"The Acceptable Gift"         Dr. Julie Adkins

                Text: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

 

SERMON

 

Imagine this:

Your grandson has just graduated from college,

            and because you are very proud of him,

                        you have spent quite a bit of money

                        to get him a very nice gift.

Something that you know he wanted, in fact,

            because he told his parents, and they told you.

Having been raised to be a well-mannered young man,

            he writes you a thank-you note,

                        which reads like this:

            "Dear Grandma and Grandpa,

                        Thank you so much for the graduation gift you sent me.

                        It was entirely acceptable."

Now, how does that sound?

Does he seem very grateful?

"Entirely acceptable" makes your carefully-chosen gift

            sound pretty average.

Boring.

Maybe useful, but not very exciting ...

            like a pair of socks.

  

Paul is writing to the Corinthians about a gift that he is hoping they will give...

            providing money to help meet the needs of the less fortunate.

And as he talks about that gift,

            he describes to them what sort of gift,

                        will be considered "acceptable" by God.

But, who wants to be merely "acceptable"?

The way in which we commonly use that word,

            makes it sound about like "average, but just barely."

Sort of like getting a grade of C-.

"This student does acceptable work,"

            sounds like you meant to say,

                        "well, he passed the test, but not by much."

Who among us wants to get a C- from God?

Is Paul suggesting that all we need to do is to get by with the bare minimum?

  

Well, we probably know Paul better than that ...!

So what we have to understand is that this word, "acceptable,"

            meant something different to Paul than it does to us.

We won't have much of a Greek lesson today,

            but we do need to realize a couple of things about this word Paul uses, "acceptable."

For one thing, it is rarely found in the New Testament.

And when we do find it,

            it´s usually in connection with the concept of

                        a sacrifice that is offered to God.

It´s also used that way in Greek translations of the Old Testament ...

            in fact, you would find it there a lot more frequently,

                        since the Old Testament talks a lot more about sacrifice than the NT does.

And so, the word implies in that context

            a sacrifice of which God approves,

                        as opposed to one which, for whatever reason, God disapproves.

It implies not only "acceptable" as we think of it,

            but "pleasing" or "pleasant" or even "welcome."

So in the Old Testament context,

            an "acceptable" sacrifice is one which God receives gladly;

                        one which is appropriate, and right, and good.

Thus, when Paul says to the Corinthians that

            for them to make a gift to their sisters and brothers in need is acceptable,

                        if they do it eagerly ...

            he is not just laying on them some expectation that God has

                        about the minimal behavior we can get by with.

He is saying that God is pleased by such a gift.

God welcomes such a gift.

When we humans are generous with one another,

            this is pleasant to God.

Eager sharing of what we have is not merely C- behavior on God´s grading scale.

It's good.

It is praiseworthy.

Probably gets a grade of B+ at least ...

            if we are eager to do it, maybe even an A.

  

Well, we Presbyterians aren't normally very good at

            talking about how we might please God.

We are much more accustomed to thinking about

            how we can avoid making God angry.

We live pretty timidly sometimes,

            tiptoeing carefully around trying not to upset things.

Paul, of course, could never be described as timid! ...

            but he does spend a lot more time talking about

                        things we do that are not pleasing to God

                        than about things we might do that are pleasing to God.

How interesting to think that we humans

            are even capable of doing things that would make God happy!

Interesting ... but not necessarily easy, or even comfortable.

Because what Paul is talking about in this section of his letter is money.

Something that we are exquisitely uncomfortable talking about,

            whether it's inside the church or outside of it.

One of the favorite complaints that congregations make about preachers is,

            "She talks too much about money."

Well, I think I can safely promise you

            that there has not been a preacher in the history of the Presbyterian church,

                        or any other church, for that matter,

            who talks about money as much as the Bible talks about money.

Or, about possessions in general,

            whether it's an abundant harvest, or flocks, or gold coins.

