2023 10 01 Sermon
God’s Generosity
Stewardship Sunday
1 Corinthians 16:1-5 & 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 9-15;
Philippians 2:3-11; Matthew 16:21-25
Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
Are people mostly generous or mostly selfish? This question has been debated for centuries. I recently read an article by David Brooks [https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/opinion/human-nature-good-bad-generous.html] about this which noted that in recent surveys of the American public, only 30% “say they can trust the people around them.” It seems that a majority of us regard people as mostly selfish. But then the article describes several experiments where people are “given the chance to behave either selfishly or cooperatively.” Pretty consistently, across a wide range of populations, cultures, and decades about 30% of people behave selfishly. But 50% of people behave generously and cooperatively!
The article did not specify how many people switch between behaving selfishly at times, and generously at other times. But most of us can probably identify times in our lives when we have behaved either way. And St. Paul recognizes this capacity of human beings, that we contain both a saintly side and a sinful side, when he writes in Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus…” In other words, the way we think has a huge influence on the way we live. If we think everyone is selfishness, we will surely find evidence of it. After all, 30% of people behave selfishly in a given situation. And if we think everyone around us is selfish, then we will be more inclined to act selfishly, too. Yet if we look for evidence of generosity, we will also surely find it, because 50% of people behave generously. And when we are thankful for the generosity of others, naturally this will encourage us to be generous, too.
St. Paul recognizes this phenomenon playing out among the Christians in Macedonia, as he writes about them to the church in Corinth: “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” Of course the riches and poverty of Christ are not silver or gold, but something far more valuable—his holy precious blood shed on the cross for our redemption, and his resurrection promises of God’s love, grace, and salvation for today and for eternity.
The reason St. Paul was writing about the generous grace of Christ is because he was collecting a monetary offering among the Gentile Christian churches of Europe, to give to the Jewish Christian church back in Jerusalem. He was organizing this because there was a huge controversy in the earliest years of Christianity: Since Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism, did Gentile believers (that is, Christians who did not have a Jewish background)--did they need to follow Jewish laws and customs, as many early Jewish Christians did, like those in Jerusalem? St. Paul was adamant—while there was nothing to prevent Jewish Christians from voluntarily observing these traditional laws and customs, there was also nothing that required Gentiles (who came from different cultures and backgrounds) to do the same. Both groups were free in Christ to love God and love one another in their differences—because Jesus gave himself on the cross for all.
So, the offering for the church in Jerusalem was both a symbolic statement of faith and unity in Christ, and a tangible expression of the mutual dependence of Christians—that is, the dependence of Christians on Christ and on one another. The Gentile Christians were motivated by their joy and thanksgiving in the generous grace of Jesus Christ, to generously commit some of their limited earthly resources for the good of their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. This way they could all cooperate in their calling to love one another, serve the Lord, and share the gospel in the world. The generosity of Christ provided the pattern of thinking, which in turn had a huge influence on the way they lived out their faith. And that is stewardship!
Jesus has created his church in such a way that it can only thrive—we can only thrive—by humbly cooperating with the Holy Spirit to form the pattern of thinking known as the “mind of Christ” within us. The “mind of Christ”—Christ-like humility—is not about putting yourself down or thinking you are less important than others. True Christ-like humility is about freely, voluntarily demonstrating your concern for others. True humility comes wrapped in a spirit of generosity—like Jesus offered himself for us on the cross; and like those early Gentile Christians offered money to benefit the ministry of their fellow believers in Jerusalem. Christ-like humility and stewardship go hand-in-hand—it’s a way of thinking and a way of living for all aspects of our lives.
That’s why on Stewardship Sunday, which we observe once a year, we focus on a holistic understanding of stewardship. This is what our “stewardship fair” in between services is about. We look at how we use our money. We look at how we cultivate our talents. We look at how we structure our time. And we ask of ourselves: How can I use these good gifts that God has given me so that I can give honor to Christ? How can I honor Christ in my church? In my home? In my workplace? In my school? In my recreation? In my volunteering? Stewardship is about seeking the Holy Spirit’s transforming and renewing power in all of my life.
Jesus summarized what this kind of transformation and renewal look like when he told the disciples [Matthew 16:24] “If any want to become my followers, let them 1. deny themselves and 2. take up their cross and 3. follow me. Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” Jesus teaches here that we gain a meaningful life as we serve God and other people. And to do that, our faith in Christ frees us to: 1. Grow in living by the teachings of Jesus; 2. Do sacrificial deeds of love; and 3. Join Christ in participating in his ministry to the world. These three things are why Jesus created his one Church throughout the world, and they’re why Jesus has called into being this particular congregation known as “House of Prayer”. And what’s more, God has trusted human stewards like us to manage his church—which is another example of God’s generosity—that he trusts us to care for the resources he has provided; he trusts us to make plans for how to use them.
Towards that end, the Bible lifts up tithing as a spiritual goal: to give 10%; to save 10%; and to live on 80%. You see the visual representation of this with my 10 apples over here. The green is for giving, the gold is for saving, the red is for living. Of course, tithing is not a rule or requirement, it’s a goal; you are loved by God and have salvation in Jesus, no matter what! So, you may be in a place in life where you need to give less. Or you may be in a place in life where you are able to give more. Or you may be in a place where you can grow a little bit in your giving and saving year-by-year. Start at, say, 1 or 2 or 3 percent and grow a percent each year. This is the kind of thing that St. Paul was getting at in 2 Corinthians [8:11b-14]. “Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal.”
Also keep in mind that giving in a way that honors Christ is not just about church; it’s about supporting with our time, talent, and money any organization that meets human need that you find valuable. Ultimately, growing in our stewardship in all aspects of life is a way of praising God, and returning our thanks for all of God’s generous gifts. Thanks be to God! Amen.