Year B
June 26-July 2
June 28, 2015
Cross~Wind
Title: Grace-onomics
YouTube Video Idea
The Link: youtube.com/watch?v=_uxDuVn7LJw. Time: 1:50. The
Content: You gotta see this clip. It is way cool. Great graphics, easy to
understand. On-point message.
Going deeper
‘II Corinthians 8:7-15
The theme of II Corinthians 8:1-15 regards the appeal for
the collection. In dealing with the collection, we should note that while
important to Paul, Luke barely mentions it in Acts 24:17, 20:4. Scholars
wrestle with the reason for this difference. Why was it so important? First, he
wanted to provide economic assistance for Jerusalem, even as he did for Antioch
in Acts 11:29-30. Second, it is tangible evidence of the unity of Jews and
gentiles in the Gospel. Third, it may express his missionary theology as
described in Romans 11, showing the success of the gospel among the gentiles in
order to stir up his fellow Jews.
In Galatians 2:9-10, Paul mentions the original impetus for
the collection, stating that when Peter, James, and John endorsed his ministry
to the Gentiles, they asked only one thing: that these new churches remember
the poor of the original church in Jerusalem. In I Corinthians 16:1-4, Paul
instructs the Corinthians to raise the money for this collection the same way
the Galatians were raising their share — by putting aside any extra earnings
they may have had on the first day of every week. Then, Paul promised, when he
returned to Corinth, he would write letters introducing those whom the
Corinthian community chose to take their gift to the church in Jerusalem, and
he even suggested that he himself might consider going along with their
representatives — something which would no doubt be a great honor for the
Corinthian community. However, in one other reference to this collection,
Romans 15:25-32, which may well have been written from Corinth, Paul states
that he is leaving to go to Jerusalem to personally deliver the contribution (koinonia)
raised by the Macedonians and Achaeans (Corinth was there). It is significant
that the term often translated here as “contribution” is the term commonly used
for fellowship or partnership (koinonia). In Romans 15:27, Paul states
his rationale for the collection: “They
[the churches in Macedonia and Achaia] were
pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them [the saints in
Jerusalem]; for if the Gentiles have come
to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them
in material things.” This explicit connection of the monetary collection to
the Gentiles’ spiritual debt underlies Paul’s lengthy appeal in II Corinthians
8:1-9:15.
In 8: 1-6, we find the example of the Macedonians.
II Corinthians 8:7-15 finds Paul encouraging the church at
Corinth to fulfill a pledge they had previously made concerning a collection
for the church in Jerusalem.
7 Now as you excel in everything-- in faith, in speech, in
knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you-- so we want you to
excel also in this generous undertaking. [Paul’s confidence that the Corinthians will come through is
because he sees in them evidence of these spiritual gifts. Paul referred to the
gifts in I Corinthians 12-13. As they excel in these three spiritual gifts, he
wants them to excel also in generosity.] 8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the
genuineness of your love [the theme of I Corinthians 13] against the earnestness of others. [He did not need to command the Macedonians to give nor will
he order the Corinthians to do so. The “love” here is that which lays claim on
us for other Christians. Just as love, in I Corinthians 13, is said to trump
all the other spiritual gifts mentioned in I Corinthians 12, Paul encourages
the Corinthians to finish the offering for Jerusalem as evidence of the highest
spiritual gift of love.] 9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty
you might become rich. [Paul is basing his statement on Christological affirmations like
Philippians 2:6-11, where Christ did not hold on to equality with God, but
humbled himself and became a servant. If this argument does not work, Paul then reminds them that the
earnestness of others resulted from the generosity of Christ. The point is not
to emulate what Christ did, but “Do what is appropriate to your status as those
who have been enriched by the grace of Christ.” He reminds them of their debt
of service in Christ.] 10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is
appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to
desire to do something-- 11 now finish doing it, so that your
eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12
For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one
has-- not according to what one does not have. [Paul now offers counsel around
the theme of goodwill.] 13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and
pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14
your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your
need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15 As it is
written, "The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had
little did not have too little." [Paul concludes by referring to Exodus 16:18. It is
interesting that Paul cites part of Israel’s exodus story as a guideline for
their behavior. Just as God provided manna for the Israelites in their
wilderness wanderings, so God has provided for the Corinthians. In the exodus
narrative, those with excess could not store it away. All the unused manna
rotted. Instead, each had what was needed and nothing more. Paul is not
encouraging the Corinthians to give so much that they go hungry. He is urging
them to give as an earnest sign of their faith in this gospel and as a sincere
symbol of their partnership — their koinonia — with the Jerusalem
church. So, his words in 9:13: “Through
the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the
confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing (koinonia) with them and with all
others.” Paul now introduces a new theme of equality. Purely monetarily
speaking, the one with much should give to those who have nothing. Yet, this
concern for equality echoes back to his explicit statement in Romans 15 of the
Gentiles’ spiritual debt and resonates with his use of koinonia to
describe this collection (Romans 15:26; 2 Corinthians 8:4; 9:13). This
collection is representative of a partnership in Christ. Because the churches
he is now dealing with are part of the Gentile world, it is Paul’s job — while
not insisting that they convert to Judaism before becoming Christians —
nevertheless to introduce them to an Israelite style of social ethic. Paul
cites Scripture as the model for the community in which all are economically
equal. The Old Testament evidence is generally not so clear. Wealth can be sign
of faithfulness. Yet, wealth is also for the purpose of generosity to the poor.
