Generosity

Friday, November 14, 2008 -- Week of Proper 27
Consecration of Samuel Seabury, First American Bishop, 1784

Today's Reading for the Daily Office (Book of Common Prayer, p. 993)
Psalms 88 (morning) 91, 92 (evening)
Joel 2:28 - 3:8
James 1:16-27
Luke 16:1-9

James opens today with these words. "Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." Then James reminds us that we are gifts of God. God "gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures." As God's gifts, we are made in God's image and called to be like God in the world. We are to be generous in our giving, reflective of the generosity which is God's essential nature.

James closes this section with an admonition to purity, especially purity in speech and action. His final sentence today is this: "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." He makes concrete the appeal to generosity, as he encourages us toward a high vision.

Generosity was a characteristic quality of Jesus' life and ministry. He was generous in his welcome and hospitality. He represented God as one who forgives extravagantly. He made debt forgiveness and daily bread a cornerstone of his life and teaching.

The parable of the dishonest manager is another of Jesus' subversive stories that seem to shock us into a new paradigm. The story praises a manager who forgives debts with unlawful extravagance in order to "make friends" for himself.

William Herzog writes this in his commentary about this parable: "The parable began with the usual social scripts: owners distrust managers; peasants hate managers; managers cheat both tenants and owners. But by means of his outrageous actions, the manager manages to reverse all these scripts so that, at the close of the parable, peasants are praising the master, the master commends the manager, and the manager has relieved the burden on the peasants and kept his job."

Out of this sad story of wrong-doing, came something that looks almost like a piece of the kingdom of heaven, because the master had wiped off the debts and relieved the burdens of the debtors. "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." It is a glimpse of another order -- one in which forgiveness of debt would be more than a petition in a prayer. A sorry and predictable tale of woe becomes a scene of rejoicing. Generosity -- even the self-serving generosity of a dishonest businessman -- generosity begets generosity.
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I quoted from a sermon from 2004 for part of this reflection. The whole sermon text is found at the following link: http://www.stpaulsfay.org//lg91904.html
Click for sermon about the dishonest manager

Lowell

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About Morning Reflections
Morning Reflections is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117

An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


The Mission of St. Paul's Episcopal Church
is to explore and celebrate
God's infinite grace, acceptance, and love.

Visit our web site at www.stpaulsfay.org

Our Rule of Life

We aspire to...
worship weekly
pray daily
learn constantly
serve joyfully
live generously.

Lowell Grisham, Rector

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, Arkansas