Thomas J Parlette
“Giving, or Giving Up?”
Deuteronomy 26: 1-11
3/9/25, 1st Lent
There was once a father and son who went to a spring training baseball game at the beginning of Lent. The Dad asked his son, “What are you planning on giving up for Lent?”
The son thought for a moment and so – “I was thinking about giving up candy.”
“I see – good idea.”
“What about you Dad – what are going to give up for Lent?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking a lot about this, and I think I’m going to give up liquor.”
The son nodded his head, as if to say, ok then, good choice Dad.
Later during the game, a vendor came by selling beer and peanuts. The Dad ordered a beer and a couple of bags of peanuts. As he handed a bag to his son, the little guy said, “Hey – I thought you were giving up liquor for Lent.”
“Yes, son, I am – hard liquor – this is just beer. It doesn’t count.”
“Ok,” said the son, “then I’m giving up hard candy.”
That’s the way we usually approach Lent – a time for giving something up. This past Tuesday, we celebrated Shrove Tuesday with a pancake and sausage supper, because years ago it was common to give up such pleasures as meat, eggs, sugar and butter for Lent – and pancakes and sausage meet a lot of those criteria. Until recently, it was quite common, especially for Roman Catholics to give up meat on Fridays during the lent and have fish instead – which led to the tradition of some pretty epic fish fry’s during the season.
So how did we end up in this situation of “giving something up” for Lent?
Well, you have to go back to the early years of the church when Lent was a time of fasting and penitence. The 40-day period (mirroring Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness) was seen as an opportunity for Christians to spiritually discipline themselves, often through the denial of physical pleasures – like food and sweets and alcohol. Over time, the idea of “giving up something” extended beyond food and came to include personal luxuries, habits or activities as an act of sacrifice and self-denial.
In our modern times, for those who still feel compelled to give something up – we usually give up things that aren’t good for us anyway, or that we shouldn’t be doing in the first place. Like giving up chocolate, or alcohol, or salt, smoking, fast food, snacking between meals or that 4th coffee from Caribou – yea, I’ll give that up for Lent. Or we say we’re giving up gambling, swearing or complaining for Lent – all things we probably shouldn’t be doing in the first place.
But today’s text from Deuteronomy presents a different perspective. Rather than giving something up in this holy season, today’s text from the Torah, as it’s known in Judaism, emphasizes the value of giving in Lent. Giving – not giving up.
The text does this by way of a discussion about bringing the “first fruits” of our material harvest to the Lord.
The last few chapters of Deuteronomy, meaning “second law”, are essentially Moses last reminders to the children of Israel concerning God’s expectations for them, and his expectations as well. Most of what’s found in Deuteronomy, we’ve heard before – it’s a little like Moses greatest hits. Or, as I’ve described the book to our confirmation class – think of it like Moses Presidential Library. All the highlights, all the key documents are preserved here. It’s a bit like a commencement address, or even Randy Pausch’s famous “Last Lecture.” In this case, Moses is reminding us of the importance of giving – not giving up. He addresses the importance of the “harvest of first fruits.” In practical terms, it is a ritual of giving.
The practice of offering first fruits is outlined in several parts of the Old Testament, particularly in Exodus chapter 23, Leviticus chapter 23 and Numbers chapter 18. The Israelites were instructed to bring the first portion of their harvest to the Lord as an acknowledgement of God’s blessing. “The choicest of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.”
So what are “first fruits?” In the ancient agrarian society of Israel, the first fruits were the earliest and best portion of the crops harvested at the beginning of the season. The offering was typically from grains, fruits and sometimes livestock. This act demonstrated that everything belonged to God, and the Israelites were merely stewards of God’s blessings.
These acts of giving are similar to what happens in neighborhoods all over the United States toward the end of summer. Your neighbors bring over some produce from their garden. They give you some good looking zucchini, rhubarb or squash. They don’t usually give away bags of soft tomatoes or a bushel of rotten apples – unless they don’t like you. They want you to be impressed, to think well of them, so they bring you the good stuff. That’s the first fruits, even though it is toward the end of the season.
And that’s what we do in Lent – we give our best.
