First Lesson: 2 Samuel 1: 1, 17-27 Responsive Reading: Psalm 130 Second Lesson: 2 Corinthians 8: 7-15 Gospel Lesson: Mark 5: 21-43 Grace and Peace from Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
Once upon a time in a town such as this one lived a very rich man[1]. Everyone in the surrounding area knew this gentleman as the richest man around. In the same small town was a tiny charity struggling to pay their bills and keep their doors open week after week. As the charity’s situation kept worsening getting to the point where they feared imminently closing down, their Executive Director decided to appeal to the richest man around. The Executive Director cobbled together her best outfit and spent hours going over the best reasons to give to the charity that meant so much to her. The rich man sitting in a suit that cost thousands of dollars listened to her case. Finally, after ten minutes, he proceeds to interrupt her. “I can understand why you approached me. Yes, I do have a lot of money, and yours is an important cause. But are you aware that I have a lot of calls for my money? Did you know my mother needs 24-hour nursing care[2].” The Executive Director meekly shares her head. The rich man then asks “Did you know my sister is struggling to raise a family of eight on her own[3]?” The Executive Director shakes her head once again. The rich man keeps going “Did you know I have one son in a drug rehab clinic and another doing volunteer work overseas[4]?” The Executive Director softly says “No, I didn’t know any of this.” To which the rich man looks her in the eye and says “Well if I don’t give them a cent, what makes you think I’ll give it to you[5]?!” Now the rich man in our story had worked hard for every cent he had ever made. It was certainly true that he was entitled to every last cent, yet perhaps there can be different ways to think about the money that we have. Let me tell you another story, towards the end of the 19th Century two young men were working their way through what was known at the time as Leland Stanford University[6]. These young men being college students barely had a penny to their name. They then thought of what seemed to be a brilliant fundraiser scheme; Ignacy Paderewski was arguably the most popular musician in the world in the 1890’s[7]. The students wished to put on a piano concert performed by Paderewski at what would come to be known as Stanford University. The students figured the profits from the concert could help pay for their room and board. They get a hold of Paderewski’s manager who asked the students to guarantee 2,000 dollars for a Paderewski appearance. The students agreed and the concert was planned. Paderewski plays at Stanford, yet a problem remained. The students had only raised $1600 of the 2000 dollars they had promised Paderewski. They talk to Paderewski after the concert; they give him a promissory note and declare that they will send the missing $400 bucks to Paderewski as soon as possible. Paderewski refused any additional money; he tore their promissory note to shreds, he then unexpectedly handed back to them 10% shares each of the sixteen dollars that he had been given to thank them for their work and effort[8]. Paderewski had given away hundreds of dollars that rightfully belonged to him putting it back in the pockets of broke college students. The story of Paderewski and these college students would not be over; we will return to their story in just a little bit. Today’s lesson comes to us from the Book of 2 Corinthians[9]. The new Bible study we’re doing at church is about the letters written by the Apostle Paul to the various 1st generation Christian Churches. Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians deals with the theme of Christian Stewardship. A “steward” is considered one who manages the financial business of another[10]. The concept of Christian stewardship is laid out in Psalm 24 which declares: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it[11].” So Christian Stewardship is how we manage the very resources that God has given us such as the Rich Man from the first story managed his money or Paderewski played his piano. Stewardship is a reminder that everything that we own no matter whose name is on the bank account, credit card, or mortgage statement is a gift from God[12]. This notion of stewardship is on display throughout the scriptures. In the life of Moses as the Israelites prepare to enter the “promised land.” Moses reminds them of all God has done to bring them to that place: release from Egyptian slavery, journey through the wilderness while being sustained by manna falling from the sky. God had provided for the people of Israel in awesome and direct ways. But now as they journeyed forward, God’s role would not be so dramatic, but God’s activity would come in more indirect ways of sun, rain, and growth from the Earth[13]. The land ahead will be a “land of plenty,” where the Israelites will truly lack nothing if even this doesn’t appear to be so. Moses had a very important reason for addressing the concept of stewardship so directly to the people of Israel. He knew the more prosperous the people of Israel got, the more likely they were to forget from whom their blessings truly came. Moses’ struggle with stewardship would soon become Paul’s struggle upon the birth of the Christian church[14]. So in our lesson Today, Paul seeks to address an issue of Stewardship directly. The Christian church in Jerusalem has a lot of saints/members in need (Romans 15:25-26.