2 Corinthians 8:1-12; Matthew 6:19-21
You certainly know how much I enjoy cookies –but did you know that I also enjoy oxymorons? Yes, oxymorons –when you put two words together that are complete opposites and contradict each other, like “clearly confused,” “open secret,” “jumbo shrimp,” “friendly fire,” “pretty ugly”?
I believe it was a radiant Dolly Parton who once said, “You’d be surprised how much it costs to look this cheap.” Even in the Bible we find oxymorons, like “suffering Messiah” –everybody expected a conquering king.
Here in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church we find another oxymoron, a huge one. Listen well: “In the midst of a very severe trial, the overflowing joy and the extreme poverty of your sister churches in Macedonia church overflowed in rich generosity.”
If this is not an oxymoron, what is it?
“Severe trial and extreme poverty” = “overflowing with generosity.”
Common sense would say, “no way! — how often do severe hardships and extreme poverty go hand-in-hand with overflowing joy and rich generosity? I wonder, what did our Macedonian brothers and sisters know that we don’t?
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The Macedonian church was a bunch of tiny congregations planted by Paul during his second missionary journey, fist in Philippi and then in Thessaloniki, in what today is known as Eastern Macedonia, one of the thirteen Greek provinces.
Persecuted for being Christians, they had virtually lost everything, yet they did not hesitate to raise funds for the church in Jerusalem when Paul told them about the big crisis their Jewish Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were enduring.
What had happened in remote Jerusalem?
Those Jewish Christians were kicked out of the synagogues, lost their jobs and ran out of money to support their families and their church. That’s why Paul made a general appeal to his churches across Asia and Europe, and oh surprise, the least expected of all his churches, the very poor Macedonians, surprised him by giving the most to help those in Jerusalem.
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Once again, what did the Macedonian churches know that we may don’t know? First, the Macedonians knew that we don’t have to be sitting on a pile of cash to share with one another. That’s an excuse that does not sit well with the Lord!
Second, the Macedonians knew that we don’t own our blessings, both spiritual and material, for everything we have and everything we come from the Lord – isn’t that what we celebrate during the Thanksgiving season?
That’s why the Scripture reminds us that we are stewards, not owners of God’s blessings.
Third, the Macedonians knew that whenever we share our blessings, we have more, no less, and that gives us great joy. During the Great Famine in Ireland in the mid-1800s, the Choctaw tribe here in the U.S. raised $147 dollars (the equivalent to $5,000 today) and sent it to Ireland.
The Choctaws were very poor, but when they saw others in great need, they responded with great generosity. In 2020, in response to COVID-19 deaths in the Navajo Nation, the Choctaws set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for clean water and medical supplies for Native Americans.
The Irish remembered and responded from their hearts. One Irish retiree living on a meager government pension sent his contribution with a note on the GoFundMe page –“Returning your kindness 170 years and 4,000 miles later.”
This is what those Macedonians churches knew so about – that they could be cheerful givers despite their limited resources, for they were giving in the name of the Lord.
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The Corinthian congregation seems not to know that. Despite the trade and commercial boom of Corinth, which no doubt benefited many of them, they seem indifferent to Paul’s urgent appeal. Is Paul disappointed? You bet on it, yet he does not overreact.
Instead, he praises the generosity of the Macedonian churches and uses their giving as an example to challenge them, whose resources abound. He says gently to the Corinthians, “Since you excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
Then he adds, “I am not commanding you; I just want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others.” Paul is not demanding that they increase their giving even though he would love to see that happen.
He would rather help them gain a new perspective on their stewardship of God’s blessings. Paul just hopes that they learn that giving is a natural expression of Christian devotion, a natural expression of their love for the Lord of the church in Corinth and everywhere.
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Year after year during our Thanksgiving and Stewardship season back in New Rochelle, NY, our finance leader would tell us that Paul’s way of seeing things changed the way he saw his giving to the Lord – now, he told us, his giving was more like an investing in the Lord!
Granted, this guy was a numbers-oriented man after all, and yet he had gotten it right, for he knew that his giving was essential to the very existence and wellbeing of the church. Together with the giving of his time, his skills, and his prayers, his giving of money became something unique and special as he invested himself in the “holy business of my Lord,” as he loved to say.
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Let’s talk “money” for a moment –hard, cold cash. “Brrrr” – such a dirty money, some may say.
We should never be afraid to admit that there are some things “only money can buy.” Like braces for your children’s teeth and a good education. Like quality health care and worry-free retirement. Like dependable transportation and a warm house on a cold night.
And I hope this doesn’t upset you —even the very existence and wellbeing of our church depends, to a great extent, of our generous giving of money – hard cash –, no less! Our own church here is not different from Paul’s churches in Corinth and Macedonia! After all, we are like a big house with a big building and utilities and maintenance expenses.
With a program for all ages, facilities for fellowship, heat and air conditioner, working musical instruments, fast communications, a place for our food pantry and distribution of clothes. We too want to be in mission and support missional agencies and ministries not only here around us but across the world where we could never get to.
You may know that I’m here today because our own churches here in this country invested so generously in mission and ministry across the world, including Argentina. Our churches also need personnel to help organize, manage, and lead – pastors, musicians, administrators, and dedicated folks to keep our building safe and tidy.
Don’t we always dream about a cozy place where our children and grandchildren will be baptized, married, and confirmed; where we can gather to say goodbye to our saints; where we can worship and celebrate the seasons of our lives. See how our giving becomes a spiritual matter?
Our giving is helping us house the homeless and feed the hungry; send Bibles to new Christians in countries often hostile to the Gospel; provide counselors to young people in runaway shelters; recover places where natural disasters have caused much damage and help sister congregations survive in very difficult circumstances.
That’s what Paul is trying to convey to the Corinthians – “You have the resources, so share them!” You are so good for everything, Paul goes on: “You excel in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you . . .”.
“So, show us that “you also excel in this grace of giving.” “You probably have enough money in your wallet right now to continue something beautiful that you have already began – think of the power that gives you.”
“You can make a big difference in the name of the Risen Christ who has invested his own life on you!”
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A final thought on Paul’s deepest motivation –he is not only chasing after some monetary resources to rescue the church in Jerusalem, but he is also chasing after a holy vision, for he hopes that such an offering would also prove to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that the Gentile Christians were as fully and really Christ disciples as them.
Let me stop here, come back next Sunday for the sequel!
In the meantime, let us pray that we may rediscover the joy of being faithful stewards of our Lord’s blessings and as cheerful givers as our forefathers and foremothers in Macedonia.