“Come and Be Fed … with Generosity”
Pentecost 5B (Lect. 13)
July 1, 2012
2 Corinthians 8.7-15
“Now as you excel in everything … so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.” The “generous undertaking” that Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians is the collection for the church in Jerusalem. When Paul had been given the green light to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ to non-Jews by the leaders of the church in Jerusalem, they asked him to do one thing: remember the poor. Responding that he was more than glad to do so, Paul is now reminding of the Corinthians’ promise to do the same, and he is not above a little flattery to accomplish it. There is a famine in Jerusalem and the Jewish Christians are suffering. The Corinthians had expressed an earnest desire to alleviate the suffering, but they hadn’t acted on it.
To get them off the dime, or denarius if you will, Paul is also not above a little Grecian rivalry. Earlier in chapter 8, he mentions how the church in Macedonia, the province to the north of their own Achaia, has stepped up to the plate. Though the Macedonians have gone through horrendous afflictions, they’ve been incredibly generous in giving to the collection. Even so, Paul makes it clear that this reminder of the Corinthians’ promise is not a command but an invitation. However, the invitation is delivered with another reminder, that their lives are to be lived as ones for whom the generous love of God has been poured out upon them in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. In other words, Paul tells them that we know God’s grace is real when we participate in generosity.
Interestingly, Paul tells them that he is not asking them to be like Jesus, who gave up everything for us. Rather, Paul uses the story in Exodus of God’s gift of manna to the Israelites in the wilderness, a story we are living with as a congregation this year, that there is a balance between abundance and need. “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” We’ll explore more of this story on July 29.
For today, however, there is more. Beyond the obvious purpose for the collection, to alleviate the hunger of the Jerusalem church, there is the opportunity for the Corinthians to show solidarity with their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters. The Jerusalem church has shared abundantly the message of the gospel with the Corinthians and now the Corinthians have the opportunity to share abundantly of their blessings, to excel in generosity. They were building bridges by excelling in generosity.
What is ironic is that the gentile Corinthians are providing food for the tables of their Jewish friends, tables that those who still follow the Jewish dietary laws prohibit them from sharing. They are giving money for food that they wouldn’t be allowed to eat! Last week, when I told you about my falling out with Bob, I told you he is a generous man. That’s an understatement; Bob is so generous that he sent a campaign contribution to Dale, a member of another political party; Bob and Dale are about as opposite politically as you can get, but Bob respected Dale so much that he sent him a contribution anyway. Talk about building bridges with generosity!
Several years ago in my previous congregation, I was approached by “Frank” who had heard about a church that was giving money away to some of its members and wanted to do the same at ours. There were only three rules to follow: the money belongs to God, not you; the money is be used to further God’s work in the world outside the walls of the church; and those accepting the money had to come back in 90 days and report what God had done in, with, and through them.
Some people who came forward that day knew exactly what they would do with the money; some didn’t know but knew God was calling them to do something; some donated their money to a worthy cause; some invited others to join with them in a project; and some used the money as seed money to grow their funds. We called it the Talents project because it was based on the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Many wonderful things happened: the money was multiplied; the number of people involved grew; and people were helped all over the world. But one of the coolest happened when some of the money was used to buy material for a quilt project at the local Catholic school. The community was abuzz because Lutherans were giving their money away to Catholics. Bridges were built through excelling in generosity.
God wants us to excel in generosity, not out of guilt but rather out of gratitude for what God has done for us. It is up to us who have been given much to make sure that those who have little don’t have too little. In order to open us up to the excellence of generosity, we are going to do our own Talents Project here at Grace. However, we are going to call this the Generosity Project based on this passage from 2 Corinthians. So, I’d like 10 volunteers to step forward to accept $50 each to invest in God’s world outside the walls of this church, following three simple rules: the money is not yours; use it to further God’s work in the world outside of Grace; and come back in 90 days to share with us how God worked in, with, and through you.
The rest of you aren’t off the hook in this Project. First, pray for those who have accepted the mission and, where led, participate with them in their project. Second, look for ways that God is calling you to be generous, especially to those whom you might not associate with; in other words, build bridges through generosity.
Let us pray: Good and generous God: you have graciously fed us through your Son, Jesus. Guide those who have stepped forward today as they seek to feed those in your world. Help us all to see those places where you are inviting us to build bridges with generosity. Amen.
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