Today's sermon is about the grace of giving - and both texts we heard speak of giving - of giving to the poor and the needy amongst us.
Moses, speaking to the people of Israel just before they enter the promised land gives them this message:
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the Lord God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.
Oh what nasty words these are at first glance!
How often we hear them today - some four thousand years after Moses first spoke them.
However,giving is a painful thing for a lot of people. There is not a lot of grace in it for them, nor do they do give gracefully.
There seems to be just too many demands, too many hands out, too many collectors who totally ignore the needs we have and the fact that they are coming to us as but one more person in a long line of people.
What is a person to do about it? Where will it all end?
The biblical answer at first glance seems to be small comfort.
Both Moses, and Jesus tell us that there will always be poor people in the land. And then Moses goes on to say "therefore I command you, be openhanded toward the poor and the needy in your land".
Where is the recognition of our needs in this? Where is the grace of God for us? Why must we be the givers?
I suppose some will say
"we must be the givers, because we have so much. We have a responsibility to share because we have homes and cars and food and others do not"
and there is truth in this... there is great truth in it - but there is not much grace in it.
It makes our giving a matter of duty, of obligation, of command, and quite frankly this kind of giving is a pain in the neck.
Admittedly giving by command meets needs, just as taxes meet needs of the government, but all too often it doesn't do anything for the giver, except leave them staring at their wallets and their receipts and wondering who will be the next one to ask for my money.
There is very little grace in this kind of giving, and it is the grace of giving that I want to communicate today, grace - not only to the recipients of our giving, which is always there, but grace for the giver as well, the grace in the giving.
The Macedonians at the time of Paul were an interesting lot.
Paul speaks of them when writing to the Corinthians and reminding the Corinthians of their promise to support the starving Christians in Jerusalem.
Paul says how surprised he was by the Macedonians and their response to the needs of the church in Jerusalem.
One gathers from reading the text that Paul had refrained from asking the Macedonian Christians for a donation to the cause.
They were persecuted, under severe trial, and suffering from extreme poverty, yet Paul writes, they had overflowing joy, a joy that welled up in rich generosity, and they gave as much as they were able to give, even beyond their ability, and further they had, entirely on their own, pleaded with Paul for the privilege of sharing in this service, they had, in other words, thrust their giving upon him, asking that they might have a part in the "grace of giving".
That is a different kind of response than the one that is often heard by a collector of alms and tithes - the response that goes "I gave at the office".
Paul explains it by saying that the Macedonians, before doing anything else, had given themselves to the Lord and his service; and then, having done this, they made themselves available to the needs that they thought God wanted met, the needs that Paul had spoken of.
The lesson is clear: the grace of giving arises out of the grace of dedicating oneself to Christ first and foremost and allowing his will to shape one's actions - the will of the one who, for our sake became poor so that through his poverty we might become rich.
Let me explain this with a story I heard from a friend:
A clerk in a shoe store in the United States witnessed this event one day. He stated:
One day I noticed a little barefoot boy standing by the hot air register outside the bakery shop next door trying to keep warm. I wasn't sure if I should invite the boy into the store or just what to do with him, when a middle-aged lady came by and began to talk with him. About five minutes later, she brought him into the store and bought him new shoes and a pair of heavy woollen socks.
I then overheard the boy ask the lady a question. "Are you God's wife?", he asked. Her reply was, "No son, I'm just one of his children.", to which he said "Well, I knew you must be some kin to Him.". He quickly thanked her and ran out the door.
The grace of giving arises out of knowing that we are one of the children of God.
It arises out of knowing that we are safe, we are cared for, that Jesus is watching over us and leading us.
It arises out of knowing that not only are we the children of God, children for whom Christ died and rose again, but that all other people, are also children of God, and that we can be for them, the healing hands of God, the giving hands of God, the comforting hands of God.
I said earlier there is very little grace in giving out of duty, little grace in giving in accordance with command, and this is completely true.
The abundant grace of giving arises out of knowing that you can make a difference to someone in need, out of knowing that you can help others, as God has helped you.
It arise out of love for your brothers and sisters, and out of your love for God, and out of God's love for you.
And miracle upon miracle - when you give graciously, openly, freely, you also receive.
What goes around, comes around, and it multiplies grace upon grace.
Moses, commands the people to give to the poor, saying:
"Give generously to the poor, and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to."
I may have told you the story before of the woman who had a hard time of life.
She had many problems, she always felt anxious and worried about herself, her children, her husband, her house, and her world. She had sought help in several places, but no one could assist her with her problems. Finally, in desperation, she went to a minister and asked him to counsel her. He listened to her story, then told her that he would gladly help her out, but first, she would have to do something for him - would she be willing before they met again the following week - to act as a homemaker and companion to an old, lonely, and crippled lady in his congregation. All she would have to do is help her clean up a bit, cook her supper, and visit with her during the next five days.
She willingly agreed, so desperate was her need, and went off. The following week she returned to the minister for her counselling session and he asked her to tell him how things were in her life. She replied that she really didn't know why she was there - that Mrs. Smith needed her that afternoon, and besides, her problems really hadn't caused her any trouble all week.
The grace of giving...
God does command us to remember the poor and the needy, he does ask us to offer our tithes and first fruits in his service, he does order us to remember the widows and orphans, the oppressed, the lame, and the blind.
But God does not command us to do these things regardless of their effect on us, God does not command us to do these things to impoverish us.
Rather God does so to enrich both us and the world that needs us to be God's hands of comfort and healing.
Paul interprets God's will and intention in this regard to Corinthians by saying:
"Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed; but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what others need; so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need."
And he adds about the gifts that they choose to offer, the gifts that will show the sincerity of their love for Christ:
"If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has; not according to what one does not have."
The Macedonians had very little, but they gave from it, perhaps even more than they should have given, to help others who were as hard pressed as they, and they counted it a joy to do so.
They believed that it was what Christ wanted them to do, and they believed that Christ would watch over them and take care of them as they watched over and took care of those whom he placed upon their hearts.
They counted it as a grace to give, and because of that they received grace as they gave. May His name be praised day by day. Amen.
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