Usually we approach Lent as a time to get things up, deny ourselves something, usually with the goal being self-improvement, rather than community improvement or the betterment of others. That’s the difference. Giving up smoking or fast food or chocolate benefits you and hopefully your waistline. There’s nothing wrong with that of course. But what if we concentrate on giving instead – or maybe even in addition to – giving up something. What if we seek to contribute to the common good. What if we lived by this text’s example the ritual of giving, infusing the act of giving with meaning by remembering how profoundly we have been blessed, and how miraculously we have been redeemed. Moses, in a way, creates a liturgy of sorts, when he says “When the priest takes the basket from your hand, and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, you shall make this response.” What follows is an ancient version of a litany, with reminders of their former condition:
They were homeless (A wandering Aramean was my ancestor…)
They were immigrants (lived there as an alien…)
Their suffering in Egypt (treated us harshly and afflicted us…)
They held out their hands for salvation (we cried to the Lord…he brought us to this place and gave us this land.)
It is a template for what it means to be the people of God. The act of giving, or making an offering, is at its core a communal act, involving not just the individual, but also the priest and the entire assembly. The offering concludes with communal rejoicing, emphasizing the importance of shared worship and gratitude.
Usually we talk about this during the fall stewardship campaign, but Lent is also an appropriate time to talk about the practice of “first fruits” – bringing our best in service to God. Not just giving up things – but giving as well.
Let me share a couple of quick stories and examples of what some churches do to replicate the ritual giving we hear about here in Deuteronomy:
1. A large church in southern California provides housing to more than 500 people each night, free meals to families, after-school programs and foster care intervention. Their mobile food trucks go out into the community. (1)
2. Another church in California has various outreach programs that include free medical and dental clinics, food distributions and services for the homeless. They also organize neighborhood cleanups and home repairs for the elderly and disabled. (2)
3. A church in Florida has created an innovative “Community Makeover” program where the church partners with local organizations and volunteers to complete large-scale renovation and beautification projects across several neighborhoods. They focus on helping revitalize schools, playgrounds and parks, making a lasting impact on the physical and emotional environment of the community. (3)
4. In New Jersey, there is a congregation that has developed something called “Lunch Break” – a community initiative where church volunteers cook and serve free meals to local homeless individuals every week. They also offer counseling, spiritual support and guidance regarding job placement, addiction recovery and housing. (4)
5. There is a church in Minnesota that has focused on community restoration through “Community Engagement Sundays,” where instead of holding regular worship, members go into the local neighborhoods to serve. Activities include gardening, home repairs, street cleaning and hosting neighborhood block parties to build trust and relationships with residents. (5)
6. And in Texas, there is a congregation known for its large-scale disaster relief efforts, especially after Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The church mobilized to provide food, shelter and rebuilding services, partnering with other faith-based organizations and local authorities to serve thousands of people affected by the hurricane. (6)
The list could go on and on, the point is that these creative and innovative programs involve giving and giving back – bringing out our best to the Lord for the betterment of others. And when our giving flows out to assist others in need, we find ourselves better for it as well – what did Jesus used to say, “Lose your life to find it.”
This text from Deuteronomy is a good reminder of the value of giving during the Lenten season. It’s a text that urges us to give God our first and best, even as the Israelites gave the first portion of their harvest.
During Lent, we are tasked not only with giving God our best, but also trusting that God will always provide. When Israel brought their first fruits, they were implicitly saying that they knew God would provide more in the future.
So, this Lent, let us remind ourselves that there is more to this season that giving things up. Lent is also about giving. Bring our first fruits with grateful hearts, recognizing that everything we have comes from God.
May God be praised. Amen.
1. “A caring church for caring times”, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church website, stmartinsepiscopal.org.
2. “Hope downtown.” Hope Community Church website, hopecc.com.
3. “Passion for God; compassion for people.” Water of Life Community Church website, wateroflife.org.
4. The Parish of Christ Church.” The Parish of Christ Church website, Christchurch.woodburynj.org.
5. “Transforming lives.” The Dream Center Website, dreamcenter.org.
6. “You belong here! Let’s do better things.” The Crossing Church website, wearecrossing.com
