I get very irritated by the inconsiderate and impatient drivers who speed around London, pushing to the front of traffic queues. Their rudeness brings rudeness out of me. When they try to push in front of my car, I try to squeeze them out. I get cross and agitated, and express my annoyance. I don’t think I’m the only one.
Jesus advises a different way of responding to the irritations around us. He didn’t have to cope with London drivers, but - having walked around the narrow alleys of ancient Capernaum - I suspect that tempers got stretched there just as much as they do in our over-crowded streets.
Jesus advised the ordinary folk of Capernaum: “Don’t resist tedious people. If someone slaps you on one cheek, let them slap the other. If someone sues you, give them more than they are asking for. If someone forces you to go out of your way for them, go even further. And if anyone asks something of you, give it to them." (See Matthew 5:39-32 for the official version.) In short: go around this world with a generous heart.
We like to feel in control of our lives: our time, our bodies and our money. When we do not feel in control, we get stressed: our heartbeat rises, adrenaline flows, our fight/flight instincts take over. Jesus proposes a different way. We don’t need to be in control. We don’t need to protect our dignity. God loves us, and he loves those challenging people just as much as he loves us. ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth’ is not God’s way.
Jesus didn’t just teach this different way, he lived it. When 5000 people gatecrashed a quiet day out with his disciples, he loved them, taught them and fed them. And ultimately, when the Jewish authorities decided that he had to be killed, Jesus let them do even that. That’s how he chose to save the world.
We don’t have to push back. We don’t need to resist. There is a better way. God loves those annoying and demanding people, and he wants us to love them too.
Showing posts with label generosity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label generosity. Show all posts
Tuesday, 7 November 2017
Thursday, 12 October 2017
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly - Sunday 8th October 2017
When things go right for us, we like to think that it is because we have done well and are reaping our just rewards. If we include God in this picture, we like to think that God is blessing us because he is pleased with us.
When things go wrong, on the other hand, we quickly assume that someone has fouled up and we are suffering for their mistake. Some of us will be inclined to take the blame on ourselves; some will tend to point the finger of blame at others. If we include God in this picture we conclude that either God has inexplicably failed to look after us, or that we are being punished for our (or someone else’s) failing.
This is normal human behaviour. We learn this process of apportioning blame and credit from an early age.
Jesus sees it differently. He said, “[God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
God is indiscriminate when it comes to blessing people. If we are enjoying God’s blessing, it doesn’t mean we are better than anyone else. If the rain falls on us at just the wrong moment, it doesn’t mean we are worse. God delights to bless all his people - good and bad alike, and that’s how he wants us to treat each other.
Let us not be judgmental about who we help, who we support, and who we devote our energies to. We are children of the God who provided for Adam and Eve both before and after they disregarded the one and only rule he had given them. We need to follow his example.
When things go wrong, on the other hand, we quickly assume that someone has fouled up and we are suffering for their mistake. Some of us will be inclined to take the blame on ourselves; some will tend to point the finger of blame at others. If we include God in this picture we conclude that either God has inexplicably failed to look after us, or that we are being punished for our (or someone else’s) failing.
This is normal human behaviour. We learn this process of apportioning blame and credit from an early age.
Jesus sees it differently. He said, “[God] makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.”
God is indiscriminate when it comes to blessing people. If we are enjoying God’s blessing, it doesn’t mean we are better than anyone else. If the rain falls on us at just the wrong moment, it doesn’t mean we are worse. God delights to bless all his people - good and bad alike, and that’s how he wants us to treat each other.
Let us not be judgmental about who we help, who we support, and who we devote our energies to. We are children of the God who provided for Adam and Eve both before and after they disregarded the one and only rule he had given them. We need to follow his example.
Monday, 21 November 2016
Financially Committed - Sunday 20th November 2016
Most of us have a long list of financial commitments which counterbalance our regular income with essential outgoings. By time we have paid our utility bills, insurance premiums, tax obligations and much more, we often feel reluctant to commit ourselves to additional, voluntary commitments to charities or churches.
The Old Testament shares a charming story of a woman who one day invited Elisha (the man of God) to supper. At the end of their meal she extended the invitation by offering to feed him any time he was passing by - which he accepted. In the course of time she extended the invitation further, offering Elisha and his assistant a bed for the night. Then, after they had become frequent house guests, she extended her invitation further still by building and furnishing a guest room especially for Elisha, which he was welcome to use at any time.
No doubt this was a great help to Elisha as he sought to carry God’s call for justice around ancient Israel. And was also, no doubt, a significant commitment for the woman and her husband - in both money and time - for many years. Their commitment was noted by God, who blessed the couple with a long-hoped for son in appreciation for their generosity.
God notices when, in addition to our unavoidable financial commitments, we commit ourselves to some cause or causes that lie near the heart of his care for the world. It may stretch our budgets at times, but - if we choose carefully - the world will be a better place for our commitment, and God will smile.
The Old Testament shares a charming story of a woman who one day invited Elisha (the man of God) to supper. At the end of their meal she extended the invitation by offering to feed him any time he was passing by - which he accepted. In the course of time she extended the invitation further, offering Elisha and his assistant a bed for the night. Then, after they had become frequent house guests, she extended her invitation further still by building and furnishing a guest room especially for Elisha, which he was welcome to use at any time.
