“How do you like my hat?” asked a young wife innocently as she preened herself in front of the mirror.
“It looks silly,” said her tactless husband. “Why don’t you return it?”
“Oh, I can’t return it,” was the reply. “You see, it’s my old one. But since you don’t like this one, I will go buy another one.”
This little joke opens our minds to parts of St. Paul’s writings that we often overlook. Paul is known as the great theologian. His letter to the Romans is the backbone of Christian thinking about God; or at least Protestant thinking about God. He delves into deep and complex issues. We also know Paul as one writing answers to questions from the churches he founded, Paul giving advice on matters. But we often overlook Paul’s coercive writings. We see that in what we read today from 2 Corinthians and we also see it in his letter to Philemon.
At issue in what we read today is this collection Paul is taking for the saints in Jerusalem. No one knows exactly what this collection was about. Paul refers to it in any number of his letters. Sometimes he calls it a ministry, or a collection, or for the saints, or for the poor. What we do know is that some time before Paul was being questioned by the church leaders in Jerusalem – probably the remaining disciples of Jesus and a couple other leaders – about his ministry to the Gentiles. They come to an agreement about things and among those things is this collection. Perhaps the collection was to help with a famine or to help the desperately poor in Jerusalem. Perhaps it was something like we would call mission support – an offering to support any number of ministries that cannot sustain themselves. Whatever the case, Paul was regularly raising money from the churches he helped found and that money was intended to go to Jerusalem.
Quite likely the Corinthians were the wealthiest among all the churches Paul founded. And just to their north in Macedonia were probably the poorest among the churches Paul founded. Central to the Macedonian territory appears to have been the church in the city of Philippi. As you know we have a letter Paul wrote to them in our Bibles. These poor Christians appear to be the most generous supporters of Paul. Whenever you read Philippians you can’t help but feel Paul’s warmth of spirit toward them. I don’t think it was just because of their generosity. I think they just had a good relationship with Paul.
You can even hear Paul praising them to the Corinthians in what we read today, “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 afflictions, 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 [or grace] of sharing in this ministry to the saints…”
The Macedonians in their poverty seem excited to have something of value to contribute to this overarching ministry of aid that Paul is organizing.
How are the wealthy Corinthians doing?
Well, the issue comes up a number of times in Paul’s letters to them. In 1 Corinthians 16 (and remember 1 Corinthians is already at least the second letter Paul has written to them) he says, “Now concerning the collection for the saints: you should follow the directions I gave to the churches of Galatia. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. And when I arrive, I will send any whom you approve with letter to take your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.”
Paul almost sounds exasperated there. Obviously he’s taken up this topic with them before. He’s given them the same advice that the churches in Galatia are following. But it doesn’t seem to be enough. Paul goes on to say that they could even send people to accompany the money to Jerusalem if they don’t trust him. And if even that doesn’t work he’ll go along as well.
I start to get the image of the Corinthians as untrusting nit picks wanting ever more assurances. It’s like they’re reluctant and inventing every excuse they can not to participate.
And so we go forward to 2 Corinthians 8-9. Some scholars think this is a fragment of a letter, as indeed 2 Corinthians does appear to be a collection of letter fragments. If that’s the case then Paul may have been addressing this numerous times. Whatever the case, he’s ready to outright shame the Corinthians. The poor Macedonians have given and given generously despite being poor. They’re excited by the opportunity to help. So what’s wrong with the Corinthians then?
You can feel Paul’s coercion developing through the letter. In 8:7 he says, “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.”
And the next verse is just dripping in sarcasm, “I do not say this as a command,” [yeah right], “but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others.” Talk about turning up the shame pressure! “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.” Of course Paul he is not talking about Jesus literal monetary worth. He’s talking about Jesus lowering himself from divine status to human status and then to voluntarily being executed for all humanity. So Paul’s now pouring on the guilt too!
In the beginning of chapter 9 we find Paul writing, “Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints…” Ha ha, nice joke. Of course he’s writing this to them! And it’s definitely not the first time! Sarcasm is dripping from every word, “…for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that [you] have been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them.”
You wonder if Paul is playing both sides of the fence here. He’s pressuring the Corinthians based on the Macedonian giving but told the Macedonians what the Corinthians are doing. He goes on, “But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated – to say nothing of you – in this undertaking.” If Paul is playing both sides of the fence he is not being cagey about it at least. He is, however, certainly leveraging their honor as he goes on, “So I thought it necessary to urge the brother to go ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary give and not as an extortion.”
Well, extortion is a strong word, but he’s getting close!
Paul does have something very important to say behind all of it though. That is what comes next in verse 6:
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”
In the midst of an argument with plenty of guilt and shame Paul brings it to the core. Generosity is ultimately rooted in God’s ability to provide and provide abundantly.
We’ll be beginning our stewardship drive in the next couple of weeks. Perhaps this text would have been better placed in the midst of that. I could have created a sermon filled with guilt and shame to try to see how much money could be squeezed out of your wallets. But I actually think it is better placed here, before it actually begins.
I think we all know that we will give generously, and we will give cheerfully even, when we believe in what we are giving to. No one wants to give to something that is inept or squanders resources. We will, however, give when we know our resources will be applied wisely and they will bring about lasting good. And so before we can even ask people to support we need to put together a plan that reflects how we are going to make our faith real in the next year. That is the task right now – creating a plan, a strategy for the use of those resources.
The exact plan hasn’t been made yet, but if the past is any indication we will continue to use our resources to support ministries nearby and far away. We will continue to support the food cupboard to put food on people’s tables. That support will be both in the form of finances and actual food. Through Family Promise we work to put roofs over people’s heads. Land and buildings are expensive in Victor. So we make our land and buildings available for many community groups to use. We will continue to grow through worship, education, and youth programming. We will support missionaries near and far away. We’ll support the work and ministries of our conference and synod. And the list could go on. It is a multi-faceted approach critically developed and adapted as needs arise.
Thank you for what you have helped us accomplish in the past. We hope 2021’s plan will also be good and effective, something that we can embrace and cheerfully support in whatever form that takes. So that God’s work is done through our hands.
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