The Bible has an annoying way of insisting that

            everything we have is a gift,

                        given to us by God.

Whereas we, particularly in American culture,

            are accustomed to thinking of things as entitlements.

Methodist preacher Will Willimon describes us like this:

            "In this sort of society,

                        there is not much room for gift.

              Furthermore, there is no place for gratitude.

              If you give me my rights,

                        you really haven't given me anything.

              My rights are my entitlement.

              I don't feel gratitude

                        because you have given me what I already deserve."

He then adds to that,

            "When we have no sense of our lives as gifts,

                        we have no sense of obligation.

              To those who have been given nothing,

                        nothing is required."

I won't drag politics into this by reminding you of the exact context,

            but it does trigger a memory of a certain comment made

                        about a particular wealthy, conservative candidate for office, that

            "he was born on third base,

                        and thinks he hit a triple."

  

No, when preachers talk about money, it makes congregations nervous.

And we aren't even sure which is worse:

            simply being told that the congregation needs more of "our" money,

            or being reminded that the Bible has a whole lot to say

                        about how we use all of "our" money,

                                    not just the part that is "charitable contributions."

Pastors don't talk about money

            anywhere near as often as Jesus talked about money.

But, of course, look what happened to him!

Remember just one of the troublesome things he said:

            "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Many of us preach this text backwards --

            and I've been guilty of that myself --

We tell you that if you will only get your heart in the right place,

            that your spending patterns will then become

                        appropriate and good and pleasing in God's sight.

That's not what it says.

He didn't say,

            "Where your heart is, there is where your treasure will follow."

No, he said that

            "where your treasure is, that's where your heart will be found."

If you need or want to know where a person's heart is;

            where his passion is; what she is committed to,

                        all you need to do is take a look through the check register

                                    and the credit card statements.

It tells you everything you need to know.

If you want to find the heart, follow the money.

How angry it makes us when preachers say that.

How angry it makes us when Jesus says that.

Why doesn't he just stick to "spiritual" matters like prayer,

            or fasting, or believing certain things?

And why does his "money talk" make us angry?

Because he's right.

Our intentions may say one thing,

            but all too often, our patterns of spending say something else.

And that is something that we don't like knowing about ourselves.

  

Paul, following in the footsteps of Jesus,

            is not timid about discussing money matters,

                        or about initiating the discussion!

He writes to the Corinthians at a time when             they have abundance,

            compared to other believers who have very little.

And he has a clear expectation that they will share;

            that their "present abundance" will help meet others' needs,

            and that in the future, when they are in need,

                        the abundance of others will supply them.

Wouldn't it be interesting to have

            the first and second letters of the Corinthians to Paul?

Wonder how they reacted to his message.

Did they agree with him?

Or were they angry?

Did they say,

            "Don't tell us what to do with our money!"

Did they argue with him:

            "Paul, you just don't understand...

                        You have only yourself to support;

                                    we have spouses and children and car payments!"

Paul must have anticipated arguments like these,

            since he is quick to remind the Corinthians of Jesus' generosity

                        toward them and toward all of us:

            "...though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor,

                        so that by his poverty you might become rich."

As if to say:

            Knowing how much you have been given,

                        how can you think of withholding anything?

Paul knows the same thing that Jesus knew:

            where their treasure was, their hearts would follow.

If they gave generously to their sisters and brothers in need,

            even though they were far away,

                        their hearts would turn to those brothers and sisters also.

If their money did the right things,

            their hearts could learn to want the right things.

If their gifts demonstrated compassion,

            they would become compassionate people.

And when the day came ... when the day comes ...

            that those gifts are given, not grudgingly,

                        not out of a sense of obligation,

                                    but eagerly ...

            then they become not only appropriate,

                        but welcome, pleasing to God, right and good.

May we join our brothers and sisters of long ago

            in learning to make such an acceptable gift.

Amen.

 

© 2003 Julie Adkins (e-mail: DrJAdkins@trinitypresdallas.org)