October 19, 2008

“We are Stewards” 

2 Corinthians 8.1-12

Don’t you just love the changing seasons of the church calendar? In winter, we start with Advent, preparing our hearts for Christmas and the coming of Jesus.

We move on to Lent, looking hard at our lives and examining our relationship with God as we remember Christ’s death and resurrection all for our sins. And then in the spring we have the celebration of Easter with Christ rising triumphantly from the dead. And then each fall comes the greatest conclusion to the church calendar than I can think of… Stewardship!!

Okay, it isn’t really part of the church calendar, but it does seem to happen every fall doesn’t it? And I have to admit, that when those stewardship sermons come around… I sometimes have trouble staying focused on the preacher. I have to fight part of myself that wants to tune out. A part of me seems to cry out, “Yes, stewardship is important… yet giving is important… yes we should give to the church… but… enough already!!!

Based on this, I am aware of the incredible irony of me giving a stewardship sermon today. But as I dug into today’s passage in 2 Corinthians, I would like to put forward an idea. What if stewardship wasn’t really about tithing? What if stewardship was about something much bigger? I think that is what our text today proposes. So my first challenge for us all today is, don’t tune out! I think God may have something in today’s text that we all should hear.

How is the Church of Corinth like us?

Ultimately, 2 Corinthians 8.1-12 is part of Paul’s greater attempt to persuade the church in Corinth to follow through and support a mission project that they originally said they would. We see that in verse 10 and 11. It reads, “and here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.  Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.”

Arguably, the church of Corinth was one of the wealthier churches at this time because of the city’s location on a major trade route. Jerusalem was going through a severe famine and Paul was trying to collect money to help the impoverished churches there. Corinth expressed a desire to help and did some giving, but most commentators believe that they had promised to do more and the money had not materialized.

I believe this part of 2 Corinthians is so important for us because it meets us today, right where we are. Like members of the church of Corinth, don’t we all find ourselves in the place of being too busy, unobservant, or even so selfish that we miss an opportunity to give or care for another? All too often we look back on our day and think “was I thinking?” Sadly, even while preparing for this sermon one of these moments happened to me. I went to Einstein’s Bagels for lunch earlier this week. At the door, I was so busy thinking about what I was going to order and how I was going to put together this sermon that I didn’t notice the lady trying to carry a baby and several bags into the restaurant. Not only did I not offer to carry her bags… I didn’t even open the door for her. I missed a real opportunity to give, to care for another.  I wonder how many opportunities like this we all miss out on each day?

What makes Macedonia so Special?

In our text today, Paul largely tries to motivate the Corinthian church into action by comparing it to the church in Macedonia, which had far fewer resources. To help us learn to be good stewards it would make sense to ask ourselves, just what is about the Macedonian church that makes it so special? Well… actually… Paul seems pretty convinced that the answer is nothing. Paul does not think Macedonia is special. He thinks God is. In the very first verse, we see that it is the work of God that has motivated the church of Macedonia to act.  And even though the TNIV has removed it from their version due to redundancy, the first reason Macedonia was begging Paul to participate in the relief work in verse 4, was that they wanted to be part of the “grace” or work of God that was happening there.

The incredible affect of God’s grace on his followers is the lens we should be using to look at this entire text. In verse 9, Paul claims that Christ came to earth and became “poor,” so that we might become rich. He is not talking about money here. He is talking about what it means to become in new creation in Christ. Paul is convinced that Macedonia is acting as any group transformed by Christ should act. Anyone who by faith shares in Christ’s death and life, experiences God’s grace, should be transformed. Their life should demonstrate the reality of that love for others.

Paul believes it is God’s grace that motivated the Macedonians to give to the famine collection and we see in verse 7 and 9 that it is the grace of God that Paul believes should motivate the church of Corinth.  

What does God’s Grace Mean for Us?

I believe that transformation is a key element in our walk with God. I have recently been able to experience a little bit of transformation in my own life, but not in terms of faith as much as in a transportation one. About 2 months ago, I bought a motor scooter. It is a white, 165cc, Chinese make Flyscooter. I usually call it “little buddy.”

What amazes me most about riding a motor scooter these last few months is how different a drive to and from work is. Without a blaring radio, I have time to think. Without a care body, I can also hear interesting things (people talking in cars, sprinkler system starting, other music people are playing). I can also smell things on my rides. In fact, I almost got in an accident driving up 7th East one day when I passed the Sugarhouse BBQ… The smell of slow cooked ribs almost sent me off the road (even though it was only 8:00 am). What can I say? I like BBQ.

Motor scooter life isn’t always easy. Sometimes my hands get really cold. And then there was the time I was stung by a bee (pulling a bee out of the back of your neck while trying to stay in your lane isn’t easy). Yet even with these challenges, instead of getting home and entering the house with some residual road rage in my system… I find myself more often than not, arriving home with a little skip in my step. My actions and attitudes have changed.

I wonder if Paul is talking about something similar here. Like the relationship I have with my “little buddy,” a relationship with Christ is supposed to change us. I think we are supposed to be transformed in a bigger way than even a motor scooter can.  Christ came to Earth willing to sacrifice everything… To become “poor” so we could become “rich” with a life in Christ.

2 Corinthians 8.1-12 is not about tithing a certain amount. We can see in verse 12. It is not the amount that is given that is important here but rather the willingness to give. A willingness that is a response that comes from understanding the depth of God’s love and grace for us. We need to ask ourselves if we have that willingness to give.

Paul is not saying that we need to give away everything we have. He is telling the church of Corinth (and us today) to “do what is appropriate as one who has been enriched by the grace of God.”

From this passage we can learn that stewardship is about responding, as we are able, to the incredible work God has done for us. We have been enriched by God.  We need to ask ourselves how we will respond. What will we give? What can we give? Our time? Our resources? Our gifts? We need to be able to see all the opportunities God places in front of us and examine our heart to how we can realistically respond.

I know for a fact that each fall I don’t need a sermon reminder about stewardship. I don’t. I need a reminder every day. I need to ask God how I can respond to His deep and unending love each day.  This may be a question we should all ask ourselves. How are we, as those who have been incredibly enriched by the grace of God, going to respond to his call? May God answer that question for each of us.

Will you pray with me?