[15]) The Corinthian Church has their share of well-off members[16]. Now the Corinthian Church given to the Jerusalem church was not to going to be easy. These two churches illustrated in many ways the great divide of Paul’s day. The Jerusalem church was predominantly Jewish Christian who would often treat Gentile Christians or new-believers which were dominant in Corinth as Second Class-Christians. In fact, many Jewish Christians would even refuse to dine with Gentile Christians. Now Paul was boldly asking the Gentile Christians to open up their wallets to support those Jewish Christians with whom they’ve had tension. Paul instead encourages the Corinthians to give because whether Jew or Gentile they are truly one family in Christ Jesus. Paul explains the situation as such: “At present, your plenty will supply what they need so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little[17].” Paul’s wants Stewardship to ultimately be thought of as the great equalizer of the Christian faith. How the Cross took place so that both Jew and Gentile might praise together Christ’s mighty deeds of which stewardship is one part in the years ahead (Romans 15:1-13)[18]. We might struggle with stewardship because we notice our wallet getting smaller everytime we give up a dollar, it’s hard to see stewardship’s value immediately because of this. Earlier I told you the story of the “piano-man,” Ignacy Paderewski who gave of his concert fee to help a couple struggling Leland Stanford college students. Paderewski would go on to live a remarkable life. He became wealthy due to his piano-playing and became a well-known philanthropist. Paderewski was one of the most widely admired citizens in his native Poland[19]. Paderewski like the Apostle Paul would appeal to higher ideals in times of great internal strife. World War I breaks out over Europe; Paderewski’s Poland is devastated in its wake. Paderewski then gets appointed Poland’s Prime Minister. Thousands of people are starving throughout his native land[20]. Paderewski needed to appeal to American allies to assist in the midst of this crisis. The Americans help Poland out. Paderewski then travels to Paris to meet with the American official in charge of European relief efforts. Paderewski hoped to thank the man in person. The man graciously received Paderewski’s thanks. He then pointed out “You don’t remember it, but you helped me once when I was a student at college at Stanford and I was in a hole[21]” of my own. The college student who Paderewski helped out and eventually thanked went by the name of Herbert Hoover. Paul in our lesson wants Stewardship to be the great equalizer of the Christian faith much as it eventually equalized Paderewski and Hoover. Paul’s whole stewardship philosophy is based on the newfound realities of Christ’s death and resurrection. “How Christ gave up his own extraordinary riches so that others might receive the abundant wealth of God’s Grace[22].” Let me close with one final story to illustrate this[23]; Little Ralphie belonged to a family of five. One morning, Ralphie brought home five stones that he thought would make perfect tombstones for his family. “Look here,” Ralphie said to his mother. Mother counted the five tombstones. Mother points out Ralphie’s problem “There isn’t a tombstone for Deliah, the maid[24].” Ralphie was stumped for a moment; then he finally figured out the solution. “Oh, well, never mind, Deliah can have mine, and I’ll just keep on living[25].” I began today by telling you the story of a very rich man, who clung to his money like life itself, whereas Ralphie realized that there are things more important than money such as unoccupied tombstones. Amen [1] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching. Web. June.6.2018. Taken from unknown source. [2] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching. [3] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching. [4] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching [5] Higgins, Scott. “Why Would I Give It to You?” Stories for Preaching. [6] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am. Web. June.6.2018. Taken from Sermon Illustrations.com [7] “Ignacy Jan Paderewski.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. 4.June.2018. Web. June.6.2018. [8] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am. [9] 2 Corinthians 8:7-15. [10] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations. 5.June.2018. Web. June.6.2018. [11] Psalm 24:1. [12] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations. [13] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations. [14] Stier, Leon. “Christian Stewardship(part one of two).” Email Mediatations. [15] Works, Carla. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.” Working Preacher. Luther Seminary. 1.July.2012. Web. June.6.2018. [16] Adams, Edward. “Church at Corinth.” Bible Odyssey. Web. June.6.2018. [17] 2 Corinthians 8:14-15. [18] Works, Carla. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 8:7-15.” Working Preacher. [19] Ignacy Jan Paderewski.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. [20] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am. [21] Bok, Edward. A. “Generosity.” Perhaps I Am. [22] 2 Corinthians 8:9. [23] “Generosity”. More Illustrations. Web. June.6.2018. [24] Generosity”. More Illustrations. [25] Generosity”. More Illustrations. Comments are closed.
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