On Sunday I told the congregation about the rule about preaching that I learned growing up. I didn't learn it in seminary. I learned it at the dinner table on Sunday when we sat down to enjoy this week's roast beef and talk about church that day. Sooner or later my dad would start talking about the pastor's sermon and he'd add, "The pastor was talking about money again today."
I would sit there wondering how a sermon based on the healing of the blind man or the parable of the sower had anything to do with money. I never figured it out, but I did learn a rule that has served me well for 36 years as a preacher: "Never preach about money."
Since I was preaching on the lesson from II Corinthians 8,however, I decided that the time had come to break that rule. I preached about money.
In that lesson the Apostle Paul was writing to the Christian community in Corinth to ask them to complete the collection they had started taking up some time earlier. The money was not for Paul. It was a collection for the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem, a persecuted and poor group of believers who needed the help that the wealthy Gentiles could give. Paul had promised James, John, and Peter that he would take up such an offering, and he wanted the Corinthians to do their very best as a show of solidarity with the Jewish Christian community back home.
In this passage he spells out four basic principles to guide them in their giving, and I want to summarize them briefly here for our benefit as 21st Century givers.
First, when we give, we give REGULARLY. That principle actually comes from the end of I Corinthians, but it is basic to his understanding. He instructed them to set aside money "on the first day of the week" for this offering. Doing this on the first day of the week accomplished two important goals. First, it linked the act of giving with the worship of God's people. Giving money is an important response we can give to the Word and the Sacrament we share each week. We should never have a worship service without providing people the opportunity to give an offering. Second, it reminded them of the resurrection of our Lord, which took place on the first day of the week. What Jesus did for us by dying and rising from the dead is the ultimate motivation for all giving.
Second, we give PROPORTIONATELY. That means we give from what we actually have, a real percentage of what we have available to give, and we choose what that percentage should be. The Old Testament "tithe" is not a New Testament principle for giving. Some of us may never be able to give 10% of what we have, while others can afford to give a much higher percentage of what we have. There is "fairness" in giving when all givers agree to give this way. Figure out what percentage of your income your customary offering actually is, and then set your "growth giving goals" based on that starting point.
Third, we give WILLINGLY. We do not give just to pay bills, and we certainly should not give because we feel guilty or afraid of some unspecified consequences. We give willingly in that we give out of our faith, hope, and love, not out of coercion. And when we begin to forget why we are giving, the decision to give becomes an act of the will and keeps us doing the right thing because we have chosen to do so willingly.
Finally, we give CHEERFULLY. The verse "Go loves a cheerful giver" comes from this same letter. We should feel good about giving to advance God's mission in the world. Our giving helps change people's lives and strengthens people's faith. Sometimes it feeds the hungry and provides shelter for the homeless. When we give our gives cheerfully, it affects others around us and encourages them to give generously as well. Cheerful giving is a product of a grace-filled heart.
In addition to spelling out these principles, I made some important comments about the funds we will be receiving soon from the sale of the property of St. Mark's Church in Ridge. I expressed two cautions. First, we must not use these funds to carry out projects we would normally take full responsibility for ourselves. Doing that would be, in effect, taking that money and giving it to ourselves. My second caution is to remember where the money actually comes from. It is not like winning the New York State lottery. It is a gift from the people of St. Mark's who gave up their life as a congregation after fifty years of worship, witness, and service in Ridge. They paid off their mortgage, and we are recipients of the legacy of their sacrificial giving over five decades. We should not say, "Now I can cut my pledge because the church has a new source of money," like some Christians do. On the contrary, we should honor their sacrifice by INCREASING our own personal giving in a spirit of matching sacrifice. By doing that the legacy will grow, and many more will share in the blessing.
So there it is. I broke the rule. But it never was a good rule, was it?
I wonder if anyone wants to add a comment here.
ReplyDelete