Homily

You can tell by the two letters that Paul wrote to the people of the Church in Corinth that it must have been quite a frisky parish. Just prior to the section we heard today St. Paul had been urging those who were eating meat that might have originally been sacrificed to a pagan god not to eat it if it scandalized their fellow parishioners. Yes, Paul says, you have the freedom in Christ to eat this meat, even if it had originally been used in a pagan sacrifice. But don't use this freedom if it's going to cause pain to your brothers and sisters in the Faith, who believe it's a bad thing to do. Their faith is not yet as strong as yours.

Then Paul speaks about his own situation as we heard today. "Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? Although I may not be an apostle for others I certainly am one for you . . . My defense against those who pass judgment on me is this." And then he goes on giving his testimony almost as if he were testifying in a court room before a jury, as he asks for them what kind of rights do they think he has as an apostle? Doesn't he have the right to marry? Doesn't he have the right to financial support from them so that he can carry out his work of evangelization? Now it's clear that some people in the parish were probably questioning whether or not he was a real, genuine, 100% apostle. And what was one reason for doubting he was an apostle? It was because he didn't ask them for any financial support. Because he didn't take a salary as the other apostles did, some of these people thought he couldn't really be an apostle. Imagine that! Because he never asked for food, drink or money he couldn't possible be an apostle? And the other point Paul wants to make here is that he has the right to their financial support, just as they have the right to eat meat sacrificed to idols, but he is also free NOT to use this right if it causes trouble for anyone in the parish, or if it gets in the way of his mission.

Paul here is speaking of the one thing that many people today think should ever be mentioned in church: money. You can talk about our sins, you can speak of our faithlessness, you can quote our bad speech, you can wrangle us for our wrong doing, but don't talk about money. I was thinking about money this past week and how, when most people think about money it is about how much money they do not have. There are probably not too many people who think about money so that they can say, "Oh, I'm just fine there." Of course there are people who are financially comfortable, but thoughts of cash usually arise when people don't have enough, or when they think they don't have enough. The number one topic of arguments in marriage is money. Money represents, for many people, their labor, their work, the time and skill and effort that they have put into earning their pay. So in a very real sense, money represents for many people, a part of themselves. It is given to them in exchange for what they gave of themselves in order to earn it. So it can be very personal to talk about one's cash and what to do with it. For many people, money also represents their most important form of security in life. It provides them with a means to be able to eat, drink, clothe themselves, house themselves, and pay for other necessary services. Even beyond these basics, for many people money also represents the ability to buy luxuries, goods and services that bring comfort, pleasure and enjoyment to life. And for some, money is a way to gain power over other people and influence the affairs of families, communities and even nations. I do not think there are a whole lot of people who would ever say, "I don't think I could stand having another dollar."

The Christians in Corinth were very suspicious of St. Paul because he did not want their money. My friends you need not be suspicious of me. I'm going to talk about money even further here. If St. Paul can do it with the Corinthians, why can I not do it with the Springfieldeans, the Eugeaneans, the Corvallisians, the Cottage Grovers, and yes, even the Jasperites?

I've noticed that over the past year a number of you have increased the donations you make to our church, and I'm very grateful for that. Just as your expenses grow from year to year, so do the expenses involved in running a parish. For example we just had an increase in utilities. We pay $182 a month just for the water run off fee for our parking lot. So thank you very much for your continued financial support, and for those of you who have even increased your donations.

And apart from that I am also very impressed to learn over the years how many of you support other charities and good works. Your generosity extends not just to the parish but to those who are in need outside of our Church, outside our community and even outside of our country.

But back again to this parish, I have seen a great deal of charitable giving in many different ways to numbers of our own congregation whether they are in the form of financial help, or material goods, or time, labor and skill used to aid those parishioners who are in need, as well as their relatives and friends, and those of you who are so generous in giving rides to those who do not drive. Then there is the time and effort made to visit the sick and those who are elderly and not able to travel freely. And I'll also throw in the warm welcome and friendliness that so many of you show to people who visit our church.

So although St. Paul acted differently in some respects than the other apostles when it came to matters of money, he had the same motivation as they did: to put his money where his faith was. May we do the same. If we put our money where our faith lies, it will surely serve Christ our Lord, and show us to be good and faithful servants.