Luke 6:27-38
You don’t have to be a holy man or a spiritual teacher to [practice spiritual giving]. Spiritual giving can involve giving wisdom and teachings to those who may need them, but it can also involve helping others to be more joyful through the generosity of your own spirit. Seek to be an oasis of caring and concern as you live your life. Simply smiling at others as you walk down the street can make an enormous difference in the quality of human interaction in your community. And it is this interaction that is most responsible for the quality of human life on our increasinglycrowded and lonely planet our affluent and still impoverished planet.
- The Book of Joy
Today’s word is generosity. Over the years I’ve preached my share of sermons on generosity. Many of them started with the biblical “rules” for giving. Jesus has a lot to say about money, and so does the Hebrew scripture. There’s the rule to tithe or to give 10% of income to the church. People sometimes ask me, “Does that mean gross or net income?” The answer is “yes.” Or they’ll ask, “Does the “church” mean the congregation I attend or all the good causes asking for donations?” The answer is “yes.” Islam has the rule of Zakat which requires Moslems of means to give an annual gift of 2.5% of their liquid assets to charity. Imagine all the questions you could ask about that rule. (There’s a zakat calculator on Google, I see.) When we try to make generosity fit a rule, we realize that there are so many exceptions because circumstances vary. I was the third generation expected to tithe in my family, and from grade school I put the required amount in my weekly envelope, but adult life showed me the rules didn’t always fit my circumstances. Sometimes the demands of a growing family exceeded 90% of my income, and giving away a tithe didn’t make me a cheerful giver; it made me bitter and angry. Other times it was easy to give much more because it was so much fun to meet needs around me.
My ideas about giving have been shaped by a field trip I took in a college class called “Sociology of the Family.” It was a few hours of my life, and they have been formative ever since. We traveled to the Bethany Commune in Bloomington, MN. You might know them as the makers of Bethany lefse grills, travel trailers and paperback novels. They were embedded in an evangelical church whose goal was to support 200 missionaries around the world. To free up money for this project, some of their families chose to live communally on the campus of the church and industries. Families were assigned rooms in the dorm according to their size. They ate communally. They shared a fleet of vehicles. Some worked in the businesses and others worked off campus because they could earn much higher salaries. Everyone took turns maintaining their living spaces and providing meals. I looked them up while I was writing this. They sold their businesses over the last 2 decades. They put their training programs online and sold their campus last year. They still have over 200 missionaries in the field. And their commitment still impacts this kid who spent a couple of hours with them more than 50 years ago.
Bethany thought they were following a biblical model of communal living and it worked for a time. And then it didn’t and they found other ways to support their goal. The realities of first century living, which was a subsistence modelfor most people, and the demands of twenty- first century living are not the same. The economics of living in a developed country and in those struggling to keep up are very different. Anything we can say about generosity hasto be said with humility and flexibility, so that people can find what works for them among the options. But there are some things we can say with confidence.
Jesus clearly believed that God intended everyone to have enough resources to sustain life. And he expectedthose who had excess to share with those whose lacked the basics. He expected people to share. But he didn’t just repeat the ancient rules. He talked about the way we see life and the way we treat each other. Today’s passage is about generosity, and it contains words like “love your enemies” and “do unto others what you want them to do for you.” The passage Victoria found for us in The Book of Joy is also more about how we enter into life than it is about how much we give away. In a section on generosity, it talks about smiling. I love the image of becoming “an oasis of caring and concern.” That matches the way Jesus entered into the world. Generosity grows from a mindset that believes everyone deserves enough as a basic right of humanity, and doesn’t ask who deserves more or less. It grows from a heartset that connects with everyone without boundaries or judgment. It’s a matter of looking at reality and seeing possibility. Generosity doesn’t ask, “What’s required?” but instead “What can I do and who can help me do more?”
It feels a little silly to be talking to this congregation about generosity because you live so generously every day. I feel a little guilty because you give away so much money, but I get the fun of passing it out. I get to hear the daily stories about heavy needs and see the joy when those loads are lifted just a little. This community is a more joyful place because of what you do.
It’s not just money that shows our generosity. You are generous with your building. More and more people are seeing this as a place to gather. A place where there’s tea and coffee, books to share, food to enjoy. We’rebecoming a place that affirms community without judgment.
You have to pick up after yourself, but you can be yourself here.
We’re learning in this process to be good stewards. We say yes to many things, and no to those we can’t afford. We are learning to identify what is a true need and what is a want or a luxury. In this building I wanted a dishwasher. We needed new furnaces. Needs take priority.
I suspect that over time in your personal lives you’ve shifted a bit in what you want and what is a true need. We each have to make those decisions for ourselves, because their isn’t a blanket answer. I don’t need cable TV but I need lots of flowers. Your answer on that one might be quite different.
Here are some things closely related to generosity:
Confidence - that God has provided enough for everyone. If I share, I will still have enough.
Gratitude - It is a privilege to be able to be generous. Giving makes us thankful.
Joy - Jesus tells us that those who give receive more in return - not usually material things, but deep abiding joy. The joy that know we are connected to all people and all creatures and that what we share more than anything is God’s love.
What do you know about generosity? What can you add?