How can we freely share the gift of life in God’s Spirit with the world?
‘We have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’
Can you imagine the shock on St Paul’s face when the Ephesians said this? These people were Christians, but they hadn’t even heard of the Holy Spirit!
Their problem was that they were stuck with just the first part of the Christian message. Remember John the Baptist’s words: ‘I baptise with water for repentance, but one will come who will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’ This new baptism is not just about repentance but is also the gift of new life in the Holy Spirit.
Jesus freely gives this gift to his disciples and Paul shares it with the Ephesians.
Having been given the gift of new life in the Spirit, the starting point of Christian generosity is to ask ourselves: how can we freely share the gift of life in God’s Spirit with the world?
Joshua Townson is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Oxford.
An opportunity to look at our lives and the gifts we have been given.
In the rhythm of our life as a church, the autumn term comes to us as a gift in the form of our Stewardship (Generosity) Season. I welcome it with real joy because it gives us an opportunity to regroup as disciples of Jesus and to have a kind of spiritual MOT. An opportunity to look at our lives and the gifts we have been given; We take time to ask:
Lord what is your purpose for me now?
What will you have me do with the time that I have?
What will you have me to do with the gifts you've given me?
What will you have me do with the money you've given me?
What is it about my presence in this place that you want to use for the advancement of your Kingdom?
It’s not surprising that this is the lens through which I read this Psalm. I see here a declaration of the kingship of the Messiah. The meditation of my heart can only be: may he reign forever, and Lord start with me.
Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long. Psalm 72.15
Esther Prior is the vicar of St John’s, Egham, vice-chair of Church Pastoral Aid Society Patronage Trustees, serves on General Synod as Pro-Prolocutor and the Crown Nominations Commission. She is a contributor to God’s Church for God’s World: Faithful Perspectives on Mission and Ministry, published by IVP.
It takes a certain generosity of spirit to hand over ‘our’ ministry – but it can have far reaching effects.
It takes a certain generosity of spirit to hand over ‘our’ ministry to someone new and untried. Can you imagine what went through Eli’s mind, when he realised that God was calling – not to him, the priest – but to Samuel, a young lad who ‘did not yet know the Lord’?
In a time when ‘the word of the Lord was rare’ in the land of Israel, Eli could easily have been tempted to keep his knowledge of God to himself. He could have begrudged young Samuel his call from the Lord, nursing resentment that his own sons had been rejected from serving as priests because of their bad behaviour. Eli could have told Samuel to be quiet and go back to sleep, holding on to the things of God for himself and his sons – scoundrels though they were.
But he didn’t.
Instead, he taught Samuel how to respond to the voice of the Lord: ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’ So the word of the Lord came to Samuel; and through him, to all Israel.
It takes a certain generosity of spirit to hand over ‘our’ ministry – but it can have far reaching effects.
Rev. Dr Miriam Bier Hinksman is a curate in the diocese of Canterbury. She has written an academic tome on Lamentations, as well as Reading Hosea: A Beginner’s Guide, available here: https://grovebooks.co.uk/collections/biblical/products/b-108-reading-hosea-a-beginner-s-guide
Spread the generous invitation with others.
One of the images that runs throughout the Bible is that of a wedding. That may well be why the first of the signs in John’s Gospel is set at a wedding.
Weddings are wonderful, but not if you are left out. Yet in Revelation an angel says, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb”.
You are invited. Not just to the wedding of the year. The biggest of royal or celebrity weddings has nothing on this.
This is what all history has been working towards. And you are invited.
And not just a guest to stand at the back and gawp at the bride’s dress. You are invited as a part of the bride. And you are called to go spread that generous invitation with others.
What could you do, what could you give to share that invitation?
Tim Edwards is Rector in the Benefice of Knockholt with Halstead in the Diocese of Rochester. .
Trust that God will fulfil his promise to care for us
Simeon is often portrayed as an old man. He’d waited his whole life for the fulfilment of the promise God had made to him, that he wouldn’t die before seeing the Messiah.
Can you imagine how he felt holding Jesus in his arms? Can you see the tears on his cheeks as his faith is finally rewarded?
Simeon’s generosity is expressed through his trust in God’s promises. He gave his whole life in service to God, trusting that he would see the Messiah with his own eyes.
Sometimes when we are asked to give, fear can hold us back because we’re worried we won’t have enough, but Jesus promises us that he will always care for us, even when life is difficult.
Giving away our material possessions, including money, can be an expression of a generous-hearted trust that God will fulfil his promise to care for us.
Joshua Townson is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Oxford
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.
The first part of Psalm 24 celebrates God’s power over the cosmos and the world – the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. The second celebrates the temple as the microcosm of the entire universe. The worshipper ascends to worship in an attitude of awe and reverence towards God, preparing their heart and life to enter the sanctuary.
Yet they are assured at the same time that the one who truly seeks the LORD will receive good things, blessing, from God. The third part dramatizes God’s victorious entrance or advent into the temple.
As Christians we know that Jesus has come as the temple and centre of gravity of the universe, the place where we can meet with God in trust and without fear.
What a fitting Psalm for reflections on generosity. It is fuel for our prayers that each time we go out into the temple of creation, we live and work for Jesus’ final coming as the glorious king of the nations. This involves the giving of our lives in worship of the One who gave it all in the first place.
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it
Esther Prior is the vicar of St John’s, Egham, vice-chair of Church Pastoral Aid Society Patronage Trustees, serves on General Synod as Pro-Prolocutor and the Crown Nominations Commission. She is a contributor to God’s Church for God’s World: Faithful Perspectives on Mission and Ministry, published by IVP.
February 2024
Faced with a creative, playful God, how can we not rejoice and sing God’s praise?
If you can possibly squeeze in the entire psalm – do! But if not, you at least need to begin at verse 24 for the rest to make sense:
‘O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.’
The picture is of a world teeming with life, all of which is created and sustained by God.
God gives to all creatures with an open hand, but one is singled out for special attention: the sea monster, Leviathan. You could have a lot of fun with this in an all-age service. Try flipping to Job 41 and drawing Leviathan from the description. What is Leviathan meant to be? A dinosaur? The Loch Ness monster?
Then notice this: in the psalm, Leviathan is formed to play in the sea. That’s it. This great sea creature is just for fun!
God creates and sustains all life, yes. But God does not just give the bare necessities of life, God also gives the delights – the fun, the playfulness, and the joy.
Faced with such a creative, playful God, how can we not rejoice and sing God’s praise?
Rev. Dr Miriam Bier Hinksman is a curate in the diocese of Canterbury. She has written an academic tome on Lamentations, as well as Reading Hosea: A Beginner’s Guide, available here: https://grovebooks.co.uk/collections/biblical/products/b-108-reading-hosea-a-beginner-s-guide.
God who created light in the beginning still shines light into people’s hearts.
Paul writes that our gospel message is ‘veiled’ to people.
Doesn’t it just feel like that?
We share something about the Lord Jesus that seems so clear, so compelling, and our friends or family members just don’t get it.
If it were just that they didn’t see why we are into something, like a love of bagpipe music, that would be their loss, but not especially serious.
But those to whom the gospel is veiled are ‘those who are perishing’. Not seeing the beauty, the splendour, the glory of Jesus has eternal consequences.
Happily, God who created light in the beginning still shines light into people’s hearts, as he did for us.
He does that as we clearly and simply share the message of Jesus and lay down our lives for others.
How can you do that this week? And for whom will you be praying that they will see God shining a light into their hearts?
Tim Edwards is Rector in the Benefice of Knockholt with Halstead in the Diocese of Rochester.
When we share, we work together to show Christ to the world and express his love.
‘To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O my God, in you I trust; do not let me be put to shame.’
This psalm is soul-wrenching; imagine David filled with fear, his enemies closing in, having nowhere else to turn except to God. He breaks down and simply prays ‘I know you love me Lord. Help me!’
What a beautiful expression of hope in the face of fear! This is what the church offers to our broken world. The church – the Body of Christ – is Jesus’ representative on earth and he calls us to hear the cries of those in despair and to generously offer them the hope of God’s love.
Giving to church is about enabling this response. We share what we have as individuals with our church community so that we can work together to show Christ to the world and collectively express his love.
Joshua Townson is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Oxford.
We allow the sovereign Lord to shape us into open-handed people.
You can’t escape the recurring theme of the sovereignty of God in the Psalms of the day for the last couple of weeks. Today is no different. For dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. There will come a time when all peoples and all nations will acknowledge this.
There is an underlying invitation for us to line up with his rule. Honour him! Revere him! Be a part of his open-handedness towards all he has created. Today, as we reflect on the call to generous living, to hear the call to remember the poor. What a wonderful vision captured in one little phrase: The poor will eat and be satisfied.
According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, around one in five in the South East are currently living in poverty - that's 1.9 million people behind this statistic, in our churches, and in our communities. As we allow the sovereign Lord to shape us into open-handed people, we will be caught up in the sweeping story of his reign and our lives will praise him.
The poor will eat and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!
Esther Prior is the vicar of St John’s, Egham, vice-chair of Church Pastoral Aid Society Patronage Trustees, serves on General Synod as Pro-Prolocutor and the Crown Nominations Commission. She is a contributor to God’s Church for God’s World: Faithful Perspectives on Mission and Ministry, published by IVP.
March 2024
Through Jesus Christ, everything essential has already been given to us.
‘Stop making my Father’s house a market-place!’
How many of us will admit to being essentially selfish? It’s not easy, sometimes, to acknowledge that our motives for coming to church, or serving God, can be mixed. At our services there can be a whole lot going on that is not just to do with preaching and living out the gospel. There can also be an element of what’s in it for me?
The animals being sold in the temple were needed for the Passover sacrifices. Moneychangers were needed for coins from faraway places to be exchanged. All this was necessary for the proper sacrifices to be made in worship. But somewhere along the line, all this buying and selling activity had become a profit-making exercise, with the buyers and sellers forgetting that the whole point of it all was worship.
Through Jesus Christ, everything essential has already been given to us. Why, then, do we feel the need to turn our acts of worship and service into opportunities for personal gain?
As long as we are human, our motives will be mixed. But let us remind ourselves, again, that Jesus has turned the tables, and turned the world upside down.
Rev. Dr Miriam Bier Hinksman is a curate in the diocese of Canterbury. She has written an academic tome on Lamentations, as well as Reading Hosea: A Beginner’s Guide, available here: https://grovebooks.co.uk/collections/biblical/products/b-108-reading-hosea-a-beginner-s-guide.
God gives his Son, the only eternal Son, whom the Father has loved for eternity.
John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the Bible.
It highlights three things about God’s generous love:
Whom does God love? The world. The emphasis is not on the breadth of the world, or its beauty, but where things have gone wrong. The world is ‘us’ as we reject God and his good rule.
How does God love? He gives – not flowers or kind thoughts – he gives his Son, the only eternal Son, whom the Father has loved for eternity.
How to receive this love? Everyone (every single person – including those who think this could never include them) who believes, who grasps who Jesus is, is not condemned (no matter what anyone may have done), but receives life.
The most important thing is to see God’s love – we are than changed to share and show that love – but it starts with receiving it for ourselves.
Do we know this love?
Tim Edwards is Rector in the Benefice of Knockholt with Halstead in the Diocese of Rochester.
Let your light shine before others.
David, having asked God to renew his heart, shares a hope that by what he does, people who’ve fallen away from God will return to him. Remember Jesus’ words: ‘let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.’ By what we do we show people what it means to have a relationship with God, which is why we are called to be generous – so that we can be reflections of the Father’s generosity to the world.
Being a Christian is not something we do alone, though, but as members of the church, the ‘Body of Christ.’ When we give our money and time to church we commit to working together to build up our Christian family so that, as a community, we can show the world what it means to have a relationship with God through faith.
Joshua Townson is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Oxford.
Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf enables our salvation.
Christ has opened a way for us, enabling us to enter the gates of the righteous. His sacrifice has won him the label, a ‘man of sorrows who is acquainted with grief.’ He took upon himself our pain and bore our suffering. As Isaiah puts it:
He was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
This sacrifice on our behalf made him our chief cornerstone as Christ became our salvation. As we reflect on generosity through the lens of this Psalm – the sacrifice of the rejected one brings to mind the words of the great hymn:
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
that were a present far too small.
Love so amazing, so divine,
demands my soul, my life, my all.
The one who is the gate to righteousness invites us to mirror his generosity in our own lives. The invitation to walk the way of righteousness is an invitation to a life of self-giving love.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
Esther Prior is the vicar of St John’s, Egham, vice-chair of Church Pastoral Aid Society Patronage Trustees, serves on General Synod as Pro-Prolocutor and the Crown Nominations Commission. She is a contributor to God’s Church for God’s World: Faithful Perspectives on Mission and Ministry, published by IVP.
Generosity, is an act of defiant hope, declaring our trust in God through thick and thin.
Our Stewardship (Generosity) Season in 2022 was buffeted by the gathering storm of the ‘cost of living crisis’. At the time we were uncertain about how fuel bills were going to affect us, as individuals and as a church. It felt counter-intuitive to be talking about generosity at a time of such great uncertainty. We felt the call to generosity, though, was prophetic in assuring us that it was not the time to hunker down. It was a time to ‘lengthen our stride and widen our embrace’ (1 Chronicles 11.9 Message). We were able to heed this call because we knew in whom we had believed.
The Psalmist is mired in his own crisis. He cries out to the Lord in his distress, not mincing his words. I have become like broken pottery, he says. Such a vivid image of a shattered life. In the end, when all is said and done, his very real troubles do not extinguish his trust in God. More and more, I am convinced that Christian Stewardship, with its inbuilt call to generosity, is an act of defiant hope, declaring our trust in God through thick and thin.
But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands;
Esther Prior is the vicar of St John’s, Egham, vice-chair of Church Pastoral Aid Society Patronage Trustees, serves on General Synod as Pro-Prolocutor and the Crown Nominations Commission. She is a contributor to God’s Church for God’s World: Faithful Perspectives on Mission and Ministry, published by IVP.
God’s incomparable love goes out to the ends of the earth.
Who is salvation for?
For whom will the Lord set a table groaning with rich food and well-matured wine?
Who will benefit from the destruction of death, that we celebrate on this resurrection day?
One word rings out from the Isaiah reading today – all.
All peoples and all nations.
From the women who first witnessed the empty tomb, the message of God’s incomparable love continues to go out to the ends of the earth.
And so it is that the apostle Peter is able to say, ‘All the prophets testify about him, that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sin through his name’ (Acts 10.43).
How will all the people who come through the doors of your church today know that God’s forgiveness and salvation is also for them?
Rev. Dr Miriam Bier Hinksman is a curate in the diocese of Canterbury. She has written an academic tome on Lamentations, as well as Reading Hosea: A Beginner’s Guide, available here: https://grovebooks.co.uk/collections/biblical/products/b-108-reading-hosea-a-beginner-s-guide
April 2024
Can we believe, even when we can’t see?
What does it mean to believe? With religion there can be an assumption that we believe without any actual evidence. In this reading, Thomas wants to see the evidence. He isn’t prepared to take anybody else’s word for it. He didn’t believe till he saw Jesus. He didn’t trust the word of the disciples. Why didn’t he believe them? Why didn’t he trust them? Trust is risky. When we trust someone, we open ourselves up, make ourselves vulnerable. And that can be scary. It is easier to doubt – to be sceptical. But in that vulnerability is a generosity in which we are giving ourselves to others.
Thomas believed in the end, and that belief allowed him to be generous. Thomas trusted in God, made himself vulnerable and committed to Christ. He spent the rest of his life preaching and baptising. He went as far as Kerala in the South of India. Thomas’s name is ubiquitous in Kerala. His “yes” to God has echoed down the centuries.
How does the story of Thomas speak to you about belief? Doubt? Trust? How do you feel about risk? Do you believe that all things are possible for those who believe? Are you willing, like Thomas to become vulnerable and commit to Christ?
Liz Mullins is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Rochester
God has brought joy and abundance.
This passage is awash with joy, excitement generosity and hope. Have a look at the language: ‘sing aloud’, ‘rejoice and exult’, ‘he has turned away your enemies’, ‘he will renew you in his love’.
If you look further back to the first two chapters of Zephaniah though, this joy has come out of times of trouble and difficulty: ‘I will sweep away everything from the face of the earth declares the Lord’. 1:2; ‘I will stretch out my hand against Judah and against all who live in Jerusalem’.1:4
A generous God has forgiven, has brought his people together and given hope. Disaster has gone, shame becomes praise, God will bring the people home and restore their fortunes.
