The Generosity of God

Proper 20A, September 24, 2023, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, by Sr. Annette Fricke, OP o It’s all about the generosity of God. This gospel passage is all abou the generosity of God and so are the other lessons. Jonah tried to run away from God. Instead of heading north-east to Nineveh (about 725 miles) he set off for Tarshish which is present day Spain (3,000 miles away). Jonah did not want to preach against the city. God saved the city of Nineveh because they turned from their evil ways. Then, God provided a bush for Jonah to give shade over his head, to save him from discomfort. The next day, the tree died, it became hot, and Jonah became angry. God confronted him and said, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” Then God pointed out that Jonah didn’t do anything with the bush. Why should he be angry? God asked Jonah, “Should I not be concerned about the city of Nineveh that has 120,000 persons and many animals?” God decided that Nineveh should be saved. Generosity. o Add to this the Psalm which ends with verse 8, “The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great kindness.” Generosity. o In the Philippians passage, Paul is probably in prison and can’t decide if he wants to continue preaching the gospel or depart from this life and live with Christ. He then states he will continue and admonishes the congregation to live their lives in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ despite the congregation also living a life of struggle. Generosity. o Matthew is writing to a congregation described as ‘mixed’. It includes both long-time Jewish Christians and others who have joined just recently, likely Gentile converts. This congregation has ex-Lutherans, ex-Catholics, and a few cradle Episcopalians. Some, like me, have been here less than ten years. Sometimes in our humanness, we may grumble about some who do a great deal of work for St. Martin’s and others who don’t do so much. o But just like our coffee hour, God always gives us what we need and “everyone has plenty”, but not too much. The same for the invitation to partake in the Eucharist. Remember the manna given to the people in the wilderness when it rained down from heaven? When the people tried to gather more than their share, it became spoiled and wormy. Both leaders and servants received the same amount. The physically fit as well as the disabled both receive the same equally, people who work all day and those who don’t. It is a gift from God. Jesus is at work to create a new order where all are the same, not this person above that one, but all are recipients of God’s generosity. The social order is not based on competition and inequality. There is room for everyone in God’s kingdom. To our minds, it seems upside down. God’s equality is not ours. We tend to compare one person to another and rank who is better than others, whose occupation is worth more to society. o But this parable is not about our sense of justice, but God’s vision of justice. Although it seems that the most natural fit, the most visible and hard-working people should get a bigger reward, they don’t. The people who have believed in Jesus for a much longer time should have a bigger reward than those who converted near the end of their lives. Here is where it is spelled out in very plain language to be not true at all. o It would not likely work at a job to give daily pay as happens in this parable. If so, all would clamor to get a job as one of the first employees of a job site. However, we can work towards seeing that other people have enough food, clothing, shelter, access to medical and social services, job training. The generosity of God is to be distributed through us who believe that Jesus is the Christ and is worthy of being followed and imitated. Our stewardship of resources, of food and offerings help accomplish the generosity of God so that all may know and live in the grace that God gives so freely to all. Always remember that God wants us to treat all the same. No one person is better than another because we are all each an individual with different gifts, talents, and resources. And it takes many people working together to do the ministry of God. When we all work together, we can accomplish so much. o As we come to the end of another church year, consider carefully how you can help this congregation or the diocese to do the work of God’s generosity. It’s all about the generosity of God.