--but we could use our resources to care for the people around us who are hurting or weary. And I think he knows that God doesn't need us to erect statues of saints, towering cross monuments, or ornate buildings to show forth God's glory (or to make a show of our religious positions of privilege, either). Rather, what God would rather we do is to spend our resources on the living temples walking all around us, the bearers of God's own image who are there at work, in line at the grocery store, or in your neighborhood: the other people around us. That way our whole lives become sacrifices offered to God--our words, our possessions, and our actions, all constantly being offered up back to God in love and gratitude.
Today, what will it look like for you to direct your words, actions, and energy in praise of God by showing love for your neighbors? Spend your day that way... and then let's do it all over again on the day after that.
Lord God, we offer your our lives in thanks--turn out outward to give our strength and our love for the neighbors you send our way.
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