Pastor's Corner
February 19, 2017
Last Sunday before our collection for the Together in Mission campaign for the Archdiocese, I mentioned that St. Paul spoke of a similar collection for the poor Christians in Jerusalem that was taken up as part of his ministry. St. Paul dedicates chapters 8 and 9 of his second letter to the Corinthians to this collection, but a collection, or likely, collections are mentioned in Acts 11:19-30, Galatians 2:1-10, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, Romans 15:22-30, Acts 24:10-21.
The passage from 2 Corinthians emphasizes the theological nature of the collection, and St. Paul teaches the Corinthians to look outside themselves and their immediate problems and encourages the recipients of the collection to do the same! 2 Corinthians 8-9 is full of theological ideas important to the apostle: grace, fellowship (koinonia), service/ministry (diakonia), blessing, good works, thanksgiving (eucharistia), public service (leitourgia) and “harvest of righteousness”. It seems that this collection for poor Christians connected Paul’s theology, missionary work and pastoral concern.
And it was not only well-to-do communities that contributed. In 2 Cor 8:2, Paul writes of the churches in Macedonia, that “their profound poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” The recipients in Jerusalem were economically oppressed because of their faith in Christ. They also supported Christian pilgrims who came to the city, and many Christian widows whose spouses had died in the persecution that Paul had participated in before his conversion were being supported by the Christian community in Jerusalem.
For St. Paul, God’s favor (grace) produces grace in the form of concern for others. Contrary to what we might think, Paul was interested in not only spiritual need, but the physical needs of others. He refers to his collection as diakonia – service – from which we get the word “deacon”, and sees this as a powerful means of maintaining unity in a far-flung church. He also insists that giving be the result of careful consideration of one’s blessings.
It’s easy for us to adopt the attitude of contemporary society – to expect to pay for what we receive. But Christian stewardship works in the opposite direction. It’s recognizing what we have already received so much from God, and giving back to Him and His people with a spirit of gratitude and generosity.