These words speak of abundance; of plenty. Too often in our churches we have a mindset of scarcity. There isn’t enough money. There aren’t enough volunteers. Anything we have needs to be saved for a rainy day. Everything’s a mess. But as we trust God and believe in a generous God who provides, then this narrative is turned upside down and we are freed to be joyful, to exult and to be generous.
Liz Mullins is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Rochester
Jesus is the driving forces behind our sacrificial giving, even when our resources are lacking.
Why do we give to others? Why do we extend generosity to family and friends? What compels us?
"...By what power or what name did you do this?" (Acts 4:7)
“know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth” (Acts 4:10)
One name—JESUS—is the driving force behind our sacrificial giving, even when our own resources may seem lacking.
Each day can feel like it begins with a deficit—a lengthy list of tasks to complete and sometimes I have procrastinated and deferred responsibilities to the next day. I rely though on the Holy Spirit to guide and support me through the trials of each day. Often, something simple or significant occurs, which we might overlook if we are not attuned to God. When we recognize that Jesus is wanting to be part of our day, we can find ourselves ending the day with unexpected acts of kindness from others. I am deeply moved when this generosity comes from the most surprising places. Lord, what have I done to deserve your grace and mercy? Psalm 23:6 reassures us, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."
Therefore, with a heart overflowing with gratitude for the undeserved favour I receive, I turn outward to others. This is how we grasp the true essence of love: Jesus Christ sacrificed His life for us, and in return, we sacrifice for our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:16).
Busola Sodiende is founder of Bearings Point Media, a digital publishing media firm working in partnership with bloggers, influencers and creators, and @dyshmedia. She is a Church Commissioner for England and a member of the PCC at Holy Trinity Brompton.
God will provide for us beyond our imagination.
The sacrifice which God demands from Abraham seems exceedingly cruel, and Abraham’s journey to Moriah utterly agonising. Is God not the LORD of the covenant, after all – promising to create abundance out of the ‘nothing’ of Abraham’s and Sarah’s childlessness? Is God taking it all back again, just like the other gods?
Reading the story in the light of Easter doesn’t make things any easier, with new tough questions emerging: if the ram provided by God is a type for Christ, the ultimate sacrificial Lamb offered for our sake, doesn’t that just take the cruelty of the story to a new level? And why does God demand this sacrifice in the first place?
Fortunately, the Scriptures contain many other stories with which to tackle such questions. Meanwhile, as we read this story, we may hold on to the conclusion which Abraham himself reaches, as he names the place where he was put to the test: ‘The LORD Will Provide’. God is the same after all – the LORD of the covenant, standing by his promise of offspring as abundant as the stars. There is nothing God needs from us, whereas God will provide for us beyond our imagination.
Dr Guido de Graaff is Tutor for Christian Doctrine and Ethics and Director of Studies at St Augustine’s College of Theology. His doctoral thesis was published as Politics in Friendship (T&T Clark, 2014). Other research interests include Dietrich Bonhoeffer – in particular the theme of vicarious representation in his theology and ethics – and environmental theology.
May 2024
Welcome generously
What does it mean to be a diligent disciple? For those hosting Peter, their diligence required circumcision to physically mark out the depth and extent of their commitment to follow Jesus Christ. Imagine their shock, then, when the Holy Spirit shows up for everyone, including those who are definitely uncircumcised. The text does not linger on their responses as the silence moves us quickly to Peter’s words: an abundant welcome through baptism in the name of Jesus Christ. That welcome enables the faithful disciples to move beyond division, discrimination or prejudice that can create a culture of us and them. No longer does the text distinguish between the circumcised and uncircumcised believers when they invite Peter to stay. The generosity of welcome transforms this emerging community and builds a shared recognition that honouring the love of God is most important thing: they demonstrate the practice of loving one another, as well as loving Peter, the stranger amongst them. This powerful account of the arrival of the Holy Spirit challenges our preconceptions about how and with whom God can, and does, work. May we be encouraged to open ourselves up to welcome anew God’s abundant, generosity and fellowship.
Dr Jo Henderson-Merrygold is Director, Centre for Discipleship and Theology at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham.
Abundance looks outwards and is generous with time, care and attention.
Acts 1. It may be relatively easy for us to imagine Jesus moving around with a group of twelve men following along, it’s a bit of a crowd but somehow manageable. However, we know from the Gospels that he was frequently accompanied by far more, for example numerous women or the group of 72 etc. Here we have the names of two who were with Jesus throughout his ministry from his baptism through to his death and resurrection.
To say that Jesus gave generously of Himself is an absurd understatement, but I wonder whether we even consider what that looked like in his daily life. In a society where we value our privacy and personal space, especially since Covid, this might seem very challenging, but how willing are we to share our lives in order to disciple others? Shared meals? Shared knowledge? Shared time and space?
According to Ps 1, those whose roots go deep into the things of God, whose hearts are set on Him, will be fruitful (v. 3). That sense of abundance is not necessarily of material things but of a deeply rooted character that is outward looking and generous to others in time, care and attention. The kind of person we all want to hang out with, in fact, a person a bit like Jesus.
Margaret Wooding Jones is a Licensed Lay Minister. As well as serving in her local parishes, she works with the Spirituality Network in Rochester Diocese and regularly leads Quiet Retreats and training days. She is hoping to publish a book shortly.
We reach out to embrace the stranger.
"And it will come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21).
I reminisce, even as early as five years old, nestled beneath my blankets, gripped by the fear of the night's darkness, reaching out to God, imploring for His comforting presence with me. Throughout my teenage years, I drifted away from God, gradually distancing myself until it became painfully apparent that I was slipping into despair. In my desperation, I cried out, "Lord, if you are there, please come and rescue me." The book of Ezekiel serves as a poignant reminder of how the prophet of God spoke and prophesied for dry bones to spring back to life. Similarly, my own journey of renewal commenced in a gentle, gradual manner. I discovered solace within a nurturing small group where mutual support and uplifting prevailed. The pivotal decision to immerse myself in a community of faith marked a profound turning point. Four decades have elapsed since then, yet akin to a child, I still find myself calling out, "Lord, help me."
Consider the community around you and within your church. Is there anyone who feels adrift, yearning for fellowship? How can we embody the compassionate hands and feet of Jesus, reaching out to embrace the stranger and uniting in harmony to strengthen their faith in Jesus?
Busola Sodiende is founder of Bearings Point Media, a digital publishing media firm working in partnership with bloggers, influencers and creators, and @dyshmedia. She is a Church Commissioner for England and a member of the PCC at Holy Trinity Brompton.
To live by the Spirit is to be liberated from scarcity and fear.
To live according to the flesh is to live by the desires of the flesh. That sounds like a tautology, but it contains an important point: flesh is self-absorbed. Flesh is a creature tempted to think they can be ‘like God’. But to give in to this delusion, as Dietrich Bonhoeffer points out, is to cut oneself off from divine grace which sustains all of creation. Flesh, then, is a creature condemned to survive on its own resources, with other creatures reduced to the status of competitor, threat or environment to be exploited.
To live according to the flesh, then, is to live in fear: fear of scarcity, fear of others, fear of death – and ultimately fear of God, who will not let flesh go on living in its self-absorbed state forever.
But when God calls us to account, it is in order that we might live once again as the creatures God intends us to be. To live by the Spirit is to be liberated from scarcity and fear and united with Christ. Led by the Spirit, we are no longer deluding ourselves we are ‘like God’, but instead are made ‘heirs of God’ – sharing in everything that is Christ’s.
Dr Guido de Graaff is Tutor for Christian Doctrine and Ethics and Director of Studies at St Augustine’s College of Theology. His doctoral thesis was published as Politics in Friendship (T&T Clark, 2014). Other research interests include Dietrich Bonhoeffer – in particular the theme of vicarious representation in his theology and ethics – and environmental theology.
June 2024
Generosity of Response. Are we open to God’s word speaking to us today?
The Word of God is to be treasured, whether whispered at night in unrecognizable ways or hidden in clay jars. It is likely to surprise and confound, especially when the presence of God seems distant or rarely recognized. To read, even in Samuel’s call which is a story familiar to many, that the Word of God was rare can offer us reassurance that God’s call to us warrants something remarkable in our own responses. Jesus himself reminds us that our responses need not be bound by what our friends, peers, colleagues, or those whose respect we value (or want to respect) think is acceptable. Eli could so easily have responded with harshness to Samuel’s unknowing persistence just as Jesus is met with condemnation and shaming for transgressing the conventions around honouring the sabbath. Some things, though, are more important than the human rules and expectations we carry. So, the questions for each one of us remain, are we open to God’s word speaking to and through us today, and what human-made boundaries are we willing to transcend in order to honour that vision?
Dr Jo Henderson-Merrygold is Director, Centre for Discipleship and Theology at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham.
God’s generosity brings all of us into a family of faith.
Families come in all shapes and sizes with such a mixture of relationships, some are good, life-giving and nourishing, others can be painful, disappointing and a source of anxiety, hurt and shame. Most lay somewhere in the middle.
In this account from Mark we see Mary’s mother-heart coming to care for her son whom she perceives as being over-wrought and harassed by religious authorities. She brings along her other sons for additional support.
Jesus’ response to her care is, at first sight, somewhat startling (vv. 33,34). Was He really casting Mary and His brothers aside, or was He demonstrating the reconciling power of love and a depth of care and compassion that those who follow Him are capable of extending to one another? Far from ignoring their care, Jesus is generously including those who are close to Him and in relationship with Him into His own family. God’s gift to His people does not diminish our natural, familial relationships, it enhances them, but it also sets each one of us, no matter how alone or lonely, within a family of faith. If you saw yourself as a brother/sister, father/mother to members of your church, what might change?
Margaret Wooding Jones is a Licensed Lay Minister. As well as serving in her local parishes, she works with the Spirituality Network in Rochester Diocese and regularly leads Quiet Retreats and training days. She is hoping to publish a book shortly.
Generosity can be seen by our willingness to wait.
In today’s reading from 1 Samuel, we have the anointing of a new king, David, the replacement for Saul, a significant moment in the life of Israel. Samuel makes assumptions about who God will ask him to anoint based on their appearance, but God encourages him to wait and trust that whilst others might look at people’s outward appearance, the Lord looks at the heart.
Samuel has to wait until he has clearly heard from God, and in a society where instant gratification is widely available, waiting and being patient can be hard. Nonetheless, demonstrating patience and allowing for extra time can show profound kindness, offering insights into the character of the one who waits patiently for God and for others.
Today’s reading from Mark also helps us to remember that the Lord works to his own timetable and not to ours, with the parable of the growing seed illustrating the timing of the Kingdom of God. Acknowledging God’s timing and learning to wait patiently can be an important part of our worship of God and service to others. Our generosity can be seen through our willingness to wait, whether that’s waiting for others to arrive, waiting for things to grow and develop, or waiting for people without passing judgment or making assumptions.
Busola Sodiende is founder of Bearings Point Media, a digital publishing media firm working in partnership with bloggers, influencers and creators, and @dyshmedia. She is a Church Commissioner for England and a member of the PCC at Holy Trinity Brompton.
Reflecting God’s abundance, fellowship and friendship will flourish.
In the passage from 1 Samuel 18, we encounter a story which exemplifies a sad yet all too familiar pattern in human relationship: faithfulness and friendship choked off by jealousy and distrust. Whatever the ‘evil spirit’ that went into Saul was (see 16:14), it certainly made him see everything through the lens of suspicion: the presence of this talented young man at his court, David, including his budding friendship with his own son. And the sad thing about distrust is that it’s self-fulfilling: if you treat the other as a threat, taking what you think is yours, then a threat they will become. Soon, Saul’s jealousy will turn his son-in-law into a mortal enemy.
Psalm 133, meanwhile, appears to give us the exact mirror image of the tragedy unfolding at Saul’s court. In extolling the blessing of ‘brothers dwelling in unity’, the psalmist (David himself, according to the traditional attribution) reaches for images of abundance: precious oil, not just touching Aaron’s forehead, but flowing all over his head, soaking his clothes; or refreshing dew, in a matter of hours covering entire mountains.
A strong hint, perhaps, that fellowship and friendship can only flourish if rooted in generosity, reflecting God’s abundance.
Dr Guido de Graaff is Tutor for Christian Doctrine and Ethics and Director of Studies at St Augustine’s College of Theology. His doctoral thesis was published as Politics in Friendship (T&T Clark, 2014). Other research interests include Dietrich Bonhoeffer – in particular the theme of vicarious representation in his theology and ethics – and environmental theology.
Generosity in adversity
Today’s readings are threaded through with sadness and loss. David mourns the loss of Jonathan, the person he most clearly and consistently expresses love and affection for. In the gospel passage, the inherent risk and scariness of life is apparent as a twelve-year old child’s death is announced while Jesus unexpectedly encounters a woman who has been debilitated by persistent hemorrhaging for the whole of that child’s life. The Psalm too calls out in agony for divine redemption: ‘Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord’. How, then, do we recognize generosity in the face of adversities such as these? Not all our experiences will lead to the literal resurrection of a child, nor the miraculous healing of a long-term health condition. We find that generosity comes through taking our pain to the God whose love holds us and our pain, and in finding solidarity, companionship and genuine love in our relationships with one another. In Christ we find someone who shares in the fullness of our adversity, our loss, our frailty: and who assures us of the constant, generous companionship of the Spirit who meets us where we are, in the fullness of our humanity.
Dr Jo Henderson-Merrygold is Director, Centre for Discipleship and Theology at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham.
July 2024
How to express our delight and joy in His goodness?
Here we have 3 readings all oozing with abundance and generosity!
We have the image of King David being so single-minded in his worship and delight that he dances exuberantly and without restraint. His joy is mirrored by his extraordinary generosity towards the entire crowd. A shared fullness of heart.
We also have the image of the fullness of the earth, the abundance of creation which God has graciously given us to enjoy and out of that fullness He blesses those who seek Him (vv. 5&6).
Finally, in Ephesians we have numerous references to God’s abundance and generosity towards us. See specifically vv. 3,6,7,8 & 14 but the whole tone of the passage is one of generosity and there is much that could be drawn out of each verse.
It begs the question, how excited are we by God’s immense generosity towards us as we see His heart revealed to us through these Scriptures? How could we express our delight and joy in His goodness in more exuberant ways?
Margaret Wooding Jones is a Licensed Lay Minister. As well as serving in her local parishes, she works with the Spirituality Network in Rochester Diocese and regularly leads Quiet Retreats and training days. She is hoping to publish a book shortly.
We lift our voices in joyful praise to the Lord.
Recently, I had the privilege of hearing a friend share a touching story about a woman who, despite mourning the loss of her husband, seemed to overflow with God's peace. Even in her darkest moments, her inner light continued to shine brightly. In reflecting on this, I was reminded of the passage from 2 Samuel 6, where the ark of God was joyously returned to Jerusalem. David and all of Israel with him celebrated with immense joy and fervor before the Lord, using various instruments to express their praise and gratitude for his goodness. David, in his exuberance, was also deeply generous to those around him, not only providing animals for the offerings but also giving to each person present a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins. Everyone rejoiced and received.
We also find this same sentiment of joy and praise in Psalm 24, a psalm that pictures worshippers approaching the mountain of God, where a cry goes up of, ‘who is this King of Glory’ and the resounding answer comes, ‘the Lord Almighty, he is the King of Glory.’
Sometimes, our generosity can be seen through our response to God in worship as we lift our voices in praise to the Lord. In these moments our knowledge of the love and peace of God can seem to shine or flow out from us. How then, when we are caught up in praise of our loving God, can our generosity enable and encourage others also to respond in worship of almighty God?
Busola Sodiende is founder of Bearings Point Media, a digital publishing media firm working in partnership with bloggers, influencers and creators, and @dyshmedia. She is a Church Commissioner for England and a member of the PCC at Holy Trinity Brompton.
Can we be generous when the world demands too much?
There’s too much to do. Whatever we do, whenever we do it, it isn’t enough. There are demands from the kids, demands from the boss. Email is a wonderful thing, but it really does make it impossible to switch off. There’s pressure on finances, no time to nurture relationships. The traffic is heavy and the trains are crowded and late.
All we want to do is to stop. To get away. To rest.
The Apostles must have felt a bit like this. As they gathered round Jesus and told him what they had been up to they complained that they hadn’t even had time to eat. Jesus’ response was to say, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile’. He recognized that it was too much for them. That they were drained from doing so much of his work. Here, Jesus was offering respite and calm in the middle of their busy lives. How must the Apostles felt at those words?
But it wasn’t to be. The crowds and their demands followed Jesus and the Apostles. Jesus could have turned round and said ‘no!’, ‘enough!’, but he didn’t. He must have been feeling the same pressure as the apostles, but his generosity in saying yes to the crowds, and healing the sick changed the lives of many people.
Are we willing to be generous, even when life is difficult, when we have too much to do, when we simply want to rest?
Liz Mullins is Generous Giving Adviser in the Diocese of Rochester
In 2 Samuel 11, we see the beginning of the downfall of the House of David. Where previously Saul had let his court be destroyed by distrust and jealousy (see 23th June), David does the same with this brazen act of abuse and adultery, covered up with deceit and murder. Underlying his many and various crimes, though, is greed. And isn’t greed – like Saul’s jealousy – ultimately borne of fear? The fear of not having enough, which mysteriously seems to increase rather than decrease as people accumulate wealth and power.
And yet, this fear doesn’t prey on the rich and powerful only. The economy of scarcity affects the poor as much as the rich, albeit in different ways. The story of Jesus feeding the five thousand – here in John 6 (and in similar passages in the other gospels) – gives us a glimpse of what it looks like when the Kingdom of God breaks into and overwhelms this economy of scarcity: there is, it turns out, more than enough.
It’s perhaps no coincidence, then, that the Bible repeatedly describes fellowship with God in terms of a meal, a banquet – or indeed, like here in John 6, a mass picnic! At God’s table, there’s more than enough.
Dr Guido de Graaff is Tutor for Christian Doctrine and Ethics and Director of Studies at St Augustine’s College of Theology. His doctoral thesis was published as Politics in Friendship (T&T Clark, 2014). Other research interests include Dietrich Bonhoeffer – in particular the theme of vicarious representation in his theology and ethics – and environmental theology.
August 2024
Generosity in the aftermath
What happens when you’re left to pick up the pieces? The week after a familiar reading, several weeks into ordinary time, when the unsaid thing has been uttered aloud? How do we find the resources to be generous when we’ve run out of energy, or need the food whether spiritual or physical that can only come from God, but we find ourselves needing to look like everything is just fine? It’s reassuring to see that even Jesus has a moment where he seems to feel exasperated – you’re not listening to my teaching, you just want my food. Even in that moment, though, the exasperation soon moves from frustration to generosity: a generosity that recognizes the wholeness of both each individual person and the wholeness of the Church. We always encounter God, and seek to share God’s abundant love and grace, bringing with us all that has gone before. When someone whose conduct is as egregious as David’s in orchestrating the murder of Uriah, can remain cherished and forgiven, we have confidence that God recognizes our frailty and capacity for error but cherishes and forgives us too. Our challenge, therefore, is to hold to Christ’s teachings to us: to love generously, including loving ourselves as we trust in our God who loves and forgives us.
Dr Jo Henderson-Merrygold is Director, Centre for Discipleship and Theology at the Queen’s Foundation, Birmingham.
“Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body.”
It can be easy to read this verse thinking it doesn’t apply to me, after all, I don’t lie. The truth is though that we don’t have to lie to be deceitful.
There are some churches where expressing doubt or disappointment is viewed as a lack of faith and consequently people may say ‘everything is just fine’ even when it’s not. There are other churches, often in areas of greater deprivation, where the opposite is true - what you see is what you get! People are breathtakingly honest about their lives, creating a real depth of relationship and care. On reflection, we can see the masks worn in some churches can keep people apart, preventing us from being real with each other.
Sometimes people can work so hard to present a perfect image, appearing to have ‘the perfect house’, the ‘perfect marriage’, the ‘perfect children’, but this can set a bar so high that others around feel they cannot approach. In reality though, many people are actually really struggling to negotiate through the circumstances and challenges of their lives. In hindsight, what we notice is a gift in ‘being real’, when honesty about our struggles can be a real encouragement to others in their faith journey.
It may seem strange to suggest being generous with reality, but honestly to hide it is a form of deceit.
Margaret Wooding Jones is a Licensed Lay Minister. As well as serving in her local parishes, she works with the Spirituality Network in Rochester Diocese and regularly leads Quiet Retreats and training days. She is hoping to publish a book shortly.
How do you grow in generosity?
We are told to live as wise followers of God, using our time wisely. But how much time do I/we waste? Where am I not living wisely? When we live in the world, we tend to covet what others have! This started in Genesis, where Eve coveted the knowledge of God (Genesis 3:4-6), we see it where the disciples start to covet who is the greatest (Luke:22:24) and happens today where we want bigger homes, the latest gadgets or more knowledge. How can we change this? We can look to God, to be filled by His spirit. We can look at what He has and what He has provided. All we have is provided by God, even the breath in our lungs. When we realise and start to always give thanks, even in hard times. We have a heart transplant with God’s heart, and we become more like God who is generous!
Stephen Read is from Ambassadors Football who share Jesus through football. He helps new missionaries/workers to build teams around them, who partner spiritually and financially so they can be sent into the harvest.
We are blessed because God is near.
There is an apparent contradiction in this Psalm. We begin with lovely imagery of dwelling comfortably and securely in the Temple close to the altar, the symbol of God’s presence, like a bird safely in its nest. Yet, next, we are out in the wilds on pilgrimage soaked by the autumn rain, dodging puddles of water in the Valley of Baka. What links them is that God is present in both. The ultimate generosity of God is to share His very self with us, to be the sun that warms us and the shield that defends us whether in a place of sanctuary or journeying onward in pursuit of the divine purpose for our lives. We are blessed because God is near. God is both our strength and our home, the reason for our stepping out into the unknown and the relief and comfort on our return. It is better to be stationed on the threshold of God’s house than enjoy luxury and excess with those whose ways contradict the Lord’s. For in trusting God, we will know favour and honour, and no good thing will be withheld. That is a promise that can be relied upon today and forever.
Andrea Campanale is the first Licensed Lay Pioneer in Southwark Diocese. I work as a Project Officer for the Methodist Church, teach Mission, and Evangelism for St Augustine’s College of Theology and Pioneer Ministry for Cliff College.
September 2024
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Take a moment to think of some of your favourite things. I suspect these are unlikely to be brown paper packages tied up with string. They could though be heirlooms. Maybe a stuffed toy you had as a child. Maybe a signed piece of sporting memorabilia. Now think of all the other stuff you have. The home tech. The clothes. The semi-disposable Swedish furniture. Which is more valuable to you?
When we think of the stuff we have around us day to day it’s hard not to feel attached to it. So, to be asked to think of the things we have worked for, and likely saved for, as a ‘gift’ doesn’t actually come that easy to us. We need something more valuable to help put the giftedness of what we ‘own’ into perspective.
In the letter of James it is ‘faith’ itself that is pictured as the inheritance that puts all things into perspective. For James, faith begins in recognising the giftedness of all we have. God gifts us life. God gifts us wisdom. God is generous to us. In a unique way to us, in the ways God knows that we need. Compared to this generosity other things might now seem less valuable. Be that our sense of importance, our stuff, our money.
Dr Nick Shepherd works in the areas of strategy development and change for the Church of England. Nick is a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Ministry Formation at Sarum College and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Ecclesial Change with NLA College, Bergen. Nick can be followed @theonographer on X, but be advised most posts are Crystal Palace related…
The Israelite pilgrims are Mount Zion – trusting, generous, abiding for ever!
Following the longest psalm in the psalter (119 with 176 verses), there are a series of very short, punchy psalms, the next 15 (120 to 134) average only 6 verses each. Number 125 is a shortie, 5 verses, and titled a ‘Song of Ascents,’ likely sung by Israelite pilgrims as they ascended to Jerusalem to celebrate festivals and holy days like Passover, Tabernacles, and Weeks. The vast majority of these pilgrims were not rich, deClaissé-Walford says ‘they were victims of injustice in their daily lives; they most likely felt crushed.’ And yet they sing of their trust in the LORD, the one who ‘enfolds’ (or surrounds) his people. It has been often noticed that the most generous people in society are the poor, for poverty, ironically, grinds in an empathy comfort cannot. In the honour-stakes you cannot go lower than nothing, so what comes one’s way is shared, giving is honourable and is honoured. These ones really, really trust, and God really, really loves ’em (Lk 6.20). Note the contrast: Mount Zion is immovable, unchangeable, and mute. Yet its pilgrims dance, and sing, and go home with altered lives. They are Mount Zion – trusting, generous, abiding for ever!
Canon Dr Neville Emslie is Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Canterbury.
Are you generous to God?
Jesus was addressing the crowd and His disciples. Am I a disciple of Jesus or just part of the crowd who looks on? Can we tell? In Matthew 6:21 it says, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The disciples treasured Jesus and you can see this by where they spent their time and money. You can see where anyone’s treasure is by looking at where they spend their time and money. Am I stingy with my time for God? Do I offer my money and what I have for His glory? Or am I treasuring things of the world, which leads to forfeiting my soul (v36)? We are called to lose our life for Jesus, for the Gospel and by doing this we will save our life (v37). The disciples often failed and so do I. But by His grace I am forgiven, and knowing this helps us strive to be generous with all we have for God!
Stephen Read is from Ambassadors Football who share Jesus through football. He helps new missionaries/workers to build teams around them, who partner spiritually and financially so they can be sent into the harvest.
The first must be last and the servant of all.
We can only imagine how confusing it must have been for the disciples closest to Jesus. It’s easy for us, who know the end of the story, to wonder at their lack of understanding. But a lot of the time he spoke in riddles. Here in this passage, we see Jesus foretelling his own death and resurrection, and the disciples are too afraid to ask what it means. Yet, they know enough to keep quiet when he asks them what they were arguing about on the road! Because of our own insecurities, we too easily get sucked into the world’s way of judging who is best and most worthy of reward. But, in God’s Kingdom the values of the world are turned on their head. In a foreshadowing of him washing their feet, Jesus tells the disciples that the first must be last and the servant of all. God’s generosity to us is as children, vulnerable and also curious, playful, hopeful and trusting. To know a parent’s unconditional love and acceptance enables us to live free from envy and fruitless comparisons. Today know you are not only welcomed as a child by God, but that He delights in you.
Andrea Campanale is the first Licensed Lay Pioneer in Southwark Diocese. I work as a Project Officer for the Methodist Church, teach Mission, and Evangelism for St Augustine’s College of Theology and Pioneer Ministry for Cliff College.
Money can be used to minister to others.
I once had the privilege of meeting an angel. They seemed very ordinary. Though over the last few years they had helped others achieve some extraordinary things. This particular angel was active in the world of finance. They were an ‘angel investor’.
The person I met had made a tonne of cash in Tech. It was at an event where we were discussing faith in business and what being a Christian in the work of finance looked like. Their ability to finance things was for them a ministry. They were very blunt that their work was all about the money. It was the money that made a difference.
The person had a couple of rules for their investments. The first was that the person or produce they invested in had to have a recognisable social good. Second that they did not want to be identified, so funds went through a broker.
We may not have the type of sums that this person had, but our money can still be used to minister to others. A small regular donation as a sponsor. An envelope through the door for people we know with a particular need.
Dr Nick Shepherd works in the areas of strategy development and change for the Church of England. Nick is a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Ministry Formation at Sarum College and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Ecclesial Change with NLA College, Bergen. Nick can be followed @theonographer on X, but be advised most posts are Crystal Palace related…
October 2024
An amazing, majestic, creative God generously bothers to deal with, and even care for, humanity.
At the heart of all love is a certain enthusiasm for the beloved one. You may love how she makes you laugh, you may love how thoughtful he is, you may love how much she enjoys nature. Yet at the core of it all there’s a fundamental delight that this unique person is there at all, is alive, is available for you to enjoy.
Maybe loving God can begin with the sheer delight we take in the fact that God exists at all. It can begin in the wonder we feel when we try to wrap our minds around the very idea of God. It can begin with having enthusiasm for the God who created such a galaxy of wonders and who then loved us enough to plunk us down smack in the middle of it all. We begin by loving the sheer existence of God and we go from there.
Psalm 8 is the only one of the 150 psalms that’s a direct address to God throughout the entire poem. Psalm 8 enjoys God rather than trying to explain who God is, especially because this amazing, majestic, creative God generously bothers to deal with, and even care for, humanity.
Canon Dr Neville Emslie is Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Canterbury
Selling all we have?
The Rich man, despite having many possessions (v22) still came to Jesus to ask Him how to inherit internal life. Based on what we read, he seemed like a good man who had kept the rules since birth (v20). But despite being good and having lots of possessions he must have still sensed unease or that he was lacking something. He wasn’t fulfilled! Then Jesus, who looked at him with love and NOT judgment, gave the challenge of selling all he had and giving to the poor. When he heard this, he “was shocked and went away grieving”. How would I feel if God told me to sell everything I had? Would I do it? Jesus saw that the rich man was trying to earn is way into heaven by himself. He was holding on to his life but what God requires is for us to offer our life as a living sacrifice. All we have for Him. The challenge is for those who have wealth, as the more we have the more we care for it and start to own it. But we are called to be generous, to offer all we have to God, to be used for His kingdom and to bring glory to Him.
Stephen Read is from Ambassadors Football who share Jesus through football. He helps new missionaries/workers to build teams around them, who partner spiritually and financially so they can be sent into the harvest.
In Jesus’ suffering we are changed into the likeness of the Son.
The writer of Hebrews is giving good instruction to those taking on the role of priest. We are to be selected from amongst the people and appointed to be a representative. We are to deal gently with those who are struggling ever mindful of our own weaknesses and failings. For the honour does not belong to us, it is a gift from God. Even Christ did not take on this glory, it was bestowed upon him by the Father. Jesus is our model. We learn his impassioned prayers to God, who could have saved him from death, were heard, but did not result in that cup being taken from him. Rather, they helped him learn obedience through suffering and he was made perfect. It is hard to think of suffering as an expression of the generosity of God, but it is how we are changed into the likeness of the Son. It is comforting, however, to know our prayers are heard and part of a divine process of transformation, even if they are not answered in the way we expect or hope. So, be assured, God always hears you, and is working out a purpose that will ultimately be redemptive.
Andrea Campanale is the first Licensed Lay Pioneer in Southwark Diocese. I work as a Project Officer for the Methodist Church, teach Mission, and Evangelism for St Augustine’s College of Theology and Pioneer Ministry for Cliff College.
Reflecting God’s abundance, fellowship and friendship will flourish.
The story of Job is part of the Wisdom literature of the people of God. If, like me, you find much of it perplexing, provocative, and puzzling we are likely in good company. Passages from Job invite us to reflect on the profundities of life and the deep mystery of how God acts in the world.
Today’s reading is from the very end of the story. In spite of all that has befallen Job he has remained faithful to God and not ‘cursed God’ for his missed fortune and his misfortune. His friends haven’t faired so well. At times they have been encouraging, but mostly they have ‘encouraged’ him to give up on God. That God is either punishing him or not interested in human suffering.
Having endured the hardship, grief and tempting, Job lives to see his fortune restored and the remainder of his life become comfortable and blessed. But how was this fortune restored? I had never spotted this before, but maybe part of this restoration came through the eventual generosity of friends and family who having journeyed with him, in v. 11 each give a piece of silver and a gold ring.
One of the things that most provokes me about generosity today is people’s generous response to Gofundme.com pages when tragedy strikes. I wonder how the story might have faired if this is how Job’s friends had responded to the tragic and incomprehensible suffering they witnessed. Perhaps giving has a deeper wisdom than we recognise.
Dr Nick Shepherd works in the areas of strategy development and change for the Church of England. Nick is a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Ministry Formation at Sarum College and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Ecclesial Change with NLA College, Bergen. Nick can be followed @theonographer on X, but be advised most posts are Crystal Palace related…
November 2024
You receive everything you have from the hand of God.
Possibly the last words Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote before his execution on April 9, 1945, were those of a commentary on Psalm 119, his favourite psalm. The manuscript breaks off at verse 21. Bonhoeffer urged ‘a very slow, quiet, patient advance from word to word, sentence to sentence,’ for in such a way we develop a ‘love for God’s Word,’ and for one another. The first word is ‘happy,’ and Bonhoeffer points out that ‘happy’ in Hebrew is the same word that Jesus used which is translated as ‘blessed’ in Matthew, ‘not because you lack nothing, but because you receive everything you have from the hand of God.’ Those who walked in the wilderness certainly knew their daily bread came from God, but when the Son of God provided it was by his own hands (Mt 14.19). The happy ‘walk in the law of the Lord,’ and ‘seek him with their whole heart.’ Let us push the metaphor; if a heart walks, how does it do so happily? The word ‘companion’ literally means ‘with-bread,’ i.e. those with whom we eat bread. Who are our companions we walk with? Do we, also sons and daughters of God, have a generous gait, a loving lope?
Canon Dr Neville Emslie is Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Canterbury.
Have you ever reflected on your giving/generosity?
Jonah disobeyed God when he was first called to Nineveh. As a result, he ended up being swallowed by a fish. When he was called a second time to go, he obeyed God (v3). He was going to Nineveh to warn them of their disobedience. If they continued the way they were going then it would lead to God’s judgement. Both Jonah and Nineveh realised the consequences of disobeying God. They were warned and had the chance to reflect. They were both forgiven (v10) when they confessed their sins. Have you ever asked where you’re disobeying God? Have you ever reflected on your walk with God? What about reflecting on your giving/generosity? A recent report by Stewardship said that “On average, 53% stated that they ‘Don’t know/Can’t remember’ or have ‘Never’ reviewed their giving. When asked a further question, 54% said that they had not been invited by their church to review what they gave to their church in the last two years. As Ninevah returned to God, could you offer your giving to God and ask Him to help you review your giving and see if you have the capacity to increase it? https://www.stewardship.org.uk/news/launch-stewardship-generosity-report-2024
Stephen Read is from Ambassadors Football who share Jesus through football. He helps new missionaries/workers to build teams around them, who partner spiritually and financially so they can be sent into the harvest.
We are protected in God’s generosity.
This prophecy from Daniel is picked up again by Jesus in Matthew 24:21 and is reminiscent of similar passages throughout the book of Revelation. By referring to the Archangel Michael, the writer is taking us back to chapter 10 verse 13 where he assists Gabriel against the demonic “prince of the Persian kingdom”. Here, Michael is described as, “the great prince who will protect your people.” Thus, we are made aware of the ferocious battle fought by the forces of evil against God and us, the chosen people of God, which will reach an unholy crescendo at the end of time with unprecedented destruction and distress. But, in the generosity of God we are not left unprotected. We are promised the aid of this experienced, valiant spiritual defender when that time of tribulation comes. We can be additionally confident in our deliverance because our names are recorded in the book of life. Even those who are already long dead and buried will rise again in bodily form. And, them that impart wisdom, will shine with heavenly brightness and the reward for those that lead others into righteousness is to be like stars brilliant in the night sky for eternity.
Andrea Campanale is the first Licensed Lay Pioneer in Southwark Diocese. I work as a Project Officer for the Methodist Church, teach Mission, and Evangelism for St Augustine’s College of Theology and Pioneer Ministry for Cliff College.
It matters how we steward our gifts, time and money.
A few years ago some of the youth group we led were very dastardly towards a couple of the leaders who got married. They decorated their car with ‘just married’ paraphernalia. They also hid a kipper in the air vent. An hour into the journey they stopped to take the items off the car. As they carried on however, they began to notice a smell. The whole car stunk of fish. To this day when they smell fish it reminds them of their wedding day!
Today we mark the feast of Christ the King. We celebrate how, through the Cross and Resurrection, Jesus is above all ‘earthly’ rulers and authorities, and commenced the coming of his Kingdom that cannot be reversed.
Over the preceding weeks the lectionary gives us clues into this mystery. The Kingdom is like a weed you can’t get rid of (Matt 13). It’s like salt that flavours everything (Matt 5). It’s like yeast, invisible but for the effects (Luke 17). Maybe, it’s like smoked fish hidden in your car.
This matters when we think about generosity. How we steward our gifts, time and money towards things that see the Kingdom come into being is not easy. We might be drawn to things that look obvious, bright and shiny, but what else might have your attention? What areas in the life of your church, or connections in your community might you keep being drawn back to? Might you have just caught a sniff of the kingdom?
Dr Nick Shepherd works in the areas of strategy development and change for the Church of England. Nick is a Visiting Scholar in the Centre for Ministry Formation at Sarum College and an Adjunct Associate Professor of Ecclesial Change with NLA College, Bergen. Nick can be followed @theonographer on X, but be advised most posts are Crystal Palace related…
December 2024
Love is a joyful, generous gift.
Paul writes to the Thessalonians to celebrate ‘all the joy that we feel before our God because of you’. Do we feel we cannot thank God enough for all the joy we feel in our companions in faith? Picture them now. Yes, especially her. And him. And them. Perhaps you feel that someone needs to ‘restore whatever is lacking’ in their faith. Then you might be able to enjoy them more.
But Paul feels joy because ‘we abound in love for you’. And the more we love someone, the more joy we feel because of them. And the more we want to thank God for them just as they are now. And the more we desire to do whatever we can to restore anything that might be lacking in their faith, or indeed their lives.
Except, of course, we may find that it is they who will restore what is lacking in our faith, they who will encourage and sustain and enjoy us. Through them, we will learn to love. Truly, what a generous gift are those who are bound to us in faith. We have God and we have each other: we lack nothing.
Canon Dr Neville Emslie is Director of Mission and Ministry in the Diocese of Canterbury.
Generosity is a grace and a bounty that brings to our lives an overwhelming joy.
Today's second reading speaks of Paul's gratefulness to a generous God. He explains how we can emulate God's generosity in a way that brings us collective joy through 'partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now'.
Paul's God is the ultimate source of generosity. Generosity is a special quality of the Christian life. A marker of Christianity, it is also intuitive in the community of genuine believers. We don't have to think about being generous. We are generous.
Paul tells us that he holds us - his listeners - in his heart. 'Holding' is significant. Generosity is not something that you do once and let go of. Rather it takes root in us. Hence Paul is able to say: 'I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ'.
The surprising thing is that generosity is not sacrificial, but rather is indulgent. It's actually its own gift. It is a grace and a bounty that brings to our lives an overwhelming joy that has nothing to do with a ‘holier than thou’ righteousness. That's why we don't compare our generosity to those of others but with them we are 'partners in God's grace'. And it is God's grace that allows us to be generous as a people
Michael Mullins is a former editor of online magazine, Eureka Street for the Australian Jesuits. He lives in Sydney and Paris.
Share what we have and be satisfied with less.
The 80/20 rule was developed by Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century Italian economist. His insight was that just 20% of the world’s population controls 80% of the world’s resources while 80% of the world’s population has to make do with only 20% of the world’s resources. We inhabit a culture that encourages us to have more than we need and yet we are also surrounded by reminders both locally and internationally that many people do not have enough.
This was also true of the world in the time of John the Baptist, and John deliberately addresses those who have more than they need or who have the power to enrich themselves at the expense of others: people who own two coats or have plenty of food, the tax-collectors and the soldiers. John is calling people to live in the light of the coming Kingdom, and he advises them to live in a markedly different way from those around them. Live more simply, take only what you need. Many of us are aware God has been generous to us and given us more than we need, but we sit by while others lack the things we take for granted. Just as John said to the people of his day, maybe we need to hear God’s challenge to share what we have, to not needlessly gather wealth, and to be satisfied with less.
Leah Vasey-Saunders is currently serving as Vicar of Lancaster in the Diocese of Blackburn. Previously she has served in a variety of different contexts both parishes and Cathedral from city to town and suburbs, predominantly in former mining communities. Leah is also Chair of On Fire Mission; a charity working to support and enable renewal in the catholic tradition of the Church of England.
God’s generosity willed for us to be made right.
In my last church, a few years ago, Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday. One parishioner came to the one ‘normal’ service we had in the morning before the Christmas Eve services (that began later in the day). On leaving the church, she said to a clergy colleague of mine: ‘That’s enough, right? Or do I have to come back again?’
If our Christian life, let alone our generosity, is based on ‘that’s enough, right?’ we might want to look again at why we do what we do.
Christ did not come in order to straighten us out in terms of how to make our sacrificial offerings. He did not give us a crash course in Levitical law, or point out the missteps we’d been taking in forgetting to go and offer the necessary sacrifice or for giving too much or too little. There was no nit-picking or micro-management.
His gift abolished the need for ritual offerings. Nothing more would ever be needed. His gift made us holy. The only answer to the question of what is enough is found on the Cross.
God’s generosity willed for us to be made right, to be made holy, and to leave ritual sacrifice behind. None of us were enough and yet, now, all of us are. No debt remains. No sin outstanding. And if that doesn’t change our accounting, whether spiritual or financial, nothing will!
Suse McBay is a tutor at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and primarily teaches OT and preaching. Her website and blog can be found at susemcbay.com
Bear with each other, forgive each other, love each other, be thankful. Have a generous heart.
Generosity comes in different forms. There’s financial giving of course, but we can be generous through how we use our time, or our resources, or many other ways, and we can also be generous just in the way we are. This reading is a great reminder of this. We can choose to think of others before ourselves, we can choose to think the best of people, we can choose not to criticise others when we are unfairly criticised. We can have a generous mindset as well as doing generous acts.
In this reading, Paul offers us a template of what a generous community looks like. He also shows us that it is not always easy to be part of a generous community. When people gather together, they can also fall out with each other (as many families will testify to at this time of year). But if we are serious about sharing God’s generosity with others, and serious about reflecting God’s generous character, then we need to be part of a generous community. It is immeasurably harder to do it as a solitary pursuit.
At their best, communities help us up when we fall, encourage us when things are hard, celebrate with us when we live out our generous calling. So, we need to find ways to be together, to rub along with each other, and to learn from each other. And Paul reminds us how – bear with each other, forgive each other, love each other, be thankful. Have a generous heart.
Jonathan de Bernhardt-Wood is the Director of Giving for the Church of England. Previous to this role, Jonathan was Generous Giving Adviser for the Diocese of Oxford. He has held senior leadership, fundraising and governance roles within the charity sector for over 30 years. He is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising as well as a Lay Canon at St Edmundsbury Cathedral. He recently presented a discipleship course on Living Generously with RightNowMedia. He is the author of The Porcupine Principle (and other fundraising secrets) and has a Certificate in Management and an MA in Applied Theology. He is based in Suffolk.
Preaching Generosity 2023 archive
January 2023
In the economy of grace, the cost is met, and we are invited in to participate in new ways of living
‘But who pays?’ asks the wise Mrs Beddows in Winifred Holtby’s famous novel South Riding. It is a question that helps us think about the dynamics of grace and generosity in our difficult Gospel reading today. Herod causes the little boys to pay in this awful narrative. He has power, they do not. He cannot accept the good news brought to him by the wise men, so they suffer.
‘Who pays?’ we can ask as we look at our world, beautiful but marred by sin and injustice. Who pays for the high levels of consumption and waste this festive season? We know it is the environment and the poorest members of our society, here and far away. We believe that Jesus offers us a deeper reality, one in which God in divine generosity breaks this cycle. In the economy of grace, the cost is met, and we are invited in to participate in new, equitable ways of living.
Alison Fulford is Vicar of Audlem, Wybunbury and Doddington, and also Rural Dean of Nantwich in the Diocese of Chester.
We are chosen, holy, redeemed, forgiven, and drenched in grace.
Many of us are blessed to know the privilege and wonder of being parents. (Yes, there’s toil and struggle too, but that’s off-topic!) Giving good things to our beloved children is sheer joy. In this passage of superlatives, we’re swept along in a tidal wave of blessings in Christ, poured out by a loving Father.
Two of our three children are adopted, and we’re aware of the even deeper intentionality which powers our love for them, through their chosen-ness and their rescue from peril.
The word “lavished” is so wonderful, telling of an exuberant, extravagant, sumptuously rich generosity. Our heavenly Father bestows on us the full measure of all the spiritual blessings accorded to us as beloved adopted children. We are chosen, holy, redeemed, forgiven, and drenched in grace. Our new purpose? To bring God glory. And emulating the lavish character of the Father is an excellent place to start.
Clare Masters was Lay Minister at Bidborough, St Lawrence and Southborough, St Peter in the Diocese of Rochester.
Offering gifts to God has always been part of Christian discipleship.
Material gifts carry symbolic value, some kind of communication about relationships. In the ancient world, they could convey allegiance, loyalty and submission. When the writers of Isaiah and Psalm 72 anticipate kings bringing gold and precious things to Zion and its anointed ruler, this is part of what they have in mind. It is clearly in the background too for Matthew’s account of the visit of the Magi.
Offering material gifts to God has always been part of Christian discipleship. It needn’t always be money, and it needn’t always be about ‘giving to the church’. But it says something about the relationship between us and God – God who does not need what we have but delights in what we offer.
With the growth of electronic donation, of various kinds, we could lose the traditional symbolic action of offering the people’s material gifts as part of Sunday worship. Does it matter?
Jeremy Worthen is Team Rector of Ashford Town Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury.
I give my heart to God
In the poem by Christina Rosetti “In The Bleak Mid-Winter”, the poet ponders on what she might give to God. “What shall I give him, poor as I am?”
The Psalmist had already arrived at the same conclusion which she did, “Yet what I can I give Him, — Give my heart.” The psalmist wonders at all the bountiful mercy that God has shown them and knows that they cannot begin to communicate God’s generosity adequately.
God asks in return not for sacrifices or any ritual burnt offerings. He requires the psalmist, and us, to have ears and hearts open both to him and the world. If we have both our ears and our hearts open to God then we hear what it is that he wants us to give to the world, communicating to it his faithfulness and salvation, his loving kindness and truth.
Pamela Ive is Parish Deacon in Capel, Tudeley & Five Oak Green, and Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Rochester.
What should we entrust to God’s generous love?
I am a list-maker: on my desk is well-used pad, listing all the things I need to do. I keep this list because I can’t keep all these tasks in my head! Are you also a list-maker? Our passages today remind me that there are some things I cannot add to my list, to try and achieve myself. For instance, when I walk in darkness, I cannot cause the light to shine on me – whether we take that in a literal, emotional or spiritual sense.
And again, I cannot create a stronghold for my own life, no matter how much I plan ahead. The Gospel account of the early days of Jesus’ ministry reveals him as the one who enacts God’s promises to save us. He displays God’s own loving kindness and generosity towards us.
What do we have on our inner ‘to-do’ lists that we should be entrusting to God’s love for us instead?
Alison Fulford is Vicar of Audlem, Wybunbury and Doddington, and also Rural Dean of Nantwich in the Diocese of Chester.
Something out of nothing
‘Can I afford it?’ is a question we often ask in life, counting and measuring our resources to see if we’ve got enough to cover what’s being asked of us. It’s not just a money thing; we do it with our time, our energy, our patience, our hospitality – working out whether we have enough for what’s needed.
This first ‘sign’ in John’s Gospel is about Jesus giving a generous gift when, on the face of it, he had nothing to give. The wine had run out, and there was no off-licence round the corner. If the wedding wasn’t to sink into disaster, something needed to come out of virtually nothing. From six clay jars of water came an abundance of the finest wine.
When life leaves us feeling over-stretched and like we can’t ever be enough, give enough or do enough, this story brings hope:
• Jesus’ ministry was full of ‘multiplication miracles’ like this – moments when he took what was inadequate and made it into far more than enough. Was he showing what God’s Kingdom is like?
• The jars were made of clay and full of water, both of which often symbolise humanity. When we offer our humanness to Jesus, he can use us to do things we never dreamed possible.
• In Jesus’ hands, the insufficient and inadequate became a gift of stunning generosity.
When generosity feels too difficult, our resources too meagre, we place ourselves in Jesus’ hands, trusting God to multiply, to bring something out of nothing.
Lyndall Bywater is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster. She is the author of Prayer in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship) and Faith in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship).
February 2023
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For his steadfast love endures forever
Saying Psalm 136 aloud in a liturgical context brings its own particular challenges. It is easy for the refrain to start feeling a bit - well, repetitive. ‘For his steadfast love endures forever’ we drone, wondering how many more times before this interminable list comes to an end.
Yet there is something very powerful about reading this psalm aloud, at a steady pace, and hearing our voices say those words over and over again, declaring that the basis of every response we make is the prior reality of the goodness of God.
Our thanksgiving, our experience of the beauty of the world, our capacity to offer praise and thanks: all these depend on the loving and lavish provision of God. We could extend and continue the Psalm by listing all the ways in which we daily experience God’s generosity and then discover our own hands and hearts, wallets and diaries, opening up in joyful gratitude.
So God’s steadfast love is boring? This psalm gently invites us to move beyond our jaded desire for novelty and to savour the repeated refrain, rather than skip past it in our haste for - what exactly?
The Rev’d Canon Dr Helen Burn is Vicar of St Justus, Rochester, in the Diocese of Rochester
A call to generosity and a warning
Today, many churches will hear the account of the Transfiguration and the disciples’ experience of Christ in his true glory. What is may be less well-known is that the Greek word used in the text gives us the English word metamorphosis (meta “change” and morphe “form”).
The best-known example of a metamorphosis in the animal kingdom is the butterfly, but in the realm of generosity, a good example of this is Ebenezer Scrooge. It is one of the most powerful redemption stories in English literature, with a truly hateful character experiencing a complete and utter transformation.
Scrooge, who starts as a “squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner”, is metamorphosed into a generous man who exclaims “I am as light as a feather, I am as happy as an angel.” It’s a Zacchaeus-like journey of absolution and a call to generosity as well as a warning against hoarding wealth.
In this upcoming season of Lent, how might the empowering presence of our glorious Christ metamorphose (transfigure) us more and more into becoming the people of God?
Fabian Wuyts is Vicar of St James’, Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
Secure in God, we turn outwards to kindness and generosity
The Genesis story begins with a man and a woman in a garden, living in contentment, enjoying the company of their Creator. Three chapters later, they’re estranged from God and bereft of that deep sense of wellbeing.
It’s hard to know whether Adam and Eve were generous when they lived in the garden, the author of the story doesn’t paint that much detail for us. But our knowledge of human nature would suggest that they probably felt more inclined to generosity when they were content than when they were not.
Their journey from paradise to alienation was aided by the Serpent who cross-examined Eve with one devastatingly clever question: ‘Did God really say?’ And followed by a killer argument: ‘God doesn’t want you to eat the fruit because God doesn’t really want the best for you’. Fast-forward to the New Testament and we find Jesus facing those same tactics: God’s word being questioned, and doubt being cast on God’s goodness.
Jesus must have had to hold very tight to the comfort and reassurance which his Father in Heaven had spoken over him at his baptism.
When we doubt God’s goodness, our energies are redirected inwards towards self-preservation and self-protection. When we find our security in God, we are more able to resist the whispers casting doubt, and our energies turn outwards to kindness and generosity.
Lyndall Bywater is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster. She is the author of Prayer in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship) and Faith in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship).
March 2023
The generous God calls us to be his generous people so all people might be blessed
These wonderful verses lie right at the heart of our faith because this is where God begins saving humanity. Genesis 1-11 describes the goodness of God’s creation followed by the spiritual and moral demise of humanity. Genesis 12 kicks off the story of salvation. Verse 3 sums up the goal of God’s saving work, ‘through you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ That in itself is an extraordinary statement of generosity.
When humanity has disobeyed God (Adam and Eve), turned in on itself (Cain and Abel), broken the structures of the universe (the angel ‘marriages’ and Noah), and joined together in hubris (Babel), why should God want to bless humanity? This is also a story of incredible hope and faith.
Given humanity’s record to date, how on earth did God think that humanity could produce a people of blessing? But this is precisely the center of our story of salvation: the generous God calls us into being his generous people, so that all people might be blessed. It starts with the children of Abraham and, following Jesus’ commands to his disciples (Mathew 28:18-20), goes out to all nations.
Generosity is in our DNA. If we are children of God, called into his covenant people, then this is simply who we are. So, in a world where we spend so much time and effort desperately trying to claim and justify our identity, why not instead, just bless as God calls us to?
Andy Angel is Vicar of St Andrew’s, Burgess Hill in the Diocese of Chichester, and author of a number of books including The Jesus you Really Didn’t Know: Rediscovering the Teaching Ministry of Jesus (Cascade Books).
Harden not your hearts. God will provide
The waters of Meribah and the incident that took place there are rooted in Israel’s collective memory. The word Meribah means ‘quarrel’ and signifies more than a disagreement, rather a fundamental rejection of God’s means of provision. Exodus 17 vividly depicts a people feeling desperate and lashing out.
Just in case we might forget our own propensity for distrust and disobedience, Morning Prayer on Friday begins with Psalm 95’s warning: ‘O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts as at Meribah…’
What is at the heart of the panic and complaining? Scarcity and fear come to mind, and we know from behaviour during the Covid pandemic that these two forces often bring out the worst in people. It is possible that PCC discussions around finances, parish share and the budget have the potential to go in a similar direction.
Yet God does provide what is needed. This is the message of the wilderness, over and over again. When the people are able to move beyond panic and blame, there is enough. If we unharden our hearts we will hear God’s voice and be able to receive.
The Rev Canon Dr Helen Burn is Vicar of St Justus, Rochester, in the Diocese of Rochester
Look for a grateful, generous heart in the midst of challenge
Last summer, I had the privilege to travel to Burundi, one of the poorest countries in the world. Despite the poverty, many of the people I met had generous hearts, including Elisha who, with his wife, had been refugees in Tanzania for more than a decade.
Despite the hardship he and his family endured, Elisha looked back with gratitude to God for his provision and faithfulness. He had walked through very dark valleys, but he also experienced the Shepherd’s comfort and protection. He had been hungry, cold, tired and frightened, but the Lord finally made him lie in greener pastures, led him to stiller waters and restored his soul.
Events and realities that would have embittered many had the opposite effect on him. When I think of Elisha, I want to be more like him, grateful, generous and free.
Is there someone in your life that stirs your heart to be more generous and free? If not, why not look for someone, and continually look to the Lord, the good shepherd, who can help you form a generous, grateful heart in the midst of the challenges you may face.
Fabian Wuyts is Vicar of St James’, Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells..
Speaking of love and courage and hope lets the Spirit breathe life
In one of his visions, the Prophet Ezekiel found himself in a truly grim place, a valley full of bones, death and decay on every side. It was a visual representation of the despair felt by his people as they lived with the grief of exile. They were saying, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost. We are cut off completely.’
What to do in such a bleak situation? God’s answer was to invite Ezekiel to tell a different story, and as he dug deep, voicing words of faith and positivity which must have seemed totally incongruous in that valley of death, the very bones started coming to life.
To choose to speak out words of hope when everything seems hopeless is an act of profound generosity. When negativity sets in, it’s costly to invest in the belief that things can be different, and it can be even costlier to voice that belief. What if we’re wrong? What if things don’t come together in the way we hope they will? Yet the hold of hopelessness is only broken when someone has the faith to imagine a different story and the courage to speak it out.
As Ezekiel spoke that prophecy of life, life began to spring up all around him. When we choose to be generous with our words, speaking love instead of hate, courage instead of fear, hope instead of despair, the Spirit breathes life into those around us.
Lyndall Bywater is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster. She is the author of Prayer in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship) and Faith in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship).
April 2023
A church which has tired of rejoicing is in need of a pause
In the part of the psalm the lectionary omits, we see the LORD God rescue his servant – most likely the Davidic king from defeat in battle against his enemies. This is why the psalmist is so excited in verses 19-24 of this song. God has rescued them from political and military aggression.
The worshippers (most likely) accompany the psalmist towards the temple and they are having a party. God has been good and they want to worship God in his holy temple: “I thank you that you have answered me and become my salvation” (verse 21).
The praises of verses 19-24 come out in something of a splurge – almost like a very excited prayer meeting with lots of people praising God at once. (This text does not, at least on the surface, exhibit the logical flow of ideas we might find in a more reflective text).
But this teaches us something about generosity. It is good and worth celebrating. A church which has grown tired of rejoicing in God’s goodness in saving us is a church in need of a pause – to reflect on what truly matters. Holy Week gives just such a pause as we enter into it.
When we immerse ourselves in Jesus’ astoundingly generous gift of his life that rescues us from our enemies (sin, death, and the devil), we have the opportunity to reconnect with the exuberant generosity of God once again and let gratitude fill our hearts once more.
Andy Angel is Vicar of St Andrew’s, Burgess Hill in the Diocese of Chichester, and author of a number of books including The Jesus you Really Didn’t Know: Rediscovering the Teaching Ministry of Jesus (Cascade Books).
Be of one mind
I love singing “At the Name of Jesus” – it’s a great hymn and it captures the second half of this ancient Christian song brilliantly although it only nods to the first half. One of the various things I note about much contemporary hymns and songs is that they are focused on Jesus’ victory and ourselves as recipients of God’s blessing.
Little could be further removed from the point Paul makes here as he either quotes or possibly writes this hymn. “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus” (verse 5a), says Paul. In other words, let’s have the mind of Christ. Specifically, he is trying to urge the Philippians to generosity of spirit. He makes a heartfelt plea that the congregation should be of one mind.
Later in the letter, Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to be of one mind (Philippians 4:2). They are clearly not of one mind and their arguments within the congregation are causing enough of a problem for Paul to single them out. They are probably ministers as they have clearly ministered alongside Paul. Ministry can burn people out. Something has happened between these former co-workers in the gospel.
Paul calls for them to exercise the generosity of spirit that Jesus himself showed us in giving his life in the cross. This call probably felt pretty costly. The call to generosity of spirit often is, but it is something to which we are all called if we belong to Christ.
Andy Angel is Vicar of St Andrew’s, Burgess Hill in the Diocese of Chichester, and author of a number of books including The Jesus you Really Didn’t Know: Rediscovering the Teaching Ministry of Jesus (Cascade Books).
Bring new creation out of what was broken and dead
What a richness of readings on this Easter Day. Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16
Preachers are keen on pointing out to once-a-year Christmas congregations that Jesus is not just for Christmas, but for all year round. The same is true of Easter: the message of Christ risen and the overflowing life of God poured out for us is not for a short season, but is a reality to inhabit every single day.
As the Psalmist reminds us: ‘This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.’ Resurrection is perhaps the ultimate expression of the extravagance of God, bringing a new creation out of what was broken and dead.
Colossians reminds us that our vision and priorities are to be aligned - where we set our minds is where our decisions and commitments will follow. How do we invest ourselves in the ‘things that are above’? Beginning and ending each day with gratitude for what God has done in raising Christ from the grave is one way in which we can keep our eyes fixed on eternal realities.
The Rev Canon Dr Helen Burn is Vicar of St Justus, Rochester, in the Diocese of Rochester..
God’s goodness and generous heart towards his creation
Last week most of us exchanged the traditional Easter greeting “he is risen!” and the traditional response “He is risen, indeed!” It’s a joyful exchange celebrating God’s goodness and generous heart towards his creation. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus, God’s plan of rescue is open to all.
Those who receive the gift are given a “new birth into a living hope” and an “inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled and unfading”. What’s more, they are “being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed”. These realities are generous gifts made available through Christ. How can we show our gratitude towards such a generous God?
One possibility in this Easter season is using the Prayer of Generosity by St Ignatius:
Lord Jesus, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve as you deserve,
To give and not to count the cost,
To fight and not to heed the wounds,
To labour and not to seek to rest,
To give of myself and not ask for a reward,
Except the reward of knowing that I am doing your will.
Fabian Wuyts is Vicar of St James’, Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
Hospitality which leads to communion
There’s a verse in the Epistle to the Hebrews which says that if we extend hospitality to strangers, we can unwittingly end up entertaining angels. For the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, this meeting was even better than an angelic encounter. This was a meeting with the risen Jesus himself.
Did they want to welcome him into their conversation? Would they have preferred to keep themselves to themselves? Grief often causes us to close down so as to protect ourselves from the pain of uncomfortable conversations and intrusive questions. At first it was indeed an uncomfortable conversation. This strange man seemed to know nothing of the events which had caused them such pain.
The choice to open up, in spite of their pain, may have been the most life-changing thing they ever did. As they gave him the precious gift of their story, sharing their heartbreak and sorrow, he led them into hope.
We tend to think of generosity as being something to do with giving positive things, like our money, our time, our talents, our energy, or our love, but anyone who has ever had the privilege of listening to another person share their grief will attest to the fact that it is just as precious a gift as those other things.
Then, as they neared their overnight accommodation, they offered him hospitality again, welcoming him to eat and lodge with them – generosity that opened the way for a profound moment of communion and revelation.
Lyndall Bywater is a freelance writer, speaker and broadcaster. She is the author of Prayer in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship) and Faith in the Making (Bible Reading Fellowship).
The Father sends the Son who generously welcomes us to the party
Corny church sub-culture jokes apart (“I have come that they might have life and have it in abundance [pronounced a barn dance]”), these are amazing words. Why should Jesus have left the Father’s side where he enjoyed perfect love in order to show the Father’s love to us (John 1:18)?
The gospel of John gives the answer. The Father and the Son so love each other, and so love the world, that they together agree that Jesus will reveal the love they share to the world and – despite rejection by many – will share that love with those who will receive it, and teach those who receive it to share it with others.
The plotline of the gospel of John is the cascade of love from the symposium of heaven to earth. A symposium is a party with plenty of good food, great drink, engaging conversation and laughter amongst beloved friends. It’s true, I cannot prove beyond doubt that John 1:18 pictures the Father and Son at this kind of party but they cannot be in the court of heaven on separate thrones as the Word is in the breast of the Father – the position taken for reclining at such parties in the Greek and Roman world, and the one the beloved disciple takes in Jesus’ breast (John 13:23) at the supper which John makes look remarkably like one of these parties.
I like this image: the Father sends the Son who generously welcomes us to the party.
Andy Angel is Vicar of St Andrew’s, Burgess Hill in the Diocese of Chichester, and author of a number of books including The Jesus you Really Didn’t Know: Rediscovering the Teaching Ministry of Jesus (Cascade Books).
May 2023
The salvation of the world has been brought about by God in Christ
This well-loved passage from John’s Gospel tells us that what Jesus, and the Father, desire is that those who believe will experience the power of God at work through them as it was through Jesus. It is that simple. We can get bogged down in budgets and finance and easily forget what our church efforts are for - what are trying to achieve?
In the Genesis and John readings, the agency is all with God. God renews the flooded earth and releases Noah and all in the ark when it is time; at the right time, Jesus will return to the Father and prepare a place for those who know and abide in him. Our role in the great drama of salvation is to respond faithfully to the initiative of God. What a relief! It is not all down to us.
The salvation of the world has been brought about by God in Christ, and our role is to offer gladly whatever we can and let God do the rest. This allows us to be radically generous and to trust that the God who renewed the face of the earth is still engaged in the work of re-creation.
The Rev Canon Dr Helen Burn is Vicar of St Justus, Rochester, in the Diocese of Rochester
In Christ we are not on our own any more
In my Bible, the title of this passage is “Jesus promises the Holy Spirit.” The title I would like instead is “you are not your own and you are not on your own!” Jesus promised to his disciples, and by extension to all his followers, that they would not be on their own.
The “Paraclete” translated as Comforter, Advocate or sometimes Helper is with us, as Jesus was with his disciples. He is the Spirit of truth, who lives with us and who is in us. God’s own presence cannot be closer and more permanent than that! The Spirit of God opens our eyes, our mind and our heart to the personal reality of the trinity and our inclusion in the very life of God.
Anyone caught up in the very life of God, who is the Eternally Self-Giving One, will have a growing desire to express this generous self-giving in his or her own life and context. In Christ we are not our own anymore, and with the presence of God’s Spirit we are not on our own. The life of the Spirit will produce fruit and among these is generosity.
Fabian Wuyts is Vicar of St James’, Taunton in the Diocese of Bath and Wells.
Being humble in our generosity enables us to be rooted in our hearts and our faith
Humility holds a strong link when we practice generosity. It grounds our actions of giving in the deepest places of our hearts, and springboards generosity from a place of compassion and a desire for something greater than our own self-gratification. Sometimes when we give, we can have a habit of wanting that generosity to be seen, to be congratulated or admired – but this attitude makes the act of giving self-centred rather than Christ-centred. Being humble in our generosity enables us to be much more rooted in our hearts and our faith, giving not because we want to be put on a pedestal, but because we want the glory of God to shine from those actions. Humility in generosity is therefore a spiritual discipline to be grown as part of our Christian discipleship, following Jesus’ example, and leading us to a place where our giving points not to ourselves, but beyond itself to reveal the glory of our generous God.
Sammi Tooze is the Discipleship and Strategy Adviser in the Diocese of York, and is also a member of General Synod and the Liturgical Commission, and a Trustee of the Parish Giving Scheme.
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews John 20:19
Fear is a very powerful driver, particularly fear of the unknown. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were clearly still frightened of what might happen to them even 50 days after the events of Holy Week. By this time, though, I suspect the fear was pretty nebulous, yet still had a cumulative effect. Jesus broke through the fear by shear exuberant generosity. As with all his post-resurrection appearances, Jesus’ loving, open generosity contrasted with the mean, fear-ridden vindictiveness of the chief priests and authorities.
In the midst of their fear comes the unlooked-for generosity of Jesus, giving peace alongside the marks of the crucifixion; bestowing the Holy Spirit to fill their hearts with faith and love; offering forgiveness to give hope in a broken world. Generosity is contagious, and from this small act to a tiny group of disciples, hope spreads across the world.
The Rev’d Canon Dr Neil Evans is Residentiary Canon and Steward at St Paul’s Cathedral and was formerly Director of Ministry in the Diocese of London. He is the author of Developing Ministry: Handbook for effective Christian Learning and Training (SPCK).
June 2023
God’s generosity is enough for even the most flawed followers.
Can you remember the last time you let someone down, or wronged somebody, and felt worried about owning up to them? The feeling of anxiety as you imagine the next time you see them can cause lots of stress.
Well imagine the disciples meeting the resurrected Jesus. All of the disciples fled when he was arrested, and Peter denied him three times. They were his closest friends, and they abandoned him when he needed them. Yet here Jesus is, risen, meeting with the disciples and re-establishing their relationship, but it says some of them doubted. So how would Jesus respond to these deserters who still lacked faith? With love and generosity.
He does not rebuke them, but reassures them, and invites them into God’s mission. Moreover, he gives himself, and promises to be with them as they undertake this work. God’s generosity is enough for even the most flawed followers.
André Adefope is a curate based in Bolton. He has written two books, including ‘Same Cross New Questions: How Jesus brings connection in a world of loneliness and separation. For more info go to www.samecrossnewquestions.com
Blessings that are quite simply too precious to keep to ourselves.
‘Follow Me…’ Two words which changed a life, giving Levi hope and a future. Levi had sold his Jewish soul by collecting taxes for the Romans. The Jews despised him so much that even walking through his shadow sullied their piety. Levi exploited his insider knowledge of his community, knowing who could pay a bit more this time round, and making his living by adding his bonus onto their taxes.
So when Jesus stopped by his table one day, Levi expected to receive more Jewish contempt. Instead, Jesus saw past what Levi was and invited him to discover God’s abundant, joyful, eternal life. ‘Follow Me…’ When Levi, whom we know as Matthew the disciple and gospel writer, accepted Jesus’ invitation he left everything behind in a simple yet life-transforming step of faith.
Following Jesus can transform us too! When we respond to God’s cry to ‘know him and press on to know the Lord’ (Hosea 6:3) we follow the source of holiness, abundance, goodness and grace. Through him, we discover what it is to be completely free and forgiven, the joy of both receiving and sharing his abundant love and blessings. Blessings, which spring from the One who offers us, like Matthew, his unconditional, generous love, welcome and grace. Blessings that are quite simply too precious to keep to ourselves.
Bryony Wood is a priest serving in North Nottinghamshire/the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. She is a writer whose first book, The Sound of Musings was published in May 2023.
When we receive graciously, we give someone else the joy and gift of giving.
Having received authority from Jesus, the twelve are sent out into the world – commissioned and trusted to be messengers of the Gospel – and are given instruction of what their ministry is to look like. The ministry of the Church today continues this mission, and so we too are to embrace the direction to receive and give without payment. Receiving without payment is surprisingly difficult for many of us, challenging our independence and vulnerabilities through accepting generosity from others with grace. It challenges our culture of transaction, instead providing a place where mutual giving and receiving becomes a joy-filled activity, ministering to and with one another. This joy naturally and organically enables giving to grow as we set our hearts and minds beyond the lens of transaction – and as we follow Jesus’ instruction to be a gracious receiver, we in turn give someone else the joy and gift of giving.
Sammi Tooze is the Discipleship and Strategy Adviser in the Diocese of York, and is also a member of General Synod and the Liturgical Commission, and a Trustee of the Parish Giving Scheme.
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground unperceived by your Father. Matthew 10:29
I am often struck by how small and limited Jesus’ earthly ministry was. In three short years he travelled around one of the smaller, more unfashionable parts of the Roman Empire; he healed a limited number of sick people, and the large crowds would have seemed paltry in Wembley Stadium. Yet from this tiny start a world was changed. Two sparrows, the smallest, poorest offering available in the Temple; two sparrows, easily scared off in the garden; two sparrows, known and valued by our heavenly Father.
Generosity not only begins small, but is acknowledged when it is truly generous, whatever its size. Although Jesus’ ministry might appear small in some ways, it cost him dearly; he was generous with his love, with his time, with his wisdom. Much of his time was spent with only 12 people, but his generous love shone through.
However small or large our offering might be, we are each able to be truly generous so that we too can notice the cost, whatever the size.
The Rev’d Canon Dr Neil Evans is Residentiary Canon and Steward at St Paul’s Cathedral and was formerly Director of Ministry in the Diocese of London. He is the author of Developing Ministry: Handbook for effective Christian Learning and Training (SPCK).
July 2023
Abraham was willing to give his most precious and best thing to God.
As Christians, we are good at praying when we need help. Or when we want to hand the ‘bad stuff’ over to God. For example, ‘God, please take away this guilt I have’, or ‘help me to overcome this bad habit’. However, we may not be so quick to hand over the ‘good stuff’. How often do we pray ‘God, all of my money is yours, not just the first 10 per cent’. Or ‘God, this status and power I have, take it away if you need to, because you mean more to me’.
Abraham was willing to give God his most precious and best thing, his son. God stops him and does indeed provide the sacrifice, the ram now, but later, God’s own son.
God, in his generosity, handed over the ‘good stuff’ for our benefit. We need to remember to be generous, and trust him, and hand over all of our ‘good stuff’ too.
André Adefope is a curate based in Bolton. He has written two books, including ‘Same Cross New Questions: How Jesus brings connection in a world of loneliness and separation. For more info go to www.samecrossnewquestions.com.
The relationship and rest that Jesus found in the Father is ours too.
There were times as a parent when I felt I couldn’t do right for doing wrong. So I learnt that rather than trying to justify myself in words, it was better to show by actions and attitudes. What we do is more powerful than what we can ever say. So it was with Jesus; he didn’t need to justify himself. He showed by his actions and attitudes who he was and what was important. The cross and empty tomb spoke louder than any speech ever could.
He showed how his identity, power and authority was integral with God the Father (Matthew 11.27). As he relied on and rested in his Father, we glimpse something of their eternal, divine relationship of mutual love and trust. Everything Jesus did was inspired by that; his timings and motivations, his wisdom and strength, climaxing at Calvary when he accepted the cup of suffering.
So when Jesus exhorts us to share our burdens with him, it’s not empty words or a shallow promise. He has experienced much, offered everything, so that we can discover the benefit of faith through him. The relationship and rest that Jesus found in the Father is ours too - by faith. What an inspiration to share such tangible, personal and lavish benefits of faith with others too.
Bryony Wood is a priest serving in North Nottinghamshire/the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. She is a writer whose first book, The Sound of Musings was published in May 2023.
Money and possessions are a spiritual issue.
In the modern world, it is very easy to be drawn into materialism. As human beings, we value our independence, we like to hang on to what we think of as ours. We often perceive our resources and possessions as something we own and therefore hold full control over how they are used. This model of living is very much Paul’s understanding of ‘living by the flesh’ – living according to what we want and what we think we need.
If we are to ‘live according to the Spirit’, we turn this narrative on its head. As beings made in the image of God, our identity lies not in ourselves and our resources, but in God through Christ. This means that our attitude towards money and possessions is a spiritual issue as well as a practical one. By looking at generosity and stewardship as a discipleship journey, we move ourselves from a place of ‘flesh’ considering our possessions as our own, to one of ‘Spirit’ – recognising that all we are and all we have belong to God, that we are caretakers of the resources he entrusts into our care, releasing the bonds of materialism to one grounded in the Kingdom of God.
Sammi Tooze is the Discipleship and Strategy Adviser in the Diocese of York, and is also a member of General Synod and the Liturgical Commission, and a Trustee of the Parish Giving Scheme.
“Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” He answered, “An enemy has done this.” Matthew 13:27b-28
Over the years there have been many scandals with charities where money has been misspent or misappropriated, or where charity workers have proved less than honest or downright corrupt. Such situations are always sad or tragic; money doesn’t get to the right place and lives which could have been helped have not been, or worse, more lives have been damaged. Over and again, I have heard people say that they’re not going to give to X charity again or even that charity giving is a waste of time.
Generally speaking, the cause is inadequate management, with actions that could have been checked or prevented. It is always easy to find excuses to be less than generous: ‘Oh, the money doesn’t get to the right people’ or ‘They’re all corrupt’. The reality is that most of the time most charities are not only honest but are doing a huge amount of good. Taking the long, considered view, as the householder in Jesus’ parable, always pays dividends. Taking the generous option means taking risks and allowing the benefit of doubt to give a positive outcome.
The Rev’d Canon Dr Neil Evans is Residentiary Canon and Steward at St Paul’s Cathedral and was formerly Director of Ministry in the Diocese of London. He is the author of Developing Ministry: Handbook for effective Christian Learning and Training (SPCK).
Generosity begins with God, who gave his life for us.
Many of us have seen an ‘ambiguous image’. It’s one of those pictures that can show two different images simultaneously. For example, we may see a duck, then as we stare at it for a while, it also shows us a rabbit.
The parables of the treasure and the pearl are like this. Often, in church we see one of the images, one interpretation, namely, God is the valuable prize. Therefore, we must give everything up to gain him. However, there is a second viewpoint: you are the pearl. You are the treasure of great worth, and God gave his Son, he gave himself, to gain you. Both of these pictures can be true at the same time.
Generosity begins with God, who gave his life for us, and we respond to this by making him and our relationship with him our priority. Our generosity simultaneously overflows from his.
André Adefope is a curate based in Bolton. He has written two books, including ‘Same Cross New Questions: How Jesus brings connection in a world of loneliness and separation. For more info go to www.samecrossnewquestions.com.
August 2023
That when we work with God, he will anoint our gift for his glory.
If only we too could transform a little snack into a huge banquet! As our creator and sustainer, multiplying something small into something spectacular was quite normal for God. He had already spoken life into the darkness to create light and life, so lunch for a hungry crowd was a piece of cake!
Jesus could have commanded the stones at his feet to turn into bread; but he chose not to. Instead, he worked with his disciples and the donor of the bread and fish to illustrate something fundamental. That when we work with him, he will anoint our gift for his glory. When we trust him, he will not let us down. When we give what we can, he can transform it beyond our understanding.
But that miracle started with a simple act of possibly hesitant generosity. A doubtful passing over of a meagre lunch.
It still starts with us. Trusting him, offering our time, skills and even our money and possessions. Imagine the impact…if we let go of our hesitancy and fears to share what we have. Imagine how much he could do with our wholehearted offering, whatever or however that may be. Imagine how wonderful it might be to feed the multitudes today in body, mind and spirit.
Bryony Wood is a priest serving in North Nottinghamshire/the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. She is a writer whose first book, The Sound of Musings was published in May 2023.
In moments of prayer, we can ask what God is calling us to give; how we can grow in Christ-like generosity.
In this story, known well to many people, it is helpful to observe that after Jesus’ ministry to the crowds, he takes himself away to pray alone. Prayer is a powerfully sacred space in which we are drawn intimately into the presence of God, in which we discern how we are called to be imitators of God on earth, and in which we are transformed more into the people God creates us to be. Prayer is also a place entwined with generosity – we give ourselves to God, and in turn we are led into inhabiting a more generous and contented spirit. We encounter this regularly when we say The Lord’s Prayer – ‘give us today our daily bread’, a desire to receive the generosity of God with grace, to be content with what we have, and to stop us from wanting more. In moments of prayer, we can ask what God is calling us to give, how he might be calling us to become more generous in the whole of life, and how we can grow in Christ-like generosity.
Sammi Tooze is the Discipleship and Strategy Adviser in the Diocese of York, and is also a member of General Synod and the Liturgical Commission, and a Trustee of the Parish Giving Scheme.
Jesus answered her, ‘Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.’ And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15:28
This is a difficult passage as we think of Jesus’ mission and ministry being for all and fully inclusive: a message at the heart of the Gospel. Whether Matthew is talking of Jesus testing the woman’s faith, whether he has Jesus speaking from a first Century Jewish perspective, or whether it was humorous banter, we can’t be certain. But the outcome is an act of God’s generosity.
The reality is that our own generosity of spirit can be tested, and situations are not always straightforward. It is appropriate to ask questions and not to be taken for a ride; being a Christian is not being a doormat! However, in our reactions we are called to err on the side of generosity. Perhaps a response of, ‘I’m not going to be taken in by that’ might also be a challenge to say, ‘in which case I will be generous in this way, instead’. A refusal to give to someone begging, for example, might be followed by a donation to a homeless charity. How am I being challenged today?
The Rev’d Canon Dr Neil Evans is Residentiary Canon and Steward at St Paul’s Cathedral and was formerly Director of Ministry in the Diocese of London. He is the author of Developing Ministry: Handbook for effective Christian Learning and Training (SPCK).
A generous church has members which give help to others and are also humble enough to receive help too.
In a team sport, everyone has different roles. In football, not everyone can be the striker, you also need defenders. In cricket, not everyone can bat, you also need fielders. In netball, not everyone can be goal shooter, you also need goal keepers. No one can do everything, so team members have to rely on their teammates and help each other.
Likewise, we as church members are called to think not only of ourselves, or be conceited, but importantly to remember other people. Being generous with our gifts and talents is needed because no one can do everything, so we are urged to use them to benefit those around us. In addition, we are told to accept help from those who are gifted in ways we are not. A generous church has members which give help to others and are also humble enough to receive help too.
André Adefope is a curate based in Bolton. He has written two books, including ‘Same Cross New Questions: How Jesus brings connection in a world of loneliness and separation. For more info go to www.samecrossnewquestions.com.
September 2023
God can hold us, help us, guide and bless in everything.
Matthew tells how Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, fully aware of what lay ahead at Calvary. Peter, however, couldn’t accept such a dire fate for his beloved master; until Jesus warned him to reset his thinking. A challenge surely for us all to align our mind-set with God’s.
Jesus came to fulfil God’s perfect plan, to draw us into relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we align our mind-set to seek God’s will, it transforms our thinking and doing, including our wallets! We begin to learn that in everything, God can hold us, help us, guide and bless. For no matter what happens in life, God won’t be caught unawares. Somehow, he is both one step ahead, whilst walking beside us.
Developing a relationship of trust in God is both a joy and a challenge as we begin to recalibrate all that we are and all that we have. We discover through faith, that he is the ultimate source of divine assurance and security. Resetting our minds to trust in both good times and tough times means we can give our ‘first fruits’ in confidence. For all our gifts and resources are from him in the first place! What we are offered eternally is priceless, unlike anything we might seek in the world.
Bryony Wood is a priest serving in North Nottinghamshire/the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. She is a writer whose first book, The Sound of Musings was published in May 2023.
Pay it forwards.
Getting a loan is easy in the UK! Taking them out may be easy, but paying them back may less so. Average personal debt in the UK excluding mortgages now exceeds £33,000. Such debt can become impossible to repay and lead to a spiral down into real poverty.
That loans are so commonplace makes it hard to see Paul’s teaching being taken literally today.
A Malayan proverb says “One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind.” Society now encourages us to “pay it forwards”. Recipients of kindness, especially where they are unable to bless the original giver, might bless others in response to the blessings we have been shown. The initial debt may be left unpaid, but it is redeemed by a subsequent act of grace and generosity.
John Preston is one-time National Stewardship Advisor for the Church of England, and latterly Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Worcester.
Giving from the heart – without counting the cost.
Geraldine was suddenly widowed at the age of 51, she had never worked and had no children. Geraldine turned to a Christian friend for advice who loaned her money to tide her over until things were settled with the administration of the estate, which took months to sort out. At a later point, realising she would have insufficient funds to settle her debt, Geraldine asked for more time to repay her. The friend took pity on her and told her she owed nothing, it was her way of helping her friend.
Geraldine’s friend gave to her from her heart. This reflects the generosity we hear about in our readings today and something we can be mindful of in our dealings with others.
Such generosity is shown by God towards us. God believes in forgiving and in equality, we need do nothing but be and he loves us. He wants us to treat others as we would wish to be treated, upholding each another, being generous to one another, giving and not counting the cost. In doing this we reflect God’s abundantly generous love for each of us.
Sharran Ireland was Team Rector of four churches now retired with PTO in the Diocese of Canterbury.
‘Just in time’ or ‘Just in case’?
Efficient businesses follow the ‘just in time’ principle, developing trusted supply chains that deliver components just when needed, rather than cluttering up the factory with large amounts of stock just in case they run short. In Exodus 16 God is teaching the Israelites in the desert the ‘just in time’ principle – that God can be trusted to deliver just what they need at the right moment. On the eve of the sabbath twice as much manna was delivered as on the other days (v5). Likewise in Psalm 105 v41, God provided water from the rock just in time.
So often we live by a different principle, ‘just in case’. We clutter our lives with possessions and seek to accumulate assets in the bank ‘just in case’ they might be needed. The problem is that this principle teaches us to rely on ourselves rather than on God and can be such a generosity-blocker, causing us to hold on to things we have rather than give them away to those whose need is greater.
How are we going to live this week? Generously, in the confidence that God will provide what we need just in time? Or selfishly, holding on to what we have, just in case?
Mark Ireland is Archdeacon of Blackburn. He has written several books on mission and evangelism and his latest publication is ‘Surveillance Capitalism and the Loving Gaze of God’ (Grove Books, 2022)
October 2023
A generous gift of attending to and listening to others.
Sometimes the generosity of God can seem overwhelming: how can we possibly come close? Our epistle reading today is a good example, with those wonderful words about Christ emptying himself to take on the form of a slave and becoming obedient to the point of death.
But Paul also gives us a clue about where we might start putting generosity into action when he says ‘Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others’. This is not an incitement to nosiness, but at heart it speaks of the gift of listening to others, of seeing what concerns them, of taking an interest in their preoccupations. In other words, it is about being generous with our attention.
Paying attention to someone may seem like a relatively minor thing to do, but if we are generous with our attention in the name of the one who gave his all, then it becomes infinitely more precious, and who knows where it will lead?
Harriet Johnson is Chaplain to St Augustine’s College of Theology and based in the Diocese of Rochester.
Tenants are stewards.
Having lived in our own house for many years, three years ago we moved into a rented property. We became stewards of our landlord’s house, and noticed a conflict between the aspirations we had for the place in which we were living, and what the owner might want for it. If the house was ours, we might have knocked a wall down, or changed the garden around.
Stewards care for that which is entrusted to them – doing the best they can for the ultimate owner. Being a good steward will lead us to suppress our own desires and wants, to focus on another’s agenda. The church is a steward of God’s mission to the world – he generously entrusts the worldwide church with it. As tenants in God’s world, and entrusted with his mission, are we imposing our aspirations for the church, or seeking to fulfil God’s calling?
John Preston is one-time National Stewardship Advisor for the Church of England, and latterly Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Worcester.
Accepting God’s generous invitation
Our Gospel reading tells that those whom the Lord has especially called, refused to attend his celebration of life, but then others, who were the most unexpected people, were chosen to be given a place at God's table.
The story is an allegory of God's generous invitation to us to take part in the dramatic unfolding of salvation brought by his Son, an offer beyond price, and an offer that is open to us all.
Matthew's point is about generous invitation and blunt refusal. He reinforces the message that whatever our situation in life, God calls to us generously and we are called to respond with equal generosity, to come out of ourselves and into the new life of the kingdom - to make the choice to accept God's generosity. The real mystery is that many still refuse when our life here can be made a foretaste of eternity with God, if only we choose to listen to the voice of the One who loves us enough to call us and accept his generous invitation to live!
Sharran Ireland was Team Rector of four churches now retired with PTO in the Diocese of Canterbury.
‘Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; bring offerings and come into his courts.’ (Psalm 96v8).
One of the highlights of my visits to churches in Africa is always the offertory. That is when the worship so often comes alive, with singing and dancing and shouts of joy. For the psalmist, as for my African friends, bringing offerings to God was clearly an integral part of worship, a way of ascribing to God the honour due to his name.
That being so, how come we are so shy in our own culture about taking offerings in church? Often in our embarrassment we hide the offertory in a hymn without any prior explanation, in a way that so easily catches the visitor unawares.
One sad legacy of Covid is that in many places we have lost even the offertory hymn. Online giving is in many ways better, safer and more reliable than giving on the plate. However we can lose that precious connection between giving and worship. What we give, through the bank or on the plate, is one of the ways in which we ascribe to the Lord the honour we think is due to his name.
Mark Ireland is Archdeacon of Blackburn. He has written several books on mission and evangelism and his latest publication is ‘Surveillance Capitalism and the Loving Gaze of God’ (Grove Books, 2022)
We delight in the Lord, who will refresh and nourish us.
Sometimes it can be exhausting to be giving all the time. Sometimes we can feel as though we have little left to give – no more resources, no more time, no more energy. We are empty.
Psalm 1 gives us an image of trees beside a stream. They are constantly able to take up water with their roots and nourish and refresh themselves. The nutrients that they take in from the water and the energy they get from the sun are transformed by action within the trees’ cells into more leaves and fruit. As a result, their leaves do not wither and they can give their fruit when it is time to do so.
Generosity, especially when we give of ourselves, also requires that we replenish our stocks and find refreshment. For the psalmist this refreshment is found in meditation on, and delight in, the law of the Lord. How can we use our love for Jesus and delight in him who is the fulfilment of that law, to refresh us and nourish us, so that we too can keep giving our fruit?
Harriet Johnson is Chaplain to St Augustine’s College of Theology and based in the Diocese of Rochester.
November 2023
Does paid or unpaid ministry offer better value?
As a Diocesan Secretary, working five days a week to support parishes across the diocese I’m paid for my work for the Church. As a Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) preaching and leading worship, I’m a volunteer. I see both as complementary sides of my ministry – both equally important.
There are many models of ministry – some paid, some unpaid – and at different times in Paul’s life he experienced both. It’s often said that we value what we pay for – but anything which we have bought comes with an expectation of value for money – and if not, that we will have some recourse to the seller. There is a risk that we seek to judge whether ministry is “value for money” – and that is ultimately fruitless, for it is only through God’s eyes and according to his perspective that our calling can be seen to be fulfilled or not.
John Preston is one-time National Stewardship Advisor for the Church of England, and latterly Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Worcester.
Are we prepared to meet him?
Remembrance Sunday gives us the opportunity to give thanks for those who generously gave up their lives for the sake of their loved ones and those not yet born.
Today we are called to wait with hope for the coming of Christ, using the wisdom brought to us by the Scriptures. We are encouraged to stay awake because, just as those who died in war, we don't know either the day or the hour.
Are there things that we would do if we knew our time was short? Are there relationships in our lives that are in need of healing? Are there things we need to say to people that we keep putting off?
Are we like the wise bridesmaids – open minded, alert and fully prepared, being generous in our preparations? Or like the foolish bridesmaids – closed minded, with pockets of our lives untouched by the Gospel message; unprepared because we’ve buried our heads in the sand to other possibilities?
By being generous in our relationships, ready to forgive, ready to say sorry ourselves, and open to God’s prompting to go the extra mile generously for one another, we will be emulating what God does for us.
Sharran Ireland was Team Rector of four churches now retired with PTO in the Diocese of Canterbury.
Everything we own belongs to the Lord
Today’s Gospel reading has featured in many church fundraising initiatives, where each member is offered a small sum of money and invited to go away and trade with it and bring back the proceeds. As in Jesus’ story, the results tend to vary widely!
However I suspect that when Jesus told this story he was not thinking about fundraising but about stewardship. A silver talent was a substantial sum of money, so the man going on a journey was showing real trust in his slaves to steward his resources for him in his absence.
As Jesus’ final journey reaches its climax, he commissions his disciples to carry on his business, entrusting them with his life and power, and charges them to use it for his glory not their own, reminding them that on the day of his return they will be held to account.
Two thousand years on it is good to be reminded that all that we ‘own’ in fact belongs to the Lord, and one day he will return and ask us how well we have used what has been entrusted to us to carry on the work of God’s kingdom among the least, the last and the lost.
How might that knowledge affect my spending choices this week?
Mark Ireland is Archdeacon of Blackburn. He has written several books on mission and evangelism and his latest publication is ‘Surveillance Capitalism and the Loving Gaze of God’ (Grove Books, 2022)
‘I myself will search for my sheep’.
We often think of important leaders as people with large entourages and lots of staff to do things for them. When the king invites people to a garden party at Buckingham Palace, you can be sure that he has not personally fired up the barbecue! When a head of a government or large corporation promises to do something, they usually mean that they will ask someone on their staff to look into it and take action.
But in our reading from Ezekiel God gives us another model of leadership. ‘I myself will search for my sheep’ he says. God’s generosity does not lie in waiting for, or even asking, others to do things. It is rooted in God’s own willingness to take action, even actions that might be left to others. ‘I will seek the lost, bind up the injured, feed them and rescue them,’’ says God. I will do whatever needs to be done.’
In Christ we have a king who himself gave up power in order to serve. Can we, like him, be generous enough to roll up our own sleeves and lend our hands to God’s work?
Harriet Johnson is Chaplain to St Augustine’s College of Theology and based in the Diocese of Rochester.
Preaching Generosity 2022 archive
December 2023
Thankfulness, Gratitude and God’s Grace
“For all Your goodness I will keep on singing, Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find” goes the song. It’s easy to miss our blessings – especially the things that we don’t notice or see. Every breath that we take is a gift from God, every moment of being loved, every glimpse of nature. The gift of eternal life through Jesus is unseen too, yet is more precious than any other blessing.
Swiss philosopher Henri Frederic Amiel wrote ““Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” Gratitude shapes our attitude – we move from entitlement to recognition that we are blessed far more than we deserve by the grace of Jesus.
Peter Maiden’s book “Radical Gratitude” ends ‘My final word on a book on radical gratitude – rely solely on the amazing grace of God’.
John Preston is one-time National Stewardship Advisor for the Church of England, and latterly Diocesan Secretary for the Diocese of Worcester.
Can you give of your time?
As we prepare for Christmas we see the streets of our towns festooned with twinkling lights, shops decorated with Christmas trees and gifts displayed to tempt in the shopper.
In the materialistic hype, people can forget that Christmas is all about God’s generosity. Our Psalm today reminds us that God is a generous giver who forgives and restores, who brings peace to those who love him and salvation as we believe in him.
At this special time of year when we have time to reflect upon our coming Christian celebration, we might consider how we can be generous, not necessarily by indulging in a materialistic kind of giving but simply by giving our time to a person who is alone, or sharing a meal with them, even shopping for them instead of ourselves. Being generous with our time, giving what is good just as God has done for us, can be the most precious gift we can give to another.
Sharran Ireland was Team Rector of four churches now retired with PTO in the Diocese of Canterbury.
‘The Lord has done great things for us, and we rejoiced.’ Psalm 126.3
In Scripture, God is not a God of scarcity but of abundance. The psalmist looks back to times in the past when God had acted powerfully to restore the fortunes of his people. Those memories inspire the psalmist to pray for a similar restoration in his or her own day of calamity. The writer uses two images of abundance, when dry watercourses gush again after the seasonal rains, and when those who sow seed despite tears and scarcity later return to harvest sheaves in abundance.
Sowing corn in the ground when supplies are low takes great faith. Yet without generous sowing there can be no harvest. When we look at the problems that confront us today, are we able to look with the psalmist’s eyes of faith on the dry watercourse or the near empty bag of seeds, and praise the God of abundance, trusting that God will again provide fresh water to drink and sheaves of corn?
If times are hard for us in this cost of living crisis, can we dare in faith to still sow small seeds of generosity, trusting that God will in time return a joyful harvest?
Mark Ireland is Archdeacon of Blackburn. He has written several books on mission and evangelism and his latest publication is ‘Surveillance Capitalism and the Loving Gaze of God’ (Grove Books, 2022)
God’s promise to King David.
King David was in a good place – and he knew it. Life had been generous to him, not least in providing him with a sturdy house of cedar wood. He wanted to be generous in return – by building God, the source of his good fortune, a house of God’s own.
But God had different ideas. God didn’t want David’s generosity – at least not expressed in this way. Instead, God wanted to continue being generous to David in establishing the throne with his descendants forever.
How often do we try to force our own ideas on other people, out of a mistaken sense of our own generosity, instead of listening to them? Instead of giving people things that we think they must want, can we instead offer them the generosity that recognises who they truly are, and be generous with whatever they really need for them to be the people God is calling them to be?
Harriet Johnson is Chaplain to St Augustine’s College of Theology and based in the Diocese of Rochester.
How do we respond to God’s generous gifts?
I wonder what you received for Christmas?
A pair of socks? A festive jumper? Perhaps, jewellery (gold or maybe even diamonds?) Isaiah describes your Christmas present (yes, yours) like this: garments, a robe, a garland, jewels even.
But, look closer, it gets better.
These are “garments of salvation” and a “robe of righteousness”. Those are generous gifts to delight in – especially when we reflect on what they cost.
It cost the eternal Son assuming humanity, being born, suffering, and dying. When we receive a gift that is far more costly than we expect, it moves us to respond to that generosity with an echoing generosity.
Isaiah looks ahead to the nations seeing God’s salvation. In response to God’s generous gifts, what could you give that would cost you something meaningful, so that the nations (whether the people near to you or far away) may come to see and even share in God’s costly salvation?
Tim Edwards is Rector in the Benefice of Knockholt with Halstead in the Diocese of Rochester.
June 2022
How do we explain God’s generosity to others?
“Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” (Luke 8.39). Jesus tells the man who had been possessed by demons to tell of God’s generosity. Generosity of healing in this case. When God is generous to us, what is our response to that generosity? Do we tell others of the great gifts that have been bestowed on us, or do we keep quiet about it? If we do tell others, how do we choose to go about it? The method we choose may differ according to the gifts and talents that we have. Some may be called to be teachers, some may be gifted as healers, some may be skilled as listeners. We all have been given gifts, how can we use them to tell others of God’s generosity towards all of His creation? Our generous use of our talents in response to God’s generosity to all.
Trevor Marshall is Priest in Charge at Tangmere and Oving in the Diocese of Chichester, and National Giving Ministry Advisor.For freedom Christ has set us free.
When we are ‘in Christ’ nothing can ultimately constrain us; we are the freest people in the world. When we are captivated by Christ we sing his song and dance his dance, even if outward circumstances are hard, as they are at times for all of us.
That inner freedom hopefully unleashes an outer freedom too – a freedom to be generous in every area of our lives. Nelson Mandela said, ‘To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.’ In other words, real freedom focuses not on our own ability to do what we like, but on our desire to make a difference to the wellbeing of others.
Those opportunities comes many times every day. We just have to notice when they arrive.
John Pritchard is a former Bishop of Oxford and author of many popular books.
July 2022
We prosper when we respond to the generous heart of God
There can be a temptation to think of prosperity only in terms of money, and ‘prosperity’ can have negative connotations for some. But in God’s economy, prosperity is a sign of the breaking in of God’s presence and God’s kingdom. All around us creation prospers, in the annual harvest, but also in the renewing of what is broken or damaged. Notice how quickly weeds appear when you think you have cleared the ground. Creation prospers. We prosper when we respond to the generous heart of God, receive of God’s generosity and overflow in sharing it, like a healthy river, or with the energy the disciples had for their missional activity. Those who are close to the heart of God cannot but be generous because God is all generous. We respond to the generosity of God when our service, whatever that might be, is freely offered for the benefit of others and the glory of God.
Jane Winter is Assistant Director of Formation and Ministry in the Diocese of Rochester.They are precious because of what God has done for them
‘To the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ…’ (Col. 1.2) What a very nice way to be addressed. No doubt the church in Colossae was not perfect. Their need for moral instruction (later in the letter) bears witness to this. Yet Paul chose to address them in the most favourable way he could – acknowledging their status in Christ. He reminds himself, as he reminds his recipients, that they are precious because of what God has done for them in Christ. He allows that generosity of status to be the perspective from which he offers them any other teaching or counsel. Can that be an example today: that we think of, and even address, our fellow Christians in the most favourable way we can?
Simon Stocks is Senior Tutor at St Augustine’s College of Theology
God gives without hope of gain
“does not lend money in the hope of gain. … Whoever does these things shall never fall.” (Psalm 15:5). One of the nicest gifts my family ever gave me was an account with ‘Lendwithcare’. There was £25 in the account. Not an earth shattering amount of money, but it does mean that I can lend money without the hope of gain. The money that I have loaned out has been used to buy land for a subsistence farmer to expand his farm, meaning that he can afford to send his children to school. A relatively small thing on my part has been life changing for his family. If I don’t get the money back, I can ask myself if losing the money has had a negative impact on my life. And the answer is “no”. God gives without hope of gain. He sets us an example to follow.
Trevor Marshall is Priest in Charge at Tangmere and Oving in the Diocese of Chichester, and National Giving Ministry Advisor.
Forgiveness is generous
(Genesis 18.20-32) Imagine the conversation between Abraham and God, bartering at its best, God smiling as Abraham tries his luck time and again. How far dare he push God for the sake of wicked Sodom? Forgiveness is a generous act, not because we forgive but because of the amazing way that God forgives. Given the slightest opportunity, God lavishes forgiveness on us and desires His children to receive good things in abundance.
Forgiveness doesn’t come easy. It is generous but it is costly. It cost the cross. It costs us. To let go of what has hurt us and forgive requires that we abound in the goodness of God’s generosity. We may easily put cash in the charity bucket or tap the card reader but it’s much more demanding to forgive. Welcoming and loving those who have hurt us with the welcome and love God offers – that is generosity, the way of the kingdom of God.
Jane Winter is Assistant Director of Formation and Ministry in the Diocese of Rochester.
‘Your life is hidden with Christ in God.’
…and therefore ‘Christ is our life.’ (v 4). We are united with Christ in the way that a sponge is united with water – it’s immersed in that which at the same time flows through it. The great illusion is to think that Christ is absent and we have to go and find him. Our union with Christ doesn’t so much have to be acquired as to be recognised.
This gives us a new perspective on life. We have been raised with Christ and therefore seek the things that are above, in particular the self-giving character of Christ. If Christ is our life we’re bound to want to share and express those attractive qualities of Christ that drew us to him for ourselves – the generosity, grace, and unconditional love that in his lifetime made him so popular in Galilee, and so threatening in Jerusalem.
A new perspective, a new love.
John Pritchard is a former Bishop of Oxford and author of many popular books.
August 2022
No-one is forgotten
‘He watches all the inhabitants of the earth’ (Ps 33.14) It is quite common to use the phrase ‘blinkered’ in a negative sense: being too narrow in what is seen. Conversely, getting the ‘big picture’ or taking the ‘long view’ are often seen as good. It can be helpful to ‘stand back’ and to ‘put things in context’. The verse from the psalm no doubt was intended to convey the totality of God’s perspective. But perhaps we can read in it a sense of God’s willingness to take everyone into account, with all their varied needs and desires. If so, it can encourage us to be generous and take as broad a view of things as we can. Are there people who are beyond the scope of our perspective? How might we extend our vision, so that no-one is forgotten?
Simon Stocks is Senior Tutor, St Augustine’s College of Theology
What is important?
“Let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us”(Hebrews 12.1). So many times in life, I have been distracted by what I thought was success. When our children were growing up, my well paid job meant that I was always late home, tired and stressed. It was only when a wise mentor of mine advised me to write down what was important that I realised the relentless pursuit of wealth meant that my ability to be generous with time for my family was limited. A written list of what was actually important meant that whenever I was given a choice, I knew what I was aiming for. As a church responding to God, we can write down what is important and then make sure that we persevere in being generous in those areas.
Trevor Marshall is Priest in Charge at Tangmere and Oving in the Diocese of Chichester, and National Giving Ministry Advisor.
We are released
Bound, burdened and bowed down are not words easily associated with generosity. They are though the experience for so many of us when things beyond our control affect physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. We may have had the experience of being laid low and know how it can affect our ability to live well. Scriptures flow with the story of freedom for individuals and communities, a freedom that releases a heartfelt natural response of generosity towards God. True worship is not bound by rules and conditions it is a spontaneous outpouring of gratitude and praise. The single greatest act of generosity we offer God is worship. The delight of sabbath worship which brings rest and restoration, and worship that drives our Christian activity of meeting the needs of others. From bowed down, burdened and bound we are released to worship with generosity of mind, body and spirit.
Jane Winter is Assistant Director of Formation and Ministry in the Diocese of Rochester.
Every good thing was made available
‘I brought you into a plentiful land …. my people have forsaken me’ (Jer 2.7,13) The bounty of God in dealing with His people is two-fold here. Through Jeremiah, God first recounts the bounty that He bestowed on the people of Israel. Every good thing was made available for them. That was God’s generous initiative, through no merit or action of their own. In the context of the passage, that gift is a memory, for the people have since abandoned their thankful devotion to God and are facing the consequences. But God has not abandoned them! God has not walked away. Instead, God is still there, addressing the people, giving them chance to change their ways. For all their rejection, God will not give up on them utterly, but keeps warning them and trying to bring them back to their right minds. This is bountiful forbearance in the face of stubbornness.
Simon Stocks is Senior Tutor, St Augustine’s College of Theology
September 2022
First sit down and estimate the cost
Counting the cost of a venture is a sound first step. There is a cost to discipleship, says Jesus, and it means putting Christ ahead even of family loyalties. Sometimes it will feel like carrying a cross to a seriously bad place. So count the cost before you leap in.
This has surprisingly practical implications. I remember at university my church rector teaching about giving, which to a poor student wasn’t an enticing prospect. So, he said, count the cost, think what you can afford – and then double it! That was the challenge of the gospel, not to be wise simply in a worldly way but to be wise in a heavenly way, and to trust that God would make up the difference.
Surprisingly (or not) it works!
John Pritchard is a former Bishop of Oxford and author of many popular books.
He will not abandon us
“I have not relented nor will I turn back” (Jeremiah 4.28) This passage reminds us that although we can be foolish in God’s eyes, He will not abandon us in our time of need. This leads me to wonder how often we are tempted to abandon God when we are in our time of need? There are times when responding to God can be difficult. When He calls us, we may be laden with troubles and distractions. When we set out on our personal journey to love God and respond to that generous love, will we relent or turn back because of worldly concerns? Are there times when our worldly needs get in the way of our generosity? Our generosity can be relentless, not turning back when the going gets hard because we know God will never abandon us.
Trevor Marshall is Priest in Charge at Tangmere and Oving in the Diocese of Chichester, and National Giving Ministry Advisor.
All wealth is of God
Few of us would want to own up to being a slave of money, but we’re all aware of the song, ‘Money makes the world go around’. We depend on the movement of money individually and as societies, and although once just the tool to enable the flow of trade, now money is itself the object of trade. Being part of the economy though need not mean the same as ‘serving’ money. If we chose to serve God then we live by a different economic standard, one that requires the flourishing of everyone, one that calls out bad practice and challenges the misuse of wealth. A standard of generosity that does not count the cost but recognises that all wealth is of God. A gift even if hard earned and a gift with responsibility to use it for the growth of God’s kingdom not our own. Who will we serve?
Jane Winter is Assistant Director of Formation and Ministry in the Diocese of Rochester.
We have received – not earned or won
‘You received your good things’ (Lk 16.25) This simple expression belies its significance. ‘You received.’ You did not earn, or gather, or win, or produce. You received. The implication is that every person’s lot in life is, in some sense, from God. There is an element of mystery about why Lazarus should have received a bad lot. But the message of the parable is clear: God will recompense those who receive a bad lot, and God places expectations on those who receive good things. For those with good things, how much easier it is to share when we recognise them as things received – not earned or gathered or won or produced. And for those who receive a bad lot – there is surely good to come.
Simon Stocks is Senior Tutor, St Augustine’s College of Theology
October 2022
‘Faith the size of a mustard seed.’
Most of us haven’t tried telling a mulberry tree to go and plant itself in the sea. But the challenge to trust God to go way beyond the call of duty is a serious question for all of us. When we prayerfully take a real need to God how far will our faith stretch?
The tales of miraculous provision are too numerous to recount – the only problem being that they don’t seem to happen to us very often! Is God arbitrary? How does God answer prayer? How does God work in the world anyway? All these are legitimate questions for the right time and place.
But when we’re faced with something dear to our heart this isn’t the time to do our philosophical exploration. This is the time to emulate the acrobat who gathers herself above the hushed crowd, breathes deeply, and then launches herself into empty space, gloriously free and utterly trusting that the hands of her colleague will be waiting to catch her.
Will we trust the Catcher?
John Pritchard is a former Bishop of Oxford and author of many popular books.
Thankfulness overflows into generosity
Like a pool springboard above sparkling water, gratitude is the most marvellous launchpad for generosity. A heart overflowing with thankfulness will joyfully spring into thrilling cascades of generous giving.
Jesus healed ten lepers. All ten obediently beetled off for priestly inspection. Only one – who knew the additional life-long exclusion of being a despised foreigner – spun round on his clean-skinned heels once he realised that he was cleansed. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he rushed back to praise and thank Jesus. He was blessed with an even deeper healing.
Nine lives were restored to normal; one life was utterly transformed. We can only begin to grasp the extent of God’s love and blessings, but an attitude of gratitude will catalyse generosity. I’m pretty sure that the tenth man will have gone on to transform his community, launching amazing support networks for outcasts, sharing the good news of God’s Kingdom, and changing lives.
Clare Masters was Lay Minister at Bidborough, St Lawrence and Southborough, St Peter in the Diocese of Rochester.
Thankfulness overflows into generosity
Like a pool springboard above sparkling water, gratitude is the most marvellous launchpad for generosity. A heart overflowing with thankfulness will joyfully spring into thrilling cascades of generous giving.
Jesus healed ten lepers. All ten obediently beetled off for priestly inspection. Only one – who knew the additional life-long exclusion of being a despised foreigner – spun round on his clean-skinned heels once he realised that he was cleansed. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he rushed back to praise and thank Jesus. He was blessed with an even deeper healing.
Nine lives were restored to normal; one life was utterly transformed. We can only begin to grasp the extent of God’s love and blessings, but an attitude of gratitude will catalyse generosity. I’m pretty sure that the tenth man will have gone on to transform his community, launching amazing support networks for outcasts, sharing the good news of God’s Kingdom, and changing lives.
Clare Masters was Lay Minister at Bidborough, St Lawrence and Southborough, St Peter in the Diocese of Rochester.
God will respond with power to the prayers of his people
We live generously, because we believe God is generous, amazingly and inexhaustibly. Yet alongside that belief, we can hold onto other pictures of God, hidden away in our hearts and minds. God as reluctant to give, detached, remote, uncaring.
In the Gospel reading for today, Jesus shares a parable about prayer, in which he describes a needy person asking for help from a figure of authority and influence who is indeed detached, remote, uncaring – and yet ultimately gives the help that she asks for. How much more, he says, will God respond with power to the prayers of his people.
Do we still carry with us pictures of God that detract from the truth of divine generosity? If we are to live from that truth day by day, then spending time day by day in prayer will be important. Prayer in which we remember who God truly is.
Jeremy Worthen is Team Rector of Ashford Town Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury.
We support others just as we have been nurtured and supported
Today is Bible Sunday and the richness of scripture and the threads of hope and God’s glory are brought together in Paul’s letter. He quotes Psalm 69 here, telling how Christ followed the Psalmist in taking the insults directed to others on to himself. The Christian life is one lived in relationship with God and with others. There is a vital, corporate dimension to faith, in which we support others just as we have been nurtured and supported ourselves by people who have been patient with us when we have been weak and selfish. It is reminiscent of David’s prayer “For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” How we treat others then flows out of how Christ has treated us, with freely given compassion and patience.
Pamela Ive is Parish Deacon in Capel, Tudeley & Five Oak Green, and Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Rochester.
How do we respond to God’s generosity?
‘And all who saw it began to grumble’, there is a challenge in our Gospel reading today for all of us who have eyes to see God’s generosity at work in the lives of others. The tightly-worded description of Jesus’ encounter with Zacchaeus sets before us a fascinating example of an individual meeting with God’s grace and responding positively. Zacchaeus, hiding up the tree, has the hand of divine friendship held out to him as Jesus’ human hand beckons him down; ‘I must stay at your house today’. His response is true repentance, that is, he accepts the gift and then turns his life around. Zacchaeus mirrors Jesus’ generosity to him, by vowing to live as generously to others in future. But what of the crowds, and what of us? When we observe the good things that God is doing for people around us, what is our response?
Alison Fulford is Vicar of Audlem, Wybunbury and Doddington, and also Rural Dean of Nantwich in the Diocese of Chester.
November 2022
Our hearts will be strengthened by Jesus himself
Every gift, every act of service, has a cost. From noticing the need, through aligning our hearts with the responsibility to make a difference, to signing over portions of our own resources (time, money, skills) for the purpose of blessing others – it’s costly work. Even when it’s Spirit-prompted, if it’s done in our own strength, giving can easily morph from generous to grudging.
The end of this chapter reminds us of God’s enabling love and grace, his eternal encouragement and good hope. These will power us up for the life-task set before us of good deeds and words. What a wonderful encouragement – that our hearts will be strengthened by Jesus himself for this life of generous service.
The deeds of Kingdom mercy that we enact in God’s strength are a foretaste of the rhythm of heaven, the first fruits of a greater glory. It’s going to be good. So good.
Clare Masters is Lay Minister at Bidborough, St Lawrence and Southborough, St Peter in the Diocese of Rochester.
Be generous with gifts, skills and energy
What does generosity have to do with work? Perhaps it depends if we think generosity should be somehow effortless.
In 2 Thessalonians 3, Paul might sometimes sound ungenerous: ‘Anyone unwilling to work should not eat.’ Yet he also writes about working day and night so that ‘so that we might not burden any of you. This was not because we do not have that right, but in order to give you an example to imitate.’
Paul’s ‘example’ was – at least – twofold. First, it was an example of being generous with gifts, skills and energy, in doing whatever work God has called us to. That is an essential dimension of living generously. Second, it was an example of not always claiming our ‘right’, our entitlement. Generosity may sometimes not be about what we do, but about what we hold back from doing, to give space for other people and other things.
Jeremy Worthen is Team Rector of Ashford Town Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury.
How do we use our power?
Whenever I read this passage an image which comes to mind of the deep blue window in the Church of Reconciliation in Taizé where the Ascended Christ cradles the world tenderly in his lap. The cross is also in that window, a reminder that Christ first gave up his power in order for the world to be reconciled to its creator. How we use our power, in all its guises, builds up or destroys. We can audit the power we have been given and consider how we use it. As we face an increasing threat of climate change and the effects which that has, particularly on the world’s most vulnerable, we can carry this image, the tender cradling of life by a risen and ascended Jesus, calling us to follow Him, the Servant King, as we reflect on the power we hold in making decisions about how we live.
Pamela Ive is Parish Deacon in Capel, Tudeley & Five Oak Green, and Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Rochester.
The coming Kingdom is of justice, mercy and peace.
Have you ever woken up from an ‘exam-dream’? The sort of dream where you experience anxiety because you are going to face a test and you just aren’t ready? Our New Testament readings for Advent Sunday can seem to induce an exam-dream mentality within us. They impress upon us the urgency of being ready for the return of Jesus, and the coming of the Kingdom. The writers, however, are communicating this urgency not because they want us to be caught out, but to enable us to prepare as well as we can. So, let us do the necessary revision, and remember what we have already learnt: the coming Kingdom is one of justice, mercy and peace. In short, the good things of God, shared generously with all. In following Jesus, and being transformed into his likeness, we seek to practice these things in the here and now. It is this that makes us ready for his glorious return.
Alison Fulford is Vicar of Audlem, Wybunbury and Doddington, and also Rural Dean of Nantwich in the Diocese of Chester.
December 2022
Prosperity and justice are inextricably linked.
The images of flourishing and abundance, fruitful hills and drenched fields, fill our hearts with a longing for security and plenty, indeed a longing for heaven itself. As in many Psalms, the identity of the kingly subject seems to shift. Is this a prayer for an earthly king, or a celebration of a perfect Messiah King? Either way, this Psalm reminds us that prosperity and justice are inextricably linked.
Achieving justice for the afflicted, defending the vulnerable from oppression, rescuing children from poverty… these are the criteria which define true kingship. If our hearts are seeking after God’s ways, these kingdom imperatives will stir up a desire for justice which is as urgent as our obligation to give generously to those in material need.
Prosperity can only truly abound when every citizen is able to share the blessings. Is God calling you to an extraordinary generosity of justice-seeking action?
Clare Masters was Lay Minister at Bidborough, St Lawrence and Southborough, St Peter in the Diocese of Rochester.
Are we ready to rejoice in signs of God’s generous love?
‘Blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me’ (Matthew 11.6). Why would anyone take offence at Jesus and the miracles of divine deliverance unfolding around him?
Jesus’ response to John’s question connects what he is doing with the great promises of Israel’s prophets about the abundant life to be released by God’s salvation, in passages like our Old Testament reading. Perhaps some were offended that a preacher from Galilee should imagine that he could be the focus for the fulfilment of these promises. Perhaps some were offended he could claim any fulfilment when the fullness of that prophetic vision still seemed a world away, with continuing Roman occupation and so much injustice around them.
Living generously as a follower of Jesus means being ready to rejoice in signs of God’s generous love in our midst, even if at the same time we are also painfully aware of the obstacles that prevent its full expression.
Jeremy Worthen is Team Rector of Ashford Town Parish in the Diocese of Canterbury.
We are called to receive the Christ Child with joy and trust
“God loves a cheerful giver!” Give cheerfully not with bad grace, but there’s a flip side to that coin. God also loves us to be a joyful receiver. Ahaz, being promised peace by God, is offered the opportunity to receive a sign to assure him to put his trust in God not armies. But he grumpily and with false piety turns down that generous offer. Instead, Ahaz was to put his trust in the King of Assyria to save his kingdom. It turned out to be a bad choice. God gave his sign anyway.
To us the promise of a child, Immanuel, God with us, speaks of Jesus, who God gave to save the world with his overwhelming generosity and at great cost. Ahaz’s story is a reminder that we are called to receive the Christ Child with joy and trust, the one whose love then compels us to give in a similar fashion.
Pamela Ive is Parish Deacon in Capel, Tudeley & Five Oak Green, and Diocesan Director of Ordinands in the Diocese of Rochester.