Extravagant generosity

from my sermon on 3/28/10 from II Cor. 9:6-11 and Mark 12:41-44

I have never been abole to talk anyone into anything, especially when it comes to money, to giving, to tithing. Extravagant generosity doesn't come out of guilt, shame, obligation, fear, or manipulation. This church has tried to emphasize this by not doing the usual end of the year, budget-making process. We have waited until we have gotten more clarity about our vision statement, "Following One, Serving All." We have disassociated it from the church's need to receive and made it more about our need to give. As we look at this passage from II Cor., we find that Paul says our giving is rooted in the abundance of grace that we have received from Christ, and our response comes out of gratitude.

I would like for us to get in touch with this this feeling of gratitude by telling you a story. I performed a marriage on Friday evening for Chris and Sara. I have to laugh a little bit at the wedding co0rdinator, who is a really sweet person, but she sent me a "production schedule." You see I thought it was a worship service, not a production schedule. Also life very seldom happens according to a production schedule. It certainly didn't for Chris at his birth. I have known Chris before he was born. His parents, Bill and Meredith, are life long friends. When Chris was born, he was a quiet baby, too quiet. His parents took him back to the hospital. His lungs weren't fully developed. Chris spent the first days of his life in the neo-natal ICU at Seton Hospital, hovering between life and death. Bill and Meredith spent all of the time that they could holding him, talking to him, feeding him, looking through the glass partition at him. Obviously Chris got better. His parents waited until he was 2 years old to have him baptized. Do you remember what 2 year olds are like? When they handed him off to me, Chris was like a bear cub planting all 4 of his paws against me, pushing off, and screaming into my microphone. I baptized him in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then I offered a prayer thanking God that we could hear Chris's voice. Chris has grown up to be a fine young man. He became a lawyer like his dad. He met his wife also a lawyer at Texas Young Lawyer events where they help people who can't afford legal help. At their wedding I mentioned that in a few years they hope to have 1 to 3 children, although this is still in negotiation, with no contract signed so far. So on a beautiful Friday evening, with the sun going down over the lake in the background, at Laguna Gloria, I united in marriage Chris and Sara. And Bill and Meredith cried...tears of joy. Were they grateful?

How about you? Are you in touch with all that you have been given? Not just houses, cars, clothes, food, but also relationships and memories? Can you see that all that you have has been given to you? Even the ability to earn is a gift.

Paul says that we are to give not reluctantly or out of compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. Please God send me a church full of cheerful givers. Paul doesn't talk about the poor people in the mother church in Jerusalem. He doesn't talk about tithing. He talks about thanksgiving to God. He doesn't force anything. He says each must give as they have made up their own mind.

I want to tell you how I have made up my mind about giving and maybe give you some practical hints about giving. First, NO COLD TURKEY TITHING! What? Yes, you are probably not at a literal 10% and that is OK. You don't have to jump immediately to a tithe. Second, PRAY. If you and God are God with what you give, then I am. Third, TALK as a family. Money is one of the biggest issues in a marriage. I want you to stay married. Plus your kids need to see you modeling generosity. They will learn from your example. Fourth, SET a %, not just a dollar amount. We can play all kinds of mind games when it comes to money. Percentages are the great leveller. I will talk more about this in a minute with the widow who gives her 2 cents worth. Fifth, REVIEW and GIVE THANKS for God's faithfulness at the end of the year. Sixth, BUMP it up 1/2 % or 2%. This is actually what Cathy and I have practiced in our marriage. It took us 15 years to arrive at tithing. For the last 16 years we have been able to tithe or go beyond a tithe. I know you wonder about gross or net. We do it off of gross. You wonder about all the other good causes out there. We tithe to the church, and give above a tithe to those other good causes.

So now to an example of extravagant generosity as practiced by this woman in the temple. To set the context, there was a court for the women as a part of the temple. Around the outside wall were 13 receptacles for giving. They were metal and bell-shaped, like this trombone. So giving was not just a visual but also an auditory event. You could tell how much one gave by the sound that it made. People would throw their money in. The translation says they put their money in, but the Greek verb that is used 7 times in the passage is ballo, which means to throw. It is one of the first Greek verbs I learned, by throwing a ball. So here's what those with a lot of money sounded like when they gave (throw a wad of coins in the trombone bell). Here's what the widow's offering sounded like (clink, clink). Jesus says she put in more than all of the rest because they gave out of their excess and she gave out of her need, her very living.

I need to tell you another story about extravagant generosity from the time I was pastor in San Saba from 1983 to 1988. I had a widow who invited me to her house. I asked, "What's on your mind?" She said, "You see the house I live in. I still heat my house with a wood-buring stove. I still cook over a wood-burning stove. Other people have nice houses. They all come to church in their cars. I don't have a car. I catch a ride or I walk to church. They all have nice clothes. I get my clothes from the re-sale shop. I feel so guilty that I can't give like others do."

I rarely ask this question, but I did with her, "How much do you give?" "When the plate goes by, I put $5 in. On communion Sunday, I put $2 at the altar rail." Very rarely do I ask this question, but I did with her, "How much do you get?" You see in our culture, that is a taboo question, it is so private. She told me the amount of her Social Security check, her only income. I said, "You are biggest giver in our church....proportionately." And she was...she gave out of her very living. It is not how much you give; it is the amount of sacrifice. IT is the amount of generosity.

This is the last scene in Jesus' public ministry. It is a teaching moment for his disciples, for us today. The woman gives it all. Just like Jesus will give his all for us this Holy Week. I know next Sunday is Easter and the resurrection. But Jesus has a long week before him. Today, we cry "Hosanna!" But you know what we cry on Good Friday. Jesus demonstrates extravagant generosity. We are called to do the same. that is the good news I have to share.