Money is a risky business. One of the most awkward things about Jesus’ teaching is the emphasis he often puts on the dangerous effects of money. It can, he says, make us possessive, anxious, unscrupulous; it can impede our understanding of God and our way into his kingdom.
Asking for money is also an ambiguous business. We may all know the story of the widow’s mite – the generosity of the poor women who gave all that she had to the Temple collection box in comparison with those who threw in their loose change and could have afforded so much more. It is unclear whether the poor woman is being held up as an example of self sacrificial generosity or whether the Temple is being implicitly criticised for making her feel she has to give away what she needs to live on, especially when those who could afford it are far less generous.
What is clear from the whole gospel, however, is that a redeemed life is a life that is given away. We are, as it were, purified by letting ourselves go. It is not that we earn salvation thereby but that self giving is the foundation of a rich life. We discover ourselves by not possessing ourselves, by not keeping ourselves to ourselves. And by extension we might even say that the money we have is purified by the money we give away.
God is a God who gives himself away in creation, in the preservation of creation and in the life and death of his Son. We are made in the image of a self giving God. And we are stewards of what God gives us in creation; we do not possess it, we hold it in trust for those to whom it will be passed on, pre-eminently in our care of the planet and its peoples.
What God gives us is also for the resourcing of his mission in the world. The purpose of all Christian communities is to live for those who are not members and to grow the membership of these communities for others. Generosity is the core Christian value of religious people and religious communities.
October is this church’s anniversary of dedication, the month in which we also consider our dedication to this community for others. We are called to look again at the part we play in the church, the jobs we volunteer for and the money we give to the church, for the upkeep of its clergy and its mission.
We live in a society which is often unsure about the place of the church, about what it believes and its capacity for ‘interference’. What is increasingly recognised, however, is the church’s involvement in helping the least well off in society – its involvement in food banks and night shelters, in education and in work amongst the homeless and refugees. Sometimes such work seems to be impeded by the energy the church has to put into caring for all its historic buildings and in keeping itself going. And yet a place to worship and people to lead that worship and make it worthy, provide the focal point for recognising the generosity of God, learning about the ministry given to us all by his Son, and so finding the inspiration to be generous ourselves.
Autumn, as we were reminded by this week’s literary hour, is the season of mellow fruitfulness. And that is what we in church are also called to be; truly generous in our mellow fruitfulness!
The Vicar writes
Stephen Tucker