No doubt this was a great help to Elisha as he sought to carry God’s call for justice around ancient Israel. And was also, no doubt, a significant commitment for the woman and her husband - in both money and time - for many years. Their commitment was noted by God, who blessed the couple with a long-hoped for son in appreciation for their generosity.
God notices when, in addition to our unavoidable financial commitments, we commit ourselves to some cause or causes that lie near the heart of his care for the world. It may stretch our budgets at times, but - if we choose carefully - the world will be a better place for our commitment, and God will smile.
Monday, 31 October 2016
What's it worth? - Sunday 30th October 2016
Whenever we buy something, we do a calculation in our heads concerning what it will cost us and what it is worth to us. Different people value things differently. We did a test. We took a look at Picasso’s painting "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust”. The most anyone in St Catherine’s was prepared to pay for it was £200 - a long way short of the $106.5 million that someone else paid for it at auction in 2010!
So, how does God value our financial offerings - be they to a church or to any charitable cause?
Jesus was seated near the Temple treasury, teaching his disciples, while worshippers and tourists made their obligatory financial contributions. He saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins and drew his disciples' attention to it. “This woman has given more than all the others,” he observed. "They gave out of their wealth, but this woman has given all that she had to live on.”
God is not interested in the numerical value of our donations, but is interested in what our offering is worth to us. God doesn’t measure in sterling, euros or dollars, but in love and generosity. When we consider how much to give to a church or charity, it is not enough to look at the numbers; we need to look into our hearts. Often we give just enough to satisfy our conscience. That's not very satisfying. But if we give just enough to put a smile on God's face, we might find that the smile will visit our face too.
So, how does God value our financial offerings - be they to a church or to any charitable cause?
Jesus was seated near the Temple treasury, teaching his disciples, while worshippers and tourists made their obligatory financial contributions. He saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins and drew his disciples' attention to it. “This woman has given more than all the others,” he observed. "They gave out of their wealth, but this woman has given all that she had to live on.”
God is not interested in the numerical value of our donations, but is interested in what our offering is worth to us. God doesn’t measure in sterling, euros or dollars, but in love and generosity. When we consider how much to give to a church or charity, it is not enough to look at the numbers; we need to look into our hearts. Often we give just enough to satisfy our conscience. That's not very satisfying. But if we give just enough to put a smile on God's face, we might find that the smile will visit our face too.
Tuesday, 30 August 2016
Promises, promises - Sunday 28th August 2016
I wonder how many promises I have made which I have never fulfilled, and long forgotten. Plenty, I’m sure.
Some time after David became king of Israel, he remembered a promise he had made years earlier. The promise had been made in private to someone who had long since died. He could easily have set the memory aside. But he didn’t. Also, to keep this promise was likely to cost David a vast amount and could significantly benefit his political enemies. Nonetheless, he went out of his way to fulfil the obligation he had made.
The promise had been made to Jonathan, son of the then king of Israel. David had become locked in a deadly rivalry with Jonathan’s father as it became clear that David, not Jonathan, would be the next king of Israel. Facing the prospect of his own death in that process, Jonathan asked David to care for his family. David promised that he would.
However, when Jonathan and his father, Saul, died in battle, David’s political supporters were quick to assassinate all King Saul’s immediate heirs. The family was wiped out and the new king, David, took over all their land and property.
Some 15 years later, David remembered his promise to Jonathan. He could easily have dismissed the memory. Instead he searched for any remaining relative of Saul and Jonathan to whom he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake. He discovered a crippled grandson of the former king, who had been rescued from the slaughter by his nurse, though permanently injured in the process.
David met the disabled young man and restored to him all the land and property that had belonged to King Saul. David kept his promise, not to an acceptable minimum, but to the maximum. That is the kind of man David was.
St Paul described David as a man after God’s heart. David was honourable, generous and forgiving. That’s what God is like.
Some time after David became king of Israel, he remembered a promise he had made years earlier. The promise had been made in private to someone who had long since died. He could easily have set the memory aside. But he didn’t. Also, to keep this promise was likely to cost David a vast amount and could significantly benefit his political enemies. Nonetheless, he went out of his way to fulfil the obligation he had made.
The promise had been made to Jonathan, son of the then king of Israel. David had become locked in a deadly rivalry with Jonathan’s father as it became clear that David, not Jonathan, would be the next king of Israel. Facing the prospect of his own death in that process, Jonathan asked David to care for his family. David promised that he would.
However, when Jonathan and his father, Saul, died in battle, David’s political supporters were quick to assassinate all King Saul’s immediate heirs. The family was wiped out and the new king, David, took over all their land and property.
Some 15 years later, David remembered his promise to Jonathan. He could easily have dismissed the memory. Instead he searched for any remaining relative of Saul and Jonathan to whom he could show kindness for Jonathan’s sake. He discovered a crippled grandson of the former king, who had been rescued from the slaughter by his nurse, though permanently injured in the process.
David met the disabled young man and restored to him all the land and property that had belonged to King Saul. David kept his promise, not to an acceptable minimum, but to the maximum. That is the kind of man David was.
St Paul described David as a man after God’s heart. David was honourable, generous and forgiving. That’s what God is like.
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