Today’s
reading is one example of Paul seeking contributions for the collection for the
saints in Jerusalem.
2
Cor 8:1- 15
We
want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that has been
granted to the churches of Macedonia; for during a severe ordeal of affliction,
their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity
on their part. For, as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their
means, and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the privilege of
sharing in this ministry to the saints— and this, not merely as we expected;
they gave themselves first to the Lord and, by the will of God, to us, so that
we might urge Titus that, as he had already made a beginning, so he should also
complete this generous undertaking among you. 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.
I do not say this as a command, but I am
testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 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. 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— now finish doing it, so that your eagerness
may be matched by completing it according to your means. For if the eagerness
is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to
what one does not have. 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 your
present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need,
in order that there may be a fair balance. 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.”
The message
Today
will be our last week with Paul’s Second letter to the church in Corinth. Next
week, we will start a 6 week series on the strange, complex book of Job. Job would not be my first (or even second or
third) choice of Old Testament books to spend 6 weeks with. It can often be a
challenge to read and struggle to understand but part of the reason behind
changing our readings is to experience the whole history and story of God’s
love and communication with the world
Job has its place in the wisdom books and explores issues that people of
faith still struggle with.
That
will wait till next week. Now, our focus is on the completion of our look at 2
Corinthians. I wanted to review some of what we have experienced so far. Paul had a difficult relationship with the
church in Corinth, one filled with disagreements, mistrust, doubts, competition
with other teachers, harsh words and frustration. Unlike Paul’s loving relationships with the
churches in places like Philippi and Galatia, Corinth is a delicate
relationship where they endure a lot of set backs and lapses in faith. Despite the problems, attacks and failures to
listen Paul constantly proclaims Christ dead and risen for the forgiveness of
sins. Paul condemns the inequality in
the community there, confronts rival teachers and stresses the doctrines of the
church (the resurrection a few weeks ago, original sin last week, the
incarnation today).
In Today’s
reading, Paul asks the church in Corinth for money (I’m sure the people in
Corinth who already didn’t like Paul much, received this well). I wanted to say a little about what this
collection for the saints was and why it mattered so much to Paul. In the early church, money was not given to
the church, it was given through the church.
Through the church, people primarily gave money to those in need and to
care for those who preach the gospel. (Paul often advocated for the support of
ministers but he often refused payments himself and practiced his trade as a
tent or sail maker to survive. Paul argued that workers for Christ should be
compensated, he also feared collecting money for himself would be a significant
obstacle to his work. It would leave him open to the criticism that he was in
it for the money).
Despite
not supporting himself through collections, gifts and people’s offerings, Paul
spent 10 years raising money for the church in Jerusalem (a fundraiser often
called “the collection for the saints”).
The main reason for this was that the church in Jerusalem needed
it. There was a severe famine that hit
the city around the years 45 to 50. This led to scarcity, high prices and a
struggle for anyone except the very rich to survive. Also, like other Christian communities, members
of the church in Jerusalem pooled their resources and distributed them as
needed. In Jerusalem, the number of
people in need was considerably higher than it was in other churches and
cities. Many people from neighboring
cities would go to Jerusalem to retire, when they were no longer able to work
or capable of supporting themselves.
This meant an unusually great number of elderly people, widows and
others in need in Jerusalem.
The
collection effort is successful on many accounts. Paul and others delivery the
funds they raise on multiple occasions. (These visits are recorded in Paul’s
letter to the Galatians and other letters).
For Paul, this collection was not just about addressing a public need.
It
was also a teaching moment, a chance to establish connections between the
Jewish and Gentile communities of Christianity, to show faith in action and to
talk about the incarnation, God’s generosity through Christ.
Paul
does not always have a great relationship with Peter, James and the church in
Jerusalem that he
dedicates over 10 years to this collection for. They were on
opposite sides of what I like to call the first great church fight. At that
time the issue was if you had to become Jewish and keep the law before becoming
a Christian. For Peter and others, the
answer was yes (since they mainly operated in Jerusalem and reached out in
Jewish communities, it was not a big issue anyway. Most people were Jewish
already or at least very familiar with the laws and traditions). However, for Paul and others proclaiming
Christ dead and risen for the forgiveness of sins in non-jewish areas, that
conversion was a major obstacle. It would mean extensive teaching as well as
introducing a whole new culture and way of life, which would be exceedingly
difficult to practice. It would mean spending a great deal of time and energy,
distract from Christ and present a significant obstacle to people’s conversion
to Christianity. (Eventually this is settled when Peter has a vision of God
telling him to kill and eat animals declared unclean by the law and when the
Jerusalem group witnesses the Holy Spirit descend on non-Jewish people just as
it did on them). This collection
connects these two groups and reminds them that, despite their differences,
through Christ, they are now one. As God’s spirit touches all people and God’s
grace extends to all people, so should their care. love and support. Because Christ was born, died and rose again,
things were different.
Paul
refers to generosity or similar terms 11 times in today’s reading. He is
encouraging the people of Corinth to be generous and he uses an example of
God’s generosity towards us. This was
also a chance to teach another theological concept. A few weeks ago, Paul offered arguments based
on scripture, experience, and reason to show that Easter is real, that Christ
is risen from the dead. Last week, we heard Paul express the doctrine of
original sin to remind the community that human brokenness is real, that we are
separated from God and need help healing that distance. That help comes to us by God’s grace. This week, we have the incarnation and
generosity. The incarnation is most familiar to us in the story of Christmas,
when God is born as one of us, when the son, the second part of the Trinity,
takes on a human form, when the mysterious and all powerful word of God takes
on life and dwells among us. To explain Christmas, Paul writes “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”. Although said in the context of asking for
monetary donations, Paul’s words here have very little to do with actual money.
Paul explains that although Jesus, the
second person of the Trinity, had all power, control and the ability to create
or do anything, Jesus is born as one of us, taking on the poverty of suffering,
temptation, and bindings of human life. This
is done as a generous gift to all humanity, an act of love to bring salvation
and a new relationship with God.
Paul
pushes the church at Corinth, if God would do this for you, what should you do
for each other. That is the challenge for each of us today. We are invited to think seriously about what
God has done for each of us and then how we should respond, how we should use
our resources, advocate for policies, and make decisions. We are also invited
to hold each other accountable, to ask what is done is with the resources
entrusted to us and what happens to the things given through the church.
No comments:
Post a Comment