There should be no poor in the people of God because all should realize that
wealth belongs to God and is to be shared among all God’s people (Deuteronomy 8
and 15). Even the land on which the Israelites lived was not their own land,
really. It belonged to God, was apportioned by religious ritual among the
tribes and could not be alienated by them (Joshua 12-21). In this way all
Israelites had an economic safety net in a wide variety of laws that required
that they look out for each other as an extended kin group, and that they
acknowledge that their wealth was not their own, but God’s. Just as the
Corinthians shared today with the Jerusalemites, Paul argued, these Christian
brothers and sisters might one day save them in their own hour of need. Beyond
the mere sharing of economic resources, however, was the issue of membership in
the Christian community. If the Gentiles were to be a true part of the
Christian community they had to be encouraged to hold onto community ties to
the original Jewish Christian community. Just as the Israelite tribes who asked
Moses for permission to settle in Transjordan had first to promise that they
would help the other tribes take and defend the land of Canaan before they
could return and possess their chosen territory (Numbers 32), the Gentile
Christians had to demonstrate to the Christians in Jerusalem that they would be
true covenant partners with them — not abandoning them to poverty or
destruction, but coming to their aid when needed.]
Proverbial Giving: Here are a few
texts from Proverbs about generosity:
Proverbs 3:9-10: Honor
the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with
wine.
Proverbs 11: 24-26:
Some give freely, yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and
only suffer want. A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water
will get water. The people curse those who hold back grain, but a blessing is
on the head of those who sell it.
Proverbs 13:7: Some
pretend to be rich, yet have nothing; others pretend to be poor, yet have great
wealth.
Proverbs 14:20-21: The
poor are disliked even by their neighbors, but the rich have many friends.
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind
to the poor.
Proverbs 19:17: Whoever
is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and will be repaid in full.
Proverbs 22:9: Those
who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.
Proverbs 25:21: If
your enemies are hungry, give them bread to eat; and if they are thirsty, give
them water to drink; for you will heap coals of fire on their heads, and the
Lord will reward you.
Proverbs 28:27:
Whoever gives to the poor will lack nothing, but one who turns a blind eye will
get many a curse.
And from Ecclesiastes
11:1: Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.
(KJV)
Introduction
Writes Levitt, who wrote the
economics book Freakonomics: A Rogue
Economist
Explores
the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: William Morrow, 2005.
“Economics is, at
root, the study of incentives: how people get what they want, or need,
especially when other people want or need the same thing … An incentive is a
bullet, a lever, a key: an often tiny object with astonishing power to change a
situation.”
If the incentive is great enough,
with enough of a payoff in the end, people will go to great lengths to achieve
it. Levitt and Dubner look at a variety of examples in different cultures and
explain how incentives can cause people to do amazing things: for good or ill.
“Freakonomics” is the hidden side of how incentives really work.
Incentives cause people to do
amazing things for good or for ill. Take cheating, for example, which the book
defines as “a primordial economic act: getting more for less.” People will risk
an awful lot if the incentive is great enough. In 1987, for example, 7
million children in the United States suddenly disappeared on April 15. Was
it a massive alien abduction? Hardly. See, before 1987 people were only
required to put the names of their dependents on their tax forms. Beginning in
1987, both names and social security numbers were required for each child
listed. Overnight seven million kids, who had never been kids at all, simply
vanished. The risk of getting caught outweighed the incentive of the tax break.
Incentives can cause a salesman to work harder, or they can cause him to fudge
his numbers to look like he’s worked harder. Incentives can make a top sumo
wrestler throw a match in order to fatten his wallet. Incentives can determine
how a real estate agent lists your house for the quickest sale (incentives
which are likely different from yours).
The bottom line? Incentives are the
glue that really runs our whole economy — we want the best for ourselves
without having to do much for it.
Application
As far as
Paul saw it, there were two main reasons that Corinth needed to remember their
roots and give:
First, those who gave to help them
in their hour of need blessed their
congregation.
