Sixth Sunday after Pentecost, June 30, 2024
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
by Allison Courey
My father-in-law likes to tell a story about a grandmother who takes her young grandson out and buys him some fries. As she’s sitting beside him drinking her coffee, she asks if she can have one of his fries and he says “No!” and pulls them all to himself. The grandma just smiles and says, “That’s okay, you don’t have to share your fries with me.” What the child doesn’t understand yet is that his grandmother is an incredibly generous person, and whenever he is with her his needs will be met. She isn’t asking him to share with her so she can take away something that’s his, but so he will get to experience the joy of sharing what he has with his grandma.
The child’s worldview is characterized by what American theologian Walter Bruggemann calls “the myth of scarcity,” which is the idea that there will never be enough to go around, and to survive, we need to take as much as we can for ourselves. On the other hand, the grandmother believes that in God’s economy, there is always enough. She’s trying to teach the child what Bruggemann calls “the liturgy of abundance.”
The entirety of scripture tells the story of this pull back and forth between abundance and scarcity. In creation, God brings forth all earth’s creatures in opulent diversity, and then, just to make a point that it’s enough and there’s no need to hustle for more, God creates the sabbath and takes a rest. All of Israel’s laws and parables point, not only to a God who is good and generous, but to an economy of abundance, a worldview which insists there is enough for everyone.
The story of the Israelites finding manna in the wilderness is an example of God’s economy of abundance. The Israelites are warned not to hoard the manna, because every day there will be enough for everyone. But they have just come out of Egypt, where the myth of scarcity is powerful. In Egypt, there is no day of rest to declare that six days of work are enough. In Egypt, Pharaoh hustles for more every day of his life, and oppresses as many people as he can, out of fear that being generous will result in his own poverty.
In a world where resources are hoarded while people are exploited, the Israelites are invited to live in a way which trusts the generosity of their creator. Exodus 16 explains, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.” There was this perfect balance, as each of God’s people learned to be content with having enough, not scrambling for more at the expense of anyone else.
At the end of our reading from 2 Corinthians today, Paul quotes this bit of the manna story. He’s writing a stewardship campaign urging the Corinthians, who have more than enough, to make a large donation to the church in Jerusalem, which is impoverished. Paul wants them to understand that God’s economy is different from Caesar’s economy. In Caesar’s economy, it is everyone for themselves because there is never enough to go around. The myth of scarcity says that giving is dangerous, because I will end up being the one without enough.
But in God’s economy, there is enough for everyone when we work together. What’s important is not the amount you give, but that you are able to recognize when you have enough and then give the rest to help those who don’t.
Knowing how much is enough is complicated in our own economy, which is also structured around the myth of scarcity. After our monthly bills, there are RRSPs, insurance, investments, and debts. People my age are taking on second jobs and carrying their work around with them, structuring our lives around the belief that we will never have enough.
Bruggemann admits that the difference between scarcity and abundance isn’t as simple as just switching schools. He writes that, “the central problem of our lives is that we’re torn apart by the conflict between our attraction to the good news of God’s abundance and the power of our belief in scarcity… we spend our lives trying to sort out that ambiguity.”
Paul believes that immersion into the liturgy of abundance is a mark of spiritual maturity. He explains that the Corinthian church is filled with gifts: they “excel” in faith, in knowledge, in eagerness, and in speech. He seems to be suggesting a progression of Christian maturity in a congregation. First, they learn the basics of the faith and Scripture. Then, they get excited about what they’re learning and in turn make changes in their behaviour: how they speak to one another, conduct business, and so on. As their knowledge and eagerness deepen, they develop faith, which is trust in God and belief in the teachings of the church.
But believing in something isn’t enough. In the final stage of Christian maturity, Paul asks the Corinthians to “complete” their eagerness with financial stewardship. Christians give to the church, and to the poor and oppressed, because they’ve become immersed in the liturgy of abundance, and they believe that generosity makes them richer. In chapter 9, Paul explains that in God’s economy, “the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
I have a friend in northern Manitoba who has absorbed the liturgy of abundance into the way she manages her budget. She and her husband both have good jobs, and they don’t have children. Instead of spending their extra income on themselves, they live as simply as they can and give the rest of their money away. She recently told me a story about her husband, who is notoriously meticulous, going over their monthly bills. “Well!” he laughed, “Looks like Jesus is our most expensive bill again this month!” From his perspective, the reason he makes more money than he needs is so that he can give it away.
But in God’s economy, “generosity” is not just about money. I know that every one of you has unique gifts to share with your community. Some of you have the gift of hospitality, or prophecy, or teaching. Some of you have gifts of administration, or wisdom, or stewardship. And for those of you who have been gifted with more financial resources than others, sharing your money is part of your spiritual vocation.
It’s my opinion that a priest shouldn’t know much about who gives what financially, so this isn’t directed at anyone in particular. But if you consider Resurrection your spiritual home and you’re ready to jump into the liturgy of abundance, but you haven’t quite done it yet with your finances, I want you to consider giving financially in a new way. Maybe you’re ready to try automated giving or talk about putting the church in your will. Or maybe you are stretched too thin financially, but you want to find other ways to give to the church from your time and talents.
Part of the reason I don’t like talking about money is that I really believe in God’s economy and the liturgy of abundance. I’m probably known in the diocese for having my head in the clouds, talking about prophecy while everyone else is busy paying their bills. But the truth is, the church will live on long after all of us and all of our money. The question for you and me is, what do we want to invest our lives in: the myth of scarcity, or the liturgy of abundance? As Bruggemann puts it, “Our hope is that the Creator will empower us to trust his generosity, so that bread may abound.”
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