Fruit of the Spirit: Generosity

2 Corinthians 9:6-12

February 8, 2015

Mark S. Bollwinkel

 

            In our scripture lesson this morning the apostle Paul is trying to make a point and the point is this: “It’s how we give our money to the church not how much that matters to God.”

When we take our membership vows to uphold our church with “prayers, presence, gifts, service and witness” it means that our giving of time, talent, hands-on mission, prayers and sharing our faith with one another is as important if not more so than the money we give.  But Paul in this text is talking only about money; the financial support of the church’s ministry as been a sign of Christian discipleship. 

How we give it is a spiritual matter first and foremost.  We are not to give money to support the ministry of the church with reluctance, resentment, guilt or obligation.   We are to give our money “cheerfully”; in fact, the word in the original is the root for our English word “hilarious”.

In a UMVIM trip to South Africa in 2003 Bonnie and I worshipped at First UMC, Johannesburg.  The sanctuary was ‘standing room only’ with hundreds of people from all walks of life.  When it came time for the offering, music and drums were played as each and every person there danced to the altar to place in their offering.  It could have been a US $100 bill, it could have been a penny, and it didn’t matter…some folk even made change…we all danced with joy at the opportunity to give.  For our South African brothers and sisters seeing 17 Americans trying to dance in Africa styles was hilarious!

 It’s supposed to make us feel good to give.  It’s supposed to lift our spirits and fill us with purpose and meaning to give our money to something with a mission.   If we find that our hearts are full of doubt and fear when we give money to the church or worse, if we are indifferent in our giving, as if by tossing a $ 20 into the plate we are buying a ticket at the movies, it’s really better to keep that money to ourselves. 

Paul says, “The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

In his book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations (Abingdon 2007) United Methodist Bishop Robert Schnase writes: “People perceive God as extravagantly generous, the giver of every good gift, the source of life and love.  People give because they serve a giving God.”  (Schnase, p. 108-109)

A widow that puts her pennies into the temple treasury “all she had to live on” is praised by Jesus as an example of extravagant generosity. (Luke 21:1-4) As is a prodigal’s father who welcomes home a ‘good for nothing’ son with robes, parties and a hug which the kid did not deserve (Luke 15:11-f).  

It is extravagant generosity that a traitor by the name of Zacchaeus, a collaborator with the Roman occupation, who became rich taking unfair taxes from his own people, meets the unconditional love of God in Jesus and gives it all back, to the poor and those he wronged (Luke 19:1-10).  It is extravagant generosity for a Samaritan who comes to the aid of a crime victim ignored by two holy men along the Jericho road and pays for the strangers’ housing and healing (Luke 10:35).

Paul describes generosity as a spiritual gift, one of the ‘fruits of the spirit’ along with “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22).  The Holy Spirit is at work when we give.

We all know the most famous scripture verse from the New Testament, “For God so loved the world that he gave…”  (John 3:16)   That’s what God does, God gives.

Bishop Schnase writes:

 

“Vibrant, fruitful, growing congregations practice Extravagant Generosity...they encourage their church members to grow in the grace of giving as an essential practice of Christian discipleship and as a congregation they practice generosity by their extraordinary support for missions, connectional ministries and organizations that change people’s lives.” (Schnase, p. 108)

 

Church of the Wayfarer receives significant legacy giving income from former members who remembered us in their wills and estates.   Our Wayfarer Foundation expertly manages our endowments for our outstanding scholarship program for local High School seniors and for certain current expenses. 

Are you aware of the Wayfarer Society?  Note the plaque in the entryway of the church on which are engraved the names of those friends and families that have planned for a gift to our church in their wills and estates.   If you’d like more information about how to become a member of the Wayfarer Society please see me. The extravagant generosity of those who have gone before us continues to carry us into the future.

            Extravagant generosity begins with a commitment to joyful giving of our time, talent and our money.  Extravagant generosity leaps at the chance to make a difference in our world with the resources God has given us to share.

            Bonnie and I participated in a national Alzheimer’s Association convention a few years ago in New Orleans, Louisiana.   One evening the 400 delegates paraded in the streets lead by an outstanding High School band, 100 members, drum major, flag tossers and jazz music as we celebrated the national effort to raise millions of dollars to fight this dreaded disease.  There is joy to be found in extravagant generosity.

Last year, Church of the Wayfarer contributed 100% of its missional apportionments of the California-Nevada United Methodist Conference.   Those dollars helped to rebuild First UMC Napa after the August 2014 earthquake.  They are a part of our “No More Malaria” effort to stamp out that disease in the tropical world.  The United Methodist hospitals, doctors and medical staff in Sierra Leon, West Africa that have played such a crucial role in halting the Ebola outbreak are supported by our apportionment dollars.  Such funds help support the pension and health care needs of our retired clergy.

Yes, we help to pay the mundane bureaucratic expenses of our institutional church…salaries, utilities, program expenses...with those dollars but they also fund life changing ministries here and around the world.  Our Salinas Hispanic ministry under the leadership of Rev. Maria Verdugo, receives such funding as well.   We are a part of an entire system of extravagant generosity.

            It is my intention to nurture Christian stewardship in this church. Bishop Schnase writes; “Stewardship focuses on the Christian’s need to give rather than the church’s need to receive…” (Schnase, p. 112)   Christian stewards don’t wait till the end of the month to see what’s left over to decide what to give to their church; they sit down and prayerfully consider what portion of the wealth God has entrusted to them they will give to the church and its missions.  The IRS says that in Northern California the average charitable giving deduction for a household is just under 2% of adjusted gross income.  Our religious tradition encourages us to reach a tithe of 10%.  But in the end it is not the numbers that matter so much as the heart with which we give. In the end it’s not how many dollars we give but that we spend them as if our money has a mission.

            There is an old Dennis the Menace cartoon depicting Dennis and his father in a church pew as the ushers collect the offering, passing the plates down the row.  During this scene Dennis says to his Dad, “Wouldn’t it be cheaper to buy season tickets?!”  

            There are many demands on our financial life.  For many of us money issues come with stress and anxiety.  Jesus knew this to be true 2,000 years ago when we said:

 

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:19-21)

 

            Jesus knew the hold that money and material wealth can have on our hearts and he sought to set us free.

We worship a God whose extravagant generosity is poured out to us in the life, death and resurrection of the carpenter from Galilee.   Would that we would receive it with joy in our hearts, dancing with gratitude and love for the gift of life itself.  And as a result share all that we have and all that we are with extravagant generosity.

That’s a fruit of the Spirit!

 

Amen.