Being Generous—The WHY
Second Sunday in Easter | April 11, 2021
Genesis 1:27-31a
Acts 4:32-35
It sounds a bit idealistic, doesn’t it? I mean, others have sort of tried such an endeavor—only to have it fall apart. Socialism. Communism. The ideas behind those forms of government aren’t far from what we just read. Karl Marx felt that the only economic system that can function for the betterment of all is one that attends to the needs of all. He said, “From each according to his ability, and to each according to his needs.” He has the right sentiment. He has the right focus. No one is free until all are free. No one is saved until all are saved. No one is prosperous until all have their needs met. This IS a Christian focus, is it not?
So, why are we so against forms of government that would enforce such an idea? Why would we dare to call ourselves a Christian nation without the ideals of socialism and the care for all in need? Ok. I think I pushed a few buttons. And I’m not advocating a form a government—not a Christian nation, and certainly not the socialism we have seen from some nations in years past. And there’s a reason that these ultimately don’t work. (We’ll get to that at the end.)
In the next several weeks during the Easter Season, we are going to be looking at Generosity—how we ‘Live It Out’—live out our faith, live out our hope in the resurrection. Today, we get to dig into why we give—why we might be generous with our time and our money and our gifts.
The passage starts: “Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul.” We understand what that’s like, in part. After 9/11—in spite of the deep injustice done to Muslims and people of Arabic background—the country came together as one heart and soul. We wept for those who were killed. We turned to places of worship for words of hope and comfort. We held each other, helped each other, and worked together. For a short time, we had a common purpose—sort of. Granted, some saw our common purpose as revenge. But for others, our common purpose was to create something beautiful in the wake of great tragedy. To remember. To seek forgiveness. To find a lasting word of hope.
This past year, so many have come together to support and help one another. In council this week, I got to hear about how Duncan Aviation turned their focus, for a time, to stamping out thousands of masks for those who would need them. And hundreds more people helped to sew them. People sewed masks here at OSLC and gave them to us to distribute to any who needed them. Tattoo parlors took their PPE supplies to hospitals as their stockpiles dwindled. Loan forbearances were put in place for those who lost their jobs. Assistance given for those who were on the edge. And while it wasn’t perfect, we saw a great push toward helping one another get through this crisis. For the most part, we were of one heart and mind.
Because we saw ourselves as part of a bigger purpose. It wasn’t just about getting what I need. We turned our focus onto those around us. Did they have what they needed? Were they getting by okay? Who was being left out? Who was forgotten?
I recently received a note from a member who had moved away. He received one of the cards that Karrie and Alissa have been sending to all of our congregation members over the course of the year. He said it came at the perfect time, because he was really struggling with various things. And the card said, “You are not alone.” And that’s what he needed to hear that day.
We are generous when we see ourselves as part of a bigger movement—part of a greater cause. We give of ourselves when we know that the need is great. The challenge is to see ourselves as part of this bigger purpose when we aren’t in a crisis—when the needs going unmet have become normalized, when we see it every day and tend to look through or past it, when our own daily problems take over our lives.
God knows we can’t live in crisis mode all of the time. It’s not healthy. But we can—and should—live in the mode of generosity and good will all of the time. That’s the choice that is more difficult to make. It’s the choice Jesus made for us on the cross—seeing the bigger picture of what salvation REALLY looks like—not a one-time victory over one enemy in the midst of one crisis but a once-for-all defeat of death itself. He wasn’t in crisis mode. He was looking at the long-term needs of the world and met them. And we get to be part of that bigger solution—that overall purpose. We can be of one heart and soul in the approach to working together to help those who need what we have. But it’s not just about us and what we give to others. And I’ll get to that in a moment.
We read on. “With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” On the surface, this part feels like a little side note stuffed into the middle of a give-it-all-away sandwich. But this is the core of the passage. They gave their testimony to the resurrection. What would that have looked like? Sounded like? I think it looked and sounded like hope. They, of all people, knew the despair of Jesus’ crucifixion. They betrayed, denied, and abandoned Jesus the very moment he needed them most. And yet, they got to witness to his resurrection. They saw the risen Christ! They touched his scars. They heard his voice. They ate food with him. And their hope was renewed in a way that mere stories would never do.
And it is in this hope that we are generous. Jesus’ resurrection, as I just mentioned, was about more than defeating Rome so that Israel could be a sovereign nation. His resurrection was about defeating death so that we could truly live without fear for what might happen when we do the right—but difficult—thing. Because we all know that the right thing is rarely the easy thing. I think of our friend, Bonnie. She has helped with our FEAST prison ministry since nearly the beginning. And several times over the course of those years, she has rented out rooms in her own home to people who have been released. And she’ not the only one.
I’m not sure I could do that. That’s a level of generosity—and courage—I have yet to experience in myself. But she does it because she believes in the ministry and in the need. She has hope that what she is doing makes a difference in the lives of those she houses. Isn’t that why people volunteer at places like the City Mission and Matt Talbot, Bridges to Hope and Layettes of Love? We have the hope that what we do matters. And we get to see how it matters every time we do it. We are generous because we hope that in our work and our giving, we too are testifying to the power of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.
And finally, we give because we trust. That’s why forms of government built solely on the idea of ‘everybody gives and everybody gets in equal measure’ doesn’t work. Because it makes the gift a demand. And it diminishes the trust we hold for how the gift is used. The passage says, “They laid it all at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” The apostles had proved themselves trustworthy—not least by their testimony of the resurrection and the grace given to them. And in trust, the early church members gave everything so that all had what they needed. Everything. For some, that was a great deal of money. For others, it was an even greater gift because they had so little. Imagine—having only enough to get by from week to week or day to day—and giving that all away. We may think the large gifts of land and business are a big deal. And they are. But when you let go of the little you have for today. That takes trust.
It takes trust because we are not always or only the ones who are entrusted to take care of others. Many times we are the ones who are taken care of. The ones who are comforted. The ones who are fed. And the question of trust relies on whether or not people will forget us, will deny us, will turn their backs on us when their own needs take the forefront. Will we be left to fend for ourselves when the crisis is over? For many, that is a huge and daily reality. And governments are simply not built to truly care for all. But we are. We, the Church, are founded on that very principle. We can be generous because it is not demanded of us. It’s not the law. It’s not a rule. It’s not an obligation. It is a gift—born out of a sense of being part of a bigger purpose; born out of the hope that Christ is in all that we offer and all that we receive; born out of trust that the gift we give will be well-stewarded and the trust that we will not be forgotten in our own times of need.
That is why we give. Because Jesus gave us the greatest example of generosity. Jesus showed us the bigger picture. Jesus gave us hope in the midst of despair. And Jesus showed us just how trustworthy God is—that God would not even condemn humanity from the cross of God’s own death. Instead, God created all of this and generously called it very good.
Pastor Tobi White
Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
Lincoln, NE
