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A sermon preached by Mr Antony Weiss The Thirteenth Sunday After Trinity Christ Church St Laurence Solemn Evensong – 21st August, 2016 2 Corinthians 9
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Ps 19:14). AMEN.
For several weeks now, the Second Lesson at Evensong has been from Paul’s Letters to the Corinthians. The newly established Corinthian Church was plagued with the serious problems of division, sexual immorality and social snobbery. Paul felt compelled to write initially from Ephesus because of the Corinthian church’s disunity and their self-centred living at the expense of the weak and the marginalised. Paul accused members of the Corinthian Church of putting their own social progression above that of the advancement of the Gospel.
The source of giving and one’s motivation to give are raised in this evening’s Second Lesson from the 9th Chapter of the Second Letter to the Corinthians. In verses 1 to 5, Paul is reminding the Corinthian church, with whom we know he has had his tensions, to remember their commitment to give gladly to the Church in Jerusalem. With a gentle prod he explains that he does not want his boasting about the Corinthians to the cashstrapped yet generous Macedonians to be in vain. Last week we heard that Paul revers the Macedonians citing them as an example to the Corinthians “For they gave according to their means… and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favour of taking part in the relief of the saints …” (8:34). The Macedonians’ generosity is not by coercion or exaction… but in response to God’s grace in their lives.
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Chapters 8 and 9 of St Paul the Apostle’s Second Epistle to the Corinthians heavily emphasise giving and generosity. Now often when Bible passages relating to financial giving are the substance of sermon, church congregations can tend to look around awkwardly thinking that the hard word is again going to be placed on them in terms of how everybody needs to open up their wallets and purses and be a little bit more forthcoming with their cash. Well you can rest assured that is not going to be the focus of this sermon. We’ll leave that sort of thing to Parish Treasurer Peter Hanson should it ever be necessary. I would like to share with you a few thoughts on this chapter firstly stemming from verse 7, “Each one must do as he has made up his mind not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.” (9:7) In my preparation for this sermon I noticed that the Koine Greek text does not use the word for mind at all in this verse, instead there is the word heart, τῇ καρδίᾳ (from where cardiac in English is derived). The use of καρδίᾳ has actually changed the way I engage with what Paul is saying, translated literally, “Each one must give just as he has decided in his heart” rather than the RSV rendition, “Each one must do as he has made up his mind.” When we think of a heartfelt response over a head or mind one, we go to the core and the purpose of our decision making to be a willing giver. Giving with heart incorporates empathy, selflessness over and beyond a cerebral intellectual and moral response. It is worth noting that in Matthew’s Gospel when Our Lord is asked by one of the Pharisees, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus’ replies quoting Deuteronomy 6 “… and you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart; (Deut 6:5)” Now surely we are all more likely to be propelled to give, to love and to serve others because of how it impacts on our hearts rather than merely our minds? Thus 2 Corinthians 9 highlights for me three key ‘heart’ approaches to giving; 1. Give thoughtfully. The Bible calls us to give to the saints, i.e. the community of fellow Christian believers, with great generosity not only so that others benefit, but in doing so our bigheartedness “overflows into many thanksgivings to God.” This is central to Christian giving; God is the One who provides and therefore thanks go to Him, not us.
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2. Give willingly. We are to give not because we feel any compunction (perhaps like the Corinthians did) but because we are called to give readily. 3. Give cheerfully. Give with joy! The Greek text uses ἱλαρὸν to mean cheerful, from where we get the word “hilarious” and the name Hilary. “For God loves a cheerful giver.” We are blessed with material and above all spiritual gifts, especially the Gift of the Spirit which enables us to call upon the name of the greatest gift to humanity, the Lord Jesus Christ.
But there is an important caveat to place on the motivations for giving with a willing heart…There are potential misinterpretations by Christians to Paul’s call to giving thus leaving his epistle open to two doctrinal snares; the Prosperity Gospel and the Salvation by Good Works Gospel. Firstly to the Prosperity Gospel. It is rife in many parts of the Christian world, especially America, Africa and South Korea. The Prosperity Gospel teaches that God wants believers to be physically healthy, materially wealthy, and personally happy. In verse 11 “You will be enriched in every way for great generosity…” and the fact that the Corinthian church has been provided with much wealth can enable the promotors of the Prosperity Gospel to justify, through Paul’s writings, such a position by encouraging Christians to shape their faith in order to gain material compensation and blessings from God. This flies in the face of Reformed Anglican Doctrine so putting on my Cranmerian Canterbury Cap (rather than my Biretta) I defer to Article XI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion, “We are accounted righteous before God, only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Faith, and not for our own works or deservings…” (Article XI). Secondly and tied to the Prosperity mob, this passage can be used to promote the ‘Salvation by Good Works Gospel.’ In verse 8, “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work.” Let me be very clear…good works are essential, yes essential, however we do good works arising out of our Faith in the Lord Jesus. This is the unequivocal responsibility of all faithful Christians. We must not think that through or by doing good deeds that we may gain merit before God. Again from Cranmer’s Articles of Religion, “Albeit that Good Works, which are the fruits of Faith…cannot put away our
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sins…yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively Faith.” (Article XII) Our giving to the saints of fellow believers, to the needy and to people from all walks of life and cultures, whether it be financial, volunteering or helping in other practical ways is not to be fuelled by the motivation to bring praise to ourselves. For the rendering of such services must overflow abundantly to God, who gives all and gave His Son in the Lord Jesus to bring redemption to this broken world and life eternal to those who call on His name as their Lord and Saviour. So let us gladly continue to serve and give generously and joyfully as expressed in the final verses of our reading. May we glorify God by our obedience in acknowledging the Gospel of Christ [for there is no other Gospel]… because of the surpassing grace of God ... Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
+ In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. AMEN