A sermon by the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, written for and delivered at Gatesburg Lutheran Church, Warriors Mark, PA, and Pine Mill Lutheran Church, State College, PA, on Sunday, June 30, 2024, the 6th Sunday after Pentecost (RCL Proper 8, Year B).
Lectionary Readings
2 Corinthians 8:7-15
7 Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. 8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something—11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has—not according to what one does not have. 13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15 As it is written, “The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little.”
Transformed Like Mustard Seeds
By the Rev. Guillermo A. Arboleda, Program Manager for New Starts, ELCA
Good morning! My name is Guillermo Arboleda and it is my privilege to be invited to preach this morning at Gatesburg Lutheran Church and Pine Hall Lutheran Church. Many thanks to Pastor Ted and to your Director for Evangelical Mission, Pastor Sue Ellen Spotts, for helping to make this visit possible.
I work for the ELCA Churchwide Organization (a.k.a., The Lutheran Center in Chicago) as Program Manager for New Starts. That means that I support synods as they plan for and launch new worshiping communities around the ELCA. Then, I support their leaders as they grow and change over time. I was invited to the Allegheny Synod to work with Pastor Spotts on a Ministry Review for a Spanish-speaking community in State College, PA.
As Pastor Ted already said, I am an Episcopal priest who has been invited to serve alongside you, my Lutheran siblings. I am very new to this role, having started only a couple of months ago in April. And because of the changing world in which we live, I didn’t have to move to Chicago. I reside in Savannah, Georgia, where I pastored a small church for about 8 years before taking this call.
But before you label me as a Southerner, I am actually from the New York City area. And I have some Pennsylvania bona fides. I attended Messiah College (now University) in Mechanicsburg, near Harrisburg, for my bachelors degree. And my wife, also an Episcopal priest, is from a small town outside of Pittsburgh. We come up to Pittsburgh to visit our family there a few times a year. And before you ask, I am a New York Giants fan; my wife’s side are all Steelers fans, so we root for both teams in our household! And, it might go without saying, but I hate the Philadelphia Eagles with a burning passion! (I think they are the only neighbors that Jesus said we don’t have to love 😂.) Before I say any more heresy, let’s start talking about these scriptures.
A friend of mine recently shared a beautiful story from her childhood that I think will help us understand St. Paul’s message to the Corinthian Church in today’s New Testament lesson. My friend – let’s call her Maria – her family were farmers. They didn’t own their own land, so they had to move around for her father to find work. They were pretty poor, but, when Maria was a child, she didn’t know that because they always had enough to eat. But they also always had to depend on their neighbors, and because they moved so often, they needed to make an intentional effort to get to know their neighbors in each town or village where they lived.
Maria told me about one Lent when she was a little girl. They were once again new to town, but they always stayed plugged into their local Lutheran church. As Easter got closer, Maria spotted an enormous chocolate Easter bunny in the window of a store. She couldn’t help but talk about how pretty it was and how much she wanted it. Her parents paid attention but didn’t say anything. So Easter Day finally arrived, and when the family came home from church, Maria was surprised to discover that her father had saved up to buy this special chocolate treat! She was delighted! And when I say it was enormous, I really mean it! Her family of six could never have finished it.
Now, Maria’s family had some options. They could have saved all the leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer. They could have stuffed themselves and tried to finish the chocolate (probably what I would have done). But instead, they chose generosity and community. When it became clear that there was more chocolate than they needed, they invited their neighbors and their church family to come over to enjoy this dessert with some coffee after their Easter dinners. They had more than they needed and decided to share with those who did not have enough. You won’t be surprised to learn that this act of hospitality to their neighbors strengthened their bonds in the community and led to valuable friendships. You won’t be surprised that this act of love grew and multiplied love in their neighborhood.
In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul is writing to the church in Corinth to encourage them to give generously to support the poorer churches in Jerusalem. Corinth was a wealthy port city with a lot of commerce and trade. Jerusalem was not nearly as economically prosperous. So Paul asks them to send donations. He is doing his best to try to help balance the scales a little bit. He explains, “I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. As it is written, ‘The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little’” (2 Corinthians 8:13-15). Give as much as you can. Don’t impoverish yourself or anything, but give so that others have their needs met.
But generosity is not only about economics. It certainly is about economics, but it’s not only about economics. It’s also about love and relationships. Paul is also trying to help the Corinthians understand that the Jerusalemites are their siblings, their family. Most of the residents of Corinth were Gentiles (non-Jewish people) who spoke Greek, but most of the residents of Jerusalem were Jewish people who spoke Aramaic or Hebrew. There were economic, ethnic, and cultural differences that could have divided them. They were nearly 2000 miles away from each other by land. But Paul asserts that church members in all places from all backgrounds are members of the same Body of Christ. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul says: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. … If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honored, all rejoice together with it. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 26-27).
One of the biggest temptations we face in American culture at large and even in the Church, is to be too individualistic. We think about ourselves first. We act for ourselves first. We focus on what is best for me and mine over others. I imagine the Corinthian church receiving Paul’s letter and holding a congregational meeting where someone stands up and says, “Paul is right that we have a budget surplus, but think of all the good we can do with that money here. We can expand our building. We can build new offices for the pastor and classrooms for Sunday School, or replace that old oven in the kitchen.” And none of those ideas are bad.
But Paul gave them an opportunity to think beyond the “me” and start thinking about the bigger “we.” Paul told them about a need beyond their day to day experience, something that wasn’t directly affecting them in any conscious way. But it was affecting them spiritually, especially after they knew about it. Members of their Body were hurting. Like using your hand to rub your sore knees, another part of the Body was able to help ease their suffering. If one member suffers, the whole Body suffers. They weren’t as separate as they felt.
We still aren’t as separate as we feel. There is a reason I have worked around denominational boundaries to support you, my Lutheran siblings. There is a reason that the Synod asked me to fly up from Georgia to be with you. There is a reason that the Synod staff from Altoona cares about what is happening here in Warriors Mark and State College. There is a reason that this church pays a portion of its income to the Synod as Mission Support. There is a reason that the Synod generously gives much of that money as Mission Support to the Churchwide Organization. That money supports new ministries here in Allegheny Synod and all over the US and Caribbean. That money supports youth and children and campus ministry; disability ministries; ministries to rural and urban poor people; ministries to immigrants and refugees; humanitarian relief for wars and natural disasters around the world; and so much more! In Christ, we are all one.
And I’m not saying that we always manage church finances perfectly. We are human beings after all. But I am saying that generosity is a way of growing relationships and creating community across the boundaries that so often divide us. Generosity helps us shift from a “me”-focus to a “we”-focus. Generosity helps us to develop a wider view of who and what the Church is. There is no need for jealousy; generosity can be the antidote. Because when some suffer, we all suffer, and when some prosper, we all prosper.
But perhaps most importantly, generosity is the way of Jesus. By giving of our time, talents, and treasure, toward missions of evangelism, service, and justice, we are imitating our Savior. Paul writes, “You know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Let us pray:
Generous God, you show your abundance to us with new mercies every morning. We thank you for all the gifts you have provided. Help us to see your abundance for what it truly is and give us generous hearts. Help us to be generous with the rest of the Body of Christ and grow in our relationships with our fellow members. Help us to focus on "we" instead of only "me." We humbly ask all these things in the Name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
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