Just Say Yes! to Joy
2 Corinthians 8:1-7
Rev. Monte Marshall
Well, we made it! Our month-long emphasis on giving ends today. And there’s cause for celebration. Our folks have been saying “yes” to the vision of God’s reign, “yes” to the tithe, and “yes” to the inheritance that we have received from the saints who have gone before us, by making generous financial commitments in support of the mission and ministry of our church in 2016. Thank you!
And if you have yet to make your commitment, it’s not too late. Even though our sermon series is ending today, we’ll spend another couple of weeks making sure that everyone has had an opportunity to give before we move forward in formulating a church budget for next year based on the commitments that have been received.
But today, we end our emphasis on giving with a theme that seems appropriate for Celebration Sunday: Just Say “Yes” to Joy. Let’s pray. PRAYER.
In this morning’s text from Paul’s second letter to the church at Corinth, we’re given a glimpse into Paul’s work not only as a theologian and a pastor, but also as a fundraiser. That’s right, Paul is fundraising among the churches he’s founded to aid the poverty-stricken church in Jerusalem. A year earlier, the Corinthian church had made a commitment to contribute to the cause. Paul now includes in this letter an appeal to the Corinthians to make good on their commitment by completing their portion of the offering.
To spur-on the church, Paul tells the story of how God’s grace has been at work within the churches of Macedonia. First of all, he notes how the Macedonian churches are undergoing “a severe trial.” Now scholars are uncertain as to the exact nature of this difficulty. It could have been war, or famine, or persecution. Whatever the exact cause of the trial, one commentator has said that the Macedonian Christians were enduring “a grinding circumstance of unalleviated stress.”
This “severe trial” was surely exacerbated by a second condition that Paul notes: the deep poverty of the Macedonian churches. So when we put these two conditions together—the “severe trial” and the “deep poverty—it’s clear that life was extraordinarily difficult for these first century followers of Jesus in Macedonia.
But here’s the point Paul underscores to the Corinthians: Despite the difficulties, the collection in Macedonia for the saints in Jerusalem “produced an abundant generosity.” Paul writes: “I can swear that they gave not only what they could afford but much more, spontaneously, begging and begging us for the favor of sharing in this service to God’s holy ones.”
Did we get that? These people, undergoing “a severe trial” and living in “deep poverty,” were not just willing to give what they could afford, they actually begged Paul to let them give more than they could afford. The fact that they had to beg Paul to accept their gift suggests that Paul thought they were trying to give too much. Imagine that! A church begging to give more than the pastor thinks is wise! Surely that qualifies as some kind of miracle!
So how is it that these churches managed to give generously while their circumstances were so difficult? Paul says that “they offered themselves first to God.” And when they did, it’s reasonable to assume that the primary issue in their giving was no longer how much they could afford, but how extravagantly generous they could be in responding to the abundance of grace they had received as they made God the first priority in their lives.
And beyond this, the Macedonians just said “yes” to joy! Paul notes that the Macedonian Christians not only lived in “deep poverty,” but that they were also filled with “overflowing joy.” Elton Trueblood once made a comment that I think the Macedonians would have understood. Trueblood said: “Life need not be easy to be joyful. Joy is not the absence of trouble but the presence of Christ.”[1] Pastor Jim Kane puts it this way: “Joy is when your whole being sings because you have caught a glimpse of God at work.”[2]
The Macedonian Christians, in their extreme poverty and while suffering “a severe trial,” were so caught up in the joy of God’s grace at work in their lives that they gave financial gifts that were beyond their means, and for what purpose? They gave not for themselves, but to build up another church. They gave generously out of their poverty, to relieve the poverty of others.
Paul draws a straight, theological line between what they gave and what Paul calls “the generous act of Jesus Christ.” Paul describes this “generous act” in this way: He calls Christ the rich one who, for our sakes, became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich. The Macedonian Christians were simply repeating this pattern of generosity—joyously!
Well, Paul’s use of this story of Macedonian generosity in his fundraising efforts must have had the desired effect. In his letter to the church at Rome, Paul notes that he is going to Jerusalem to deliver the offering that has been collected from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia—the region that includes Corinth.
So I wonder: Will our fundraising efforts this year be as successful as Paul’s fundraising work in Macedonia? Quite honestly, it’s too soon to tell.
But this is a Sunday for celebration anyway because I know that there are those among us who give generously—through gifts large and small. I know that these folks give because they see the work of grace that God is doing through Travis Park United Methodist Church. I know that they give because they experience the joy that’s generated by God’s presence in this work, And in just saying “yes” to this joy, generosity follows.
And as we’ve seen over these past weeks, we each have our own stories to tell of the connections between just saying “yes” and generosity in our lives. This morning, we hear two more stories.
Lewis William has a story to tell. WITNESS
And Judy Fields has a story to tell. WITNESS
PRAYER TIME
Dear friends, when it comes to giving, just say “yes” to joy and then watch what God can do. Praise be to God! Amen.