But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.  As it is written: “ He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,  while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. (2 Cornithians 9: 6-11)

Summer is over. We are transitioning into a beautiful Fall.  This means that things get back to normal here: Church school is back in session, we have our full choir and music... and we have more developed and longer homilies.  I will do what I can to make sure that this is time well spent (all glory to God), and I am sure that you will, too.

Cheerful Giving.

God wants us to be cheerful givers.  But this is not in our [fallen] nature.  Rather than cheerful givers, we are selfish tyrants.  We want to control everything we can, and prefer to opt out of those things that we cannot control.  This hoarding of our resources is our default setting.  If we actually do give anything of our own free will, it is on our own terms, and only if we have agreed to the conditions; and it is only “cheerful” in the sense that we are satisfied with our own control over the situation. 

But even this kind of perverted “cheerful giving” is rare.  Most of the time, when we let lose of the things we treasure, it is not because we want to, but because someone else has coerced or forced us into it: we grudgingly give up a bit of our hoard of treasure because other selfish tyrants have exercised their own will on us.  In this case, you get a transaction that looks like giving, but is really nothing more than extortion.  This then is the dynamic of giving in our fallen world: one tries to gather and hoard all he can while others try to force things out of him.   

If God loves cheerful giving, there is nothing for Him to love about any of these transactions – although I daresay that the devil rejoices in all of them.  On the one hand, this is terrible: the fact that we have built our economies, our politics… even our marriages and churches on this kind of selfish extortion is a sign of our fallenness and just how much we have allowed sin to penetrate into our lives.  On the other (more positive) hand, it shows just how much opportunity we have for growth and improvement! 

Today I would like to develop the theme of cheerful giving when it comes to our wallets; our marriages, and within in the Church.

Selfishness, Extortion, and Cheerfulness when it Comes to Money

God loves cheerful givers – but He is not just talking about tipping the waitress or paying our Church dues without complaint.  We should be ready to give everything we have for Him and in service to others.  Ironically, this is actually the easiest to do with money – but that doesn’t mean we are willing to do it.  I bet everyone here (myself included) can think of a hundred seemingly “good” reasons why we should not give even just ten percent of your income in the form of a tithe.  Indeed, how many of us have grumbled when we write our monthly dues check to the Church?  We find it so hard to part with our money cheerfully … especially when it is for things that we don’t really value.  We are just like the rich young ruler [you remember: the one who “went away sad because he had many possessions] – we have no interest in sacrificing things that we care about, even if it means walking away from Christ.  But what is money compared to our relationship with God?  God doesn’t want our money – but He consistently points out to us that we cannot love money and Him at the same time.  How can money be more important than a healthy relationship with Him or anyone else?  How can money be more important than salvation?  But to us, it is more important than both.

Let me share an example from my own recent experience.  Hard times.  People need help.  They come to this parish to “help them out”.   This is what the prosphora basket is for.  And we help them as best we can.  But I can tell you that it really hurts that they see us only as a source of money – an opportunity to extract money.  We have so much more to offer!  Worse yet, they do not ask as one human to another – the transaction is not based on relationship or charity, but on some form of extortion or manipulation.  We are marks, and they are trying to play us.  

But if we refuse to play their petty little game, then we can change their lives.  I have seen that happen here.  And I don’t mean by refusing to give them money: I mean by stepping outside the rules of their silly game and GIVING FREELY.  This is the closest to giving the way God gives that we may ever come.

Think about it: God gives although we have nothing to offer Him and no leverage over Him.  He does not give because we have manipulated, forced, cajoled, or tricked Him.  We need to follow this model not just with beggars, but with each other.  If someone tries to manipulate you into doing something, then try this: step outside of the game of hoarding and extortion and give it to them freely out of love. 

You may think I am being ridiculous or unrealistic, but this is the way that God has taught us to act, and we would be fools not to follow His teaching.  You may think that this is too hard – after all, you need your money to pay the bills.  Yes, I reckon it is hard, but I think it gets even harder for us when we move away from money into things that we honestly care about.  Things like our pride, our will to control, our jealousy, and our grudges.  All of these things threaten our marriages, our parishes; indeed all of our relationships [not to mention our salvation!].

Selfishness, Extortion, and Cheerful Giving in Marriage

When God teaches us about giving in marriage, it is clear that there are to be no barriers between man and wife.  They are one flesh.  Grudges, secrets, hoarding, and manipulation have no place in marriage.  They are sins because they render the one flesh from the other.  This is true not just of money, but of our time, and even our intimacy [St. Paul is sometimes considered a prude, but he is very clear on this point: read your Bibles!]!  We are to deny each other in nothing.  The author Jim Gray has a made a fortune describing the differences between Mars and Venus and how our attitudes and actions determine whether those differences lead to war and weariness or the kind of joyful union where each perfects the other in complimentary fashion.  If you read the books, the message resonates with the Truth of the Gospel: selfless giving, service, and submission lead to joyful union.  But as St. Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians, I speak not [just] of marriage, but of the even deeper mystery of the Church.

