Homily

You can tell by reading 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 in his letter, St. Paul was speaking to the parishioners who didn’t have a problem eating meat that had been sacrificed to a pagan god. He tells them that they certainly do have the freedom in Christ to eat this meat. But this is upsetting to some of their fellow parishioners who believe it’s a sin to eat this meat. St. Paul tells the meat-eaters they should not use their freedom at the parish potluck if it is going to cause scandal to their neighbors, whose faith is not as strong.

Then Paul moves on to talk about his own situation as we heard today. He asks, "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?

Paul is saying this because some people in the parish were 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. Imagine this—because he didn't take a salary as the other apostles did, some of these people thought he couldn't really be a real apostle. Because he never asked for food, drink, or money he couldn't possibly be an apostle. Paul makes the point 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 talk about our swearing, you can wrangle us for our wrongdoing, but don't talk about money. And yet Jesus talks about money in quite a few places in the Gospels. Can you think of some? (Good question for discussion on the way home today!)

I was thinking about money this past week and how, when most people think about money, they are thinking about how much money they do not have. There are probably not too many people who think about money and are satisfied that they really don’t need any more. And I do wonder how many people have ever thought they have too much money. Bill Gates is worth 132 billion dollars and Jeff Bezos, 192 billion. I can’t even comprehend that kind of wealth. And why do they hang on to it all? I think it is because of the power such riches give them.

The number one topic that married couples argue about is money. Money represents 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 real 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 (sadly, not their trust in God.) Naturally it provides us with a means to be able to eat, drink, clothe, and house themselves, and pay for other necessary services. Even beyond these basics, money also represents the ability to buy luxuries, goods, and services that bring comfort, pleasure, and enjoyment to life. And for some, money is also 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 in my pocket."

The Christians in Corinth were very suspicious of St. Paul because he did not want their money. My friends, I promise you will never have to 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 some of you have increased the donations you make to our church, and I'm very grateful for that, especially for your donations during those many weeks when we were not able to hold public services. 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 $225 a month just for the water run off fee for our parking lot. If I divide that among the number of parish donors that’s about $4.50 per donor, just for the parking lot fee every month. So thank you very much for your continued financial support, and for those of you who have even increased your donations. Thank you. It’s so helpful.

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 have 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. I ask you to please always keep in mind that the way we spend money should be in accordance with our faith, and we should regularly think about how well we are faithfully spending money for ourselves, for our families, our church, and our neighbors. If we put our money where our faith lies, it will surely serve our neighbors, our faith life and thereby, it also serves Christ our Lord. May our spending always show us to be His good and faithful servants.