God's Growth Economy

Pentecost 5, Proper 8

Fr. Tim Nunez

 “I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance.” (2 Corinthians 8:13-14) 

In today’s passage from his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul is encouraging them to gather and send a significant gift of support to the church at Jerusalem, who are undergoing intense persecution. The word that we translate in this context as “generous undertaking” is xaris (or charis,) which is also the Greek word for grace and the root word for charisma and for charity. It holds all of those meanings because it is the practical application of God’s love, both what we do – charity – and how we are gifted, charism.

Initially it seems a simple thing, the struggling church at Jerusalem needs help. We can describe love as a two-way street, it is relational so whether we are talking about loving God or loving each other, those relationships run both ways. But we should think of it more as a 4-lane road, because the feeling or disposition towards love carries with it the imperative that we do something about it. So we have a lane for feelings and a lane for doing running together, side by side. But the minute you start doing an act of grace or charity, it works on you in the most positive way. So both lanes run in each direction. Here is an example. 

When I was at St. Mary’s in Belleview, we had a guy in the church named Phil. He was a nice guy. His wife attended the 8:00 service faithfully every week. She was on the Altar Guild and active generally. Phil came about once a month because she wanted him to. He was always very pleasant, but he flat out told me that would be the extent of his involvement.

That started to change after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Phil told me he wanted to go. I looked into it, but the situation there was no bad that relief teams had to bring their own food, water and shelter – well beyond our capability. Then came a push in the diocese to get involved in long distance, cross-cultural mission. That was when Good Shepherd launched into our ongoing work with Iglesia del Buen Pastor in Santa Maria, Honduras. At St. Mary’s, we connected with a school for orphans and extremely poor children called El Hogar. I made a general announcement about gathering interest. 

Phil not only said he wanted to go, he would lead all the logistics - if I would let him do it and keep him free of nagging and second-guessing. He sorted through all the supplies we’d bring, who would bring what in their suitcases, everything. Our first year we took 15 people and 28 suitcases of supplies for the school and the programs we’d run for the kids in the evenings. (We were down there a full week. We would work most of the day painting, then do crafts with the kids after dinner.) Each suitcase was packed by the person who would check it through and was weighed to make sure it didn’t go over the limit.

Then a funny thing happened. Phil’s guard came down and Jesus got him. Phil’s urgency in leading the team and accomplishing the tasks they gave us to do really opened his heart. While he was focused on our abundance and their need, Jesus met his need.

He and his wife sponsored a child at El Hogar. He led two more teams in subsequent years, and his faith became a visibly live and growing thing. He jumped into leadership roles, whatever he could do he would do. That all came together such that when we really needed someone with his experience and ability, he was there and eager to serve.

Our decision to go was based on the idea that getting involved in Christ’s mission, locally, regionally and across the world helps people get closer to The Lord. We expected our pictures and stories would inspire people back home in many ways, including booting local mission efforts. That all happened. Fourteen others of us on the team were deeply touched by that first trip. We did a good job sharing our experience with the parish.

But I didn’t expect the transformation I saw in Phil. It became infectious. Other men in the church started to get more involved, sometimes as Phil recruited them for local projects but other times because they became more open to doing things, which often led them to a deeper faith as well. Phil wound up getting confirmed, a literal confirmation of his new life in Christ.

That’s how God’s economy works. In some respects, it works like a regular economy.  Our word economy comes from the Greek oikonomea, which has to do with the management of a household (oikos). All sorts of people doing or making something that other people need creates an economy. Then, as we exchange goods and services and as people produce and consume, an economy can grow. Anything we buy, look at your bulletin insert.  Someone bought the paper which was produced in a mill from wood harvested and transported by others. Someone delivered the paper to the printer; and the same with the inks. Someone built the printer. Someone designed the bulletin, someone proofread it, on and on until Lisa stuffed it in your bulletin.

All of that put these select portions of God’s word in your hand today.

God’s economy of grace works the same way. Each of us is a work in progress. We are products of a long process of how we were raised, what we have learned and all our life experiences up to this moment. We are also each a font of unrealized potential. The question is, what are you going to do with it?

That potential gets realized when we exercise it. As we take in God’s Word, as we grow in faith and get busy caring and serving, or maybe like Phil you go the other way, get busy and grow in faith and delve into God’s Word. In any case, the grace starts flowing in every direction. We aren’t just on a 4-lane highway, there are infinite highways running in every direction and on every plane of our existence.

But we’ve got to get on with it. I don’t know how Phil’s faith would have taken off if we hadn’t ever planned the mission trip to El Hogar. He began not only to do something but with a desire to do it. And in meeting a need, many needs, his deepest need was met.  I don’t think he even knew what he needed until he brushed up against Jesus in that project. Find yours.

AMEN!