Selfishness, Extortion, and Cheerful Giving in Church Life

Our goal as a parish and as a Church is given to us:  We are to become one as God is one (St. John 17).  In a mysterious way, The Church is a body: one flesh!  The implication of the Trinity, [and] the implication of a world founded on love is that we are perfected in relationship with one another.  Not every type of relationship is useful – and some are downright harmful.  Our Prayer Books describe “vices” and “commandments” and lists of sins to confess not because God has a set of rules He demands that we obey: God is not a tyrant or an extortioner. He has given us these lists because they describe the kinds of actions that destroy healthy relationships and that therefor must be avoided.  Gossip?  Adultery?  Coveting?  Lying?  Stealing?  Murder?  Grudges? Hoarding of time, treasure & talents?  How can a healthy relationship flourish or even survive where such things exist?  When God accepts us, it is not because we have followed rules, but because we have perfected our relations with Him and one another through Jesus Christ.  That is what we are doing here: perfecting our relationships with one another and with Christ. 

Don’t ask for forgiveness from your neighbor, be faithful to your wife, confess your sins, pay your dues (or even tithe), take Communion, (etc.) because it is what you are supposed to do: to reiterate my point… GOD IS NOT AN EXTORTIONER. 

Do all the things you have been taught to do because it will make you the men and women God created you to be; because it will bring joy to those around you; and because it will allow you to yourself become a living beacon of warmth and radiance to all.  A person who knows what a healthy relationship looks like has no need of rules: such a person follows them instinctively and as a matter of course.  We need rules because we are not there yet, but don’t confuse rules for anything real or eternal (St. Paul’s letter to the Hebrews).  All good laws are fulfilled in Jesus Christ – and a life in Him makes them superfluous.  When we do good because we are good [in Christ],  when we give all that we are without thought of reward or retaliation, then we have become cheerful givers.  This is the way of salvation.

Conclusion

If we accept these Truths, then we cannot help but rearrange ourselves, our marriages, and our church life accordingly.  In order for this to work, we must let go of our desire to control – we must stop being tyrants ourselves we must stop using our gifts to tyrannize our lovers, our parishioners, even our enemies… and instead offer these very same gifts cheerfully in loving service to our Lord [to our lovers, to our fellow parishioners, and even to our enemies].  Moreover, we must stop worrying about other people trying to control us – you cannot give cheerfully if you care about how other people might try to use your gift against you.

Here at St. Michael’s, we have been through a lot in our history, but [thank God!] our relationships with one another and with Christ are healing.  But if we want this process to continue, then we must resist the temptation to see our parish and her services as anything but part of that healing process.  We must let go of our grudges and resentments – if we try to use the blessings God has given us here – be they our Holy Sacraments, dues, membership, or anything associated with This Holy Place – for any other purpose than the spreading of God’s love, then we have given ourselves over to the greatest of tyrants: the devil.  Nothing here, nothing in our marriages, and nothing in our lives is given to us so that we can control, abuse, or gain the upper hand on others.  This is the devil’s way.

The devil is an extortionist who grants no mercy and offers no hope of healing or redemption.  And if we cast our lot with him, then we will suffer the same eternal defeat that all evil will when Love enjoys the full fruits of its victory through Christ.

God has given us everything here, in our marriages, and in our lives so that we might learn to be free.  If we want to enjoy this gift of freedom, if we want to be the men and women God created us to be, then we must always be ready to give everything we are and everything we have as an offering to love; and we must be ready to do so cheerfully and without reservation.

Cheerful giving is not about building up a bank account with God or the people around us – it is about changing the very nature of our relationship with Him and everyone else.  Not so long ago, Pani and I gave up everything we knew, everything that was familiar and comfortable, and everything we loved in order to serve Christ however and wherever He would have us.  This was the right thing to.  But if we think we can coast on that single offering, we are gravely mistaken!  If we do not continue to give everything we are and everything we have to His service, then we have failed in our calling.   None of us can afford to give just once in a while [even if we give a lot] – we must give everything all the time.  Nor is the goal to be cheerful every time we decide to give [no matter how often]– it’s about developing a continual habit of cheerful giving so that we actual become a Cheerful Giver (i.e. a person who is loving and self-sacrificing).

Let me leave you with three goals to work on for this week:

1. When someone upsets you; give up your pride and offer them your love and support without reservation
   

2. When someone asks or tries to force you to do something you don’t want to do; do it for them freely and cheerfully [as long as its nothing illegal or wicked, of course]
   

3. When the opportunity arises for you to manipulate, abuse, or get back at someone you hold a grudge against.  Don’t do it.  Instead, let go of your new leverage and your grudge, and use the opportunity to cheerfully and freely give them love
   

If we do these things, they will be the first steps on our way to full health and salvation.