By the Rev’d Jim Lam

Season: 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Readings: 2 Samuel 1:1, 17-27 | 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 | Mark 5:21-43

In a letter to the Corinthian church we heard this morning, the apostle