Reflection on 2 Corinthians 9.6-15

Reflection 19-7-20 2 Corinthians 9 6-15

There hasn’t been much to celebrate during this long period of lockdown, but
there is one thing in particular which I have absolutely loved… And that has
been seeing and experiencing how wonderfully generous people have been!
When lockdown first started to take effect, people I had never met before
contacted me to ask if I knew of anyone who needed help with shopping being
brought to their door. I also witnessed local streets uniting to make sure
vulnerable neighbours were cared for…

In my street a local residents WhatsApp group was started so that neighbours
could communicate with each if they, or someone they knew of, needed any
specific help. Whether they needed a quick call for a chat, or whether they
needed medicine collected for them, or food picked up from the supermarket
and taken to their home. Seeing all this generosity of time and spirit happen
around me was so wonderfully uplifting and heartening!

And I saw this generosity being expressed in our church families too. I know
our pastoral visitors have been so very active and generous with their time and
care, making sure that those in their direct care are safe and well by calling
them up and having a chat and a laugh!

And there has also been a very generous response from our church families to
the call for help from the Foodbank being run at the school my Sian teaches at,
at St Teilo’s School. And one of the things which really made an impression on
me was not just the generosity of those who took the time to buy the
necessary stuff that was particularly needed at the time, but by the manner
with which the donations were made. There was no dutiful weariness in how
the laddened shopping bags and boxes were handed over at the door of the
manse. What I saw were beaming, smiling, cheerful faces! All happy to be
giving.

And when I looked at our passage of Scripture for today I smiled because I
have witnessed the cheerful generosity of so many good people that have
responded to a variety of needs without feeling reluctant and compelled to do
so. Instead everyone responded to a variety of needs with a cheerful readiness
which Paul speaks of in the passage we are looking at today.

And I also smiled as this passage uses imagery of the bountiful and generous
scattering of seed, and this brings to mind a passage of scripture from last
Sunday when we looked at the parable of the sower in Matthew’s gospel.
Where God the sower doesn’t just think about sowing the seed, or imagine it,
or worry about it, or anything else. God just sows the seed! Throughout the
whole world the sower goes, casting seed in every direction. And I can imagine
Him doing that with a smile on his face…

And we are called to be like our God. Not only working along side him in the
best way that we can to build his Kingdom and his Church in this world, but to
do this like Him too. To be generous without thinking. To let the generosity of
God flow through us with His joy, especially whenever and wherever there is
need! And what’s more, this kind of giving is not only seen by God as an act of
praise and thanksgiving, but he also promises us that we will also benefit by
giving in this way! In verse 11 Paul says that, we ‘will be enriched in every
way’, through cheerful giving.

And right now, there is still a need. God still calls us to carry on giving in
whatever way we can, but right now there is still a need for our church, the
wonderful place where we congregate and love God and each other; where we
worship God and lose ourselves in prayer and song and praise; where we come
together to learn more about our God and each other… This still needs our
giving. Not only with our love for God and each other, but also with whatever
the Holy Spirit moves us to give of our money to His church too.
Due to lockdown, I have certainly seen so much wonderful and cheerful
generosity in many different ways, and for this I thank God and am also
personally very moved and grateful. But now I ask of you one more gift of your
already generous spirits. Please prayerfully consider how you can help our
church, your church, God’s church here in Cardiff, recover from the financial
battering it’s received. Please prayerfully consider if you can manage to give a
little more in your weekly or monthly contributions to our church life. Or
please prayerfully consider whether you can manage to give a one-off
donation to help our church balance the books and to carry on its mission of
being a witness to God’s love to all through Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit.

Please do this prayerfully, thoughtfully, and cheerfully! And when you know in
your heart and are moved to give as you are able, know that you will be sowing
the seed of God’s love and righteousness in our lives. No matter how small, or
large a contribution that may be. And I ask all this, in Jesus name. Amen.