2^nd April 2011

Rev Dr Max Champion at St John's UCA Mt Waverley Sunday 27 March 2011

Lessons -- Psalm 111; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15; Luke 18:18-27

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift! (2 Corinthians 9:15 NRSV)

This ecstatic utterance concludes Paul's exhortation on being generous.
Gentile Christians in Corinth are to give money for poor Jewish Christians in Jerusalem in a spirit worthy of God's gift in Christ.

Paul tells them that, if they realise what they have been given in Christ, they will gladly give money to their struggling fellow Christians. Drawing on the proverb which says that 'Those who are generous are blessed'
(Proverbs 22:9a), he urges them to give with a cheerful heart -- not in a dutiful, grumpy or resentful manner. Why? Because everything they do, including giving money for the poor, should spring from gratitude to God for the supreme gift of 'grace' (charisma) in Christ.

We often think of 'grace' as God's blessing on whatever we do -- a reassuring sign of acceptance which doesn't demand much of us. But in Scripture God's grace is the active power that restores flawed human beings to communion with God and each other and sets them on the path to a radically different way of living. In Jesus, God's grace is experienced as a calling to costly service of God and other people.

God's grace, as Paul puts it, prompts us to use our resources 'for all kinds of good work' (v8). In response to what is said elsewhere about 'being justified by the immeasurable riches of God's grace through faith in Christ Jesus' (Ephesians 2:7), we are to be generous in our support of those in need, within and beyond the Church.

To know God's grace is to be propelled into a life of self-giving service.
When it comes to using our possessions and wealth, 'grace' is very demanding! In Luke Jesus is very blunt. He exposes ungenerous hearts and grudging spirits of those who pride themselves on their spiritual, moral and financial integrity.

Not that Jesus regarded wealth itself as evil. He 'never speaks of dangerous wealth, but of rich people who are in danger' (E Schweizer, The Good News According to Luke, p286). Money is to be enjoyed as a gift of God (Ecclesiastes 5:19). As well as dining with the poor, outcasts and notorious sinners, Jesus feasts at the table of the wealthy. It is not inherently sinful to have great wealth.

At the same time, he does not mince words when the wealthy misbehave!

* The Poor Widow (Luke 21:1-4) with her sacrificial gift is praised, while the pious rich are criticised for sham displays of generosity.

* The Rich Fool (Luke 12:15-21) who is self-absorbed in his quest for security is described as 'a pauper' in God's sight.

* The Rich Man (Luke 16:19-31) who ignores the poor man at his gate while he feasts, forfeits his claim to God's mercy.

* The Rich Young Ruler (Luke 18:18) who is serious about his faith and asks life's critical question: 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?', is more concerned about his religious security than the call to respond to God's grace in a spirit of generosity. He 'lacks one thing' (v22a). He must 'sell everything and give the proceeds to the poor' if he is to experience 'eternal life' (fullness of life). No ifs, buts or maybes! His lack of generosity disqualifies him from the joys of the Kingdom of God.

This does not mean that every follower of Jesus is called to 'sell everything'! Jesus sees this man's spiritual problem. He is so concerned to justify himself (according to the law) that he is blind to the demands on him of God's grace. Sadly, he turns away, his great wealth more vital to him than 'treasure in heaven' (v22).

He is not the only one with this problem! Jesus goes on to warn all whom God has blessed with riches that they can be distracted from their true
vocation: to glorify God and be generous to those in need. That is why he says (in a wonderfully grotesque image) that 'it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God' (v25).

Still wealth itself is not the problem -- pre-occupation with it is!
Often, without realising it, wealth is the means by which we measure our worth, status and power. It is tempting to rely on our goodness and financial assets for a sense of worth and status, particularly in an age when human well-being is often measured solely by economic wealth.

Our enjoyment of wealth and pleasure in sharing it is greatly enhanced when we see the connection between 'material riches' and the 'riches of grace in Christ'. Both are gifts of God! But if in fact material wealth is more important to us than the riches of grace, we won't see the true nature of God's gift in Christ and our calling to use our gifts generously.

Indeed there is a danger in how we often think about 'stewardship'. In stewardship campaigns, it is easy to focus solely on the need of the church -- like any organisation -- to obtain money for ongoing expenses to maintain the property. We can forget that, as Paul says elsewhere in Corinthians, our primary reason for being is to be 'servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries' (1 Corinthians 4:1).

A steward was responsible to the master of the house. 'It is not expected that a steward should exercise his own authority . . . ; it is expected that he should do his master's bidding, and be trustworthy in looking after his [master's] affairs.' (CK Barrett, The First Epistle to the Corinthians, p101.) So, being 'servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries' means, first and foremost, being entrusted to preach, teach and embody the Good News. That means declaring in words and deeds that, in the incarnate, crucified and risen Christ, the mystery of God's love for flawed people and our strife-torn world has been supremely displayed.

In relation to the use of our material resources, 'stewards' are required to be generous in giving themselves (including our money) to those in need from a deep sense of gratitude for the gift of God's grace in Christ. We are also required to support the Church's ministry and mission so that the communities in which she is set will hear about the mysteries of grace.

To live like this, as Jesus says to his disciples, is to rejoice in the knowledge that we are 'saved' (v26) from the desire to measure our worth by material wealth and/or goodness. The fact that God can fit a camel through the eye of a needle is a sure sign of the mystery and power of God's grace -- to the wealthy and the poor alike! Christ's ministry among the unrighteous, the afflicted and the dying is proof that what is impossible to us is possible to God.

No wonder Paul's breath is taken away: 'Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift' (v15). What God has given us in Jesus' entire life and death and resurrection -- his reconciling grace -- is so momentous and beyond our understanding that it cannot be adequately expressed in words.

In similar vein, Charles Wesley (Australian Hymn Book 50 v5) strains to say what cannot be said:

The depth of all-redeeming love
what angel tongue can tell?
O may I to the utmost prove
the gift unspeakable.

Generous, sacrificial giving is not optional! Our life, as Paul says, is 'enriched' beyond measure (v.11) because we don't have to worry about own spiritual worth or material security.

As 'stewards' we are free to be generous with our money, time and prayers to support our brothers and sisters in Christ -- particularly when they are facing hardship or persecution. We are free to support ministries at St John's that nurture worship and preaching, Christian discipleship and pastoral care. We are free to support Asylum Seekers, theological students in Myanmar, victims of natural catastrophes and human evil, sufferers of depression, cancer, and more. And we are free to encourage one another to challenge politicians, business leaders and entrepreneurs who appeal to our greed, our envy and our desire for material security so that they can make huge profits.

On this Commitment Sunday, as we consider our financial support for the various aspects of Christ's ministry and mission at St John's, we must be mindful that it is only on account of the unsurpassable grace of God in Christ that flawed human beings, like you and me, have been called to participate in this Christian community. Once we see the extent of God's generosity toward us in Christ, we are 'saved' from justifying ourselves by our goodness or measuring our worth by material wealth or thinking that the future of the parish depends on our fund-raising efforts.

We are free to be generous in Church and community without drawing attention to ourselves. We are called to point away from ourselves at St John's to the costly, life-giving grace of God in Christ. So, we are delighted to join Isaac Watts (AHB 258 v5) in singing:

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were an offering far too small:
love so amazing, so divine
demands my soul, my life, my all.