When Macedonia had more than
Corinth, they bankrolled the church there. Now Jerusalem was in greater need
than Corinth and it was time to share the wealth. Their abundance was not
abundance as most would define it, especially given the commercial boom of
their trade city. Rather, Paul was appealing to financial comparison.
Regardless of what they had, it was at least more than the Jerusalem church
had. Those who have more than others share with those who have less. Period.
Not many of
us feel rich, especially in these economic times.
Second, we
need to remember our roots in Jesus
Christ.
“For you know the generous act of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so
that by his poverty you might become rich” (v. 9).
Jesus was “rich” according to Paul. He must be referring to
the pre-existent Christ as God and God alone. This Christ gave up what he had —
his indivisible deity — to become what he would forevermore be, both human and
divine. He embodied this voluntary experiential poverty so that our spiritual
poverty could be turned into spiritual richness.
Our
spiritual roots lie in the impoverishment of Christ on our behalf. Paul is
inviting us to think theologically and christologically about giving. It
re-enacts our spiritual story through fiscal action. Paul is reminding the
Corinthian church, not only of how others have helped them in the past, but of
how Jesus Christ himself is the supreme example of the kind of sacrifice to
which Paul is now calling them. How then could they refuse to send an offering
to those in need in Jerusalem?
Paul asked
for money then, and preachers have been doing it ever since. So why is this
necessary? Why do we need someone to meddle with our money? Why do we need to
continue preaching about money and generosity in our churches?
John Wesley confronted the complications that attend
Christians’ work in the world:
I do not see how it is
possible in the nature of things for any revival of true religion to continue
long. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and
these cannot but produce riches.
But as riches increase, so will pride, anger, and love of
the world in all its branches. . . . So although the form of religion remains,
the spirit is swiftly vanishing away. Is there no way to prevent this continued
decay of true religion? We ought not prevent people from being diligent and
frugal; we must exhort all Christians to gain all they can, that is, in effect,
to grow rich. . . . If those who gain all they can and save all they can will
also give all they can, then the more they gain the more they will grow in
grace and the more treasure they will lay up in heaven. (John Wesley, Quoted in
The Christian Century, October 15, 1997.)
You may be hearing me quote from David Brooks for a
while. He has written a wonderful book that has gotten much press lately.
Character is built in
the course of your inner confrontation. Character is a set of dispositions,
desires, and habits that are slowly engraved during the struggle against your
own weakness. You become more disciplined, considerate, and loving through a
thousand small acts of self-control, sharing, service, friendship, and refined
enjoyment. If you make disciplined, caring choices, your are slowly engraving
certain tendencies into your mind. – David Brooks, The Road to Character, (2015) p. 263.
Preachers need to keep doing what Paul did to remind us of
the kind of people God wants us to be. He knew that it is hard to visualize the
need of others unless someone draws us a picture. The phrase “out of sight out
of mind” describes most of our perspectives on our own financial situation.
When one
shakes a rattle in front of a baby, the child may coo with delight. However,
tuck that rattle behind the back and the baby literally thinks it disappeared
forever. Developmentally, babies do not yet grasp object permanence — the idea
that something out of sight still exists. That is why when mom and dad leave
the room, a screaming baby may feel as though they are gone forever.
Most people lack a similar sense of
object permanence with regard to money. The sins of comfort, self-justification
and plain old-fashioned greed cause most of us to forget how dramatically rich
we may be. We treat the needs of others as out of sight out of mind.
To shake up
our financial perspectives a bit, here are some questions we can ask in
connection with this text:
• How would our life be experientially poorer without
Christ?
• At what annual income would we define “rich” and “poor”?
• What percentage of our annual income goes toward needs vs.
wants?
• Are we entitled to fund our wants above others’ needs, and
why?
• What is just one area of financial need to which we can
give more generously?
Despite our financial upbringing,
we all have the same spiritual heritage — rags to riches. Jesus’ poverty on
behalf of our affluence. In that redistribution of spiritual wealth, there is a
foundation for redistribution of actual wealth. We remember our roots and look
to follow Jesus in granting care to the poor from the blessing of our riches.
Conclusion
Here is the good news
First: The good news is that God
blesses us when we give.
Most people who give to relieve the
plight and distress of others report that they feel very good about it. They
feel a sense of spiritual wholeness and satisfaction. When Paul addressed the
elders at Ephesus, he closed his message with a word about giving, and cited
the words of Jesus himself:
“In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must
support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said,
‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’” (Acts 20:35).
Second: When we give willingly, we
provoke the love of God.
Paul explains that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2
Corinthians 9:7). Paul did not want the Jerusalem congregation to feel that
their gift was the result of extortion: “so
that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion” (2
Corinthians 9:5).
Want to be blessed? Want to be
assured of God’s love? Give.
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