16/05/2014

Good morning. The growth of food banks, many of them initiated by churches, has been a source of political tension. Are they providing a vital safety net for the destitute? Or are they being exploited by the opportunistic and the undeserving? The answer is – probably both. The curious thing is, many of the people who donate to food banks don’t appear to mind very much. It’s not just feeding the hungry that’s good. Giving is a good in itself.

The early days of the Christian church also coincided with a time of austerity. Fairly soon the embryonic Christian communities worked out that they had a responsibility to help meet each other’s needs, and the needs of those around them who were struggling.

Saint Paul encouraged this, writing to the church in affluent Greece about their responsibility to their brothers and sisters in Macedonia. “God loves a cheerful giver” he said. The word we translate as “cheerful” is actually hilaron. It has the same root as our word “hilarious.”

At various points in time some churches have taken that literally. Church members were invited literally to laugh uncontrollably as they donated money and offerings. Of course that’s not what Paul had in mind. Attaching a 21st Century meaning to a 1st Century word is bad etymology. But there is still a sense that we are asked to give not grudgingly or out of a sense of duty, but cheerfully, with a light heart and a sense of detachment because, like telling a joke, the giver is blessed in the giving.

Open our hearts Lord,
And release us from our love of wealth and security.
Help us to give cheerfully and freely; as freely as we have received.
Amen