This Generous Undertaking
A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday After Pentecost
June 30, 2024
The Rev. Robin Teasley
As you excel in everything-- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you-- so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something-- now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has-- not according to what one does not have. I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Many of us may have been taught that there are three things we are not supposed to talk about in public. The three things are money, religion, and politics. Apparently, the Apostle Paul was not familiar with this maxim, or maybe he just ignored it, because in our reading from his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul is not afraid to talk about these things.
In the verses just before our reading today, Paul tells the people of Corinth that the church in Macedonia, those good people over in Philippi, had given financially, abundantly and beyond their means, even in a time of great affliction and poverty. In other words, their stewardship campaign was a great success! The reason Paul is even mentioning this is because there was a problem in Corinth. The collection that he had anticipated from them had not yet materialized. It seems that some of the Corinthians were withholding their financial support. The year before they’d been eager to give, but now their eagerness and their giving had waned.
Paul helps the Corinthians understand how money and religion are connected; connected in the way God intended, not in the way today’s society often sees it, and not in the way that televangelists use guilt to manipulate giving. Paul’s ask is a lot like when there is a natural disaster, and we contribute to the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund. Paul was imploring all the churches to send funds to Jerusalem, where there was extreme poverty, and Corinth was lollygagging. They needed a little encouragement!
Paul doesn’t say that his words are a commandment, or that the people are required to give in order to be included in the body of Christ. Paul doesn’t suggest that things would go better with them if they only gave more money.
Instead, Paul writes to them about grace. He reminds them of the gospel story, and he tells them about Jesus. He reminds the Corinthians who they are and grounds their generosity in the Incarnation. “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.”
Paul then asks the Corinthians to excel in this generous undertaking along with Christ, along with the other Christian communities. The Greek word Paul uses for generous is charis, and it’s used a number of times in this text, although it’s translated in various ways – as privilege, generous, and grace. It can be enlightening to read through this passage, substituting the word grace for these other words.
In this instance, Paul is teaching that giving financially, is a means of grace, a way that we can share God’s grace with those in need. I imagine that Paul would say that the sharing of any of our God-given gifts becomes a means of grace for others; that all of us participating, and contributing what we are capable of sharing with one another is what makes the kingdom visible.
And this is how Paul brings politics into the conversation. Or at least it sounds like that to us. When we hear with our 21stcentury ears phrases like “it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need,” some think it sounds like socialism. And when Paul quotes from Exodus concerning the manna God provided in the wilderness saying, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little” our political minds may begin to fear too much government control over our hard-earned wealth.
But this was not Paul’s intent at all. He was not speaking of human kingdoms but of God’s kingdom. Paul was reminding the people from where all wealth originates, and from whom all blessings flow. He was proclaiming that all that we are and all that we have is pure grace, privilege, and generosity from the God who longs to give us everything so that we might share it with one another.
This suggests that generosity, this charis or grace, is not a calculation in which we weigh what we are giving up against what we gain. It’s not about what we want or think we deserve in return for making ourselves available to the work of God’s kingdom. Rather, it is a mark of our identity in Christ. When we are baptized into the One who is a perfect self-offering, we take on that self-offering, that generosity, as part of our identity in Christ. It becomes who we are, a generously giving member of the body of Christ.
Faith-filled generosity of time, talent, and treasure is a sign of a people who know the gospel, who remember who they are, and who are determined to share in the life that Christ so generously offers. Followers of Jesus are generous in all things.
It can be a challenge to calculate our income and expenses and create a balanced budget. The greater challenge is about becoming who we are called to be in Christ, it is about creating a balanced life which sets aside time to join in the work of the kingdom. That might look like a generous pledge. It might also look like serving on a ministry team, setting up coffee hour, singing in the choir, or teaching our children.
The Vestry is in the process of putting together a survey to hear how we can better pour the grace God has given us into the many ministries here at St. John’s and into our ministries in the surrounding community. Look for the survey later this summer and let us know your thoughts for making the best use of our resources, of the generous grace we have received.
During our Sabbath time this summer we are pausing to rest and recalibrate, to observe which ministries are working well, which ones might need some attention, and which ones might need to be lovingly retired. Sabbatical time is a good time for this different pace of work, helping us to slow down, in order to better hear God’s desires for our lives and for the life of the parish. Slowing down to look and listen gives us space to notice – are we still energized, are we tired, are we frustrated, are we hopeful, are we excited, are we listening to God’s dream for St. John’s?
We have been given grace upon grace through Christ. May we take some time to reflect on this grace as we have received it in our lives, and then think about the ways our own offerings to God are filled with this grace that blesses others. May we also excel in this generous undertaking.
Comments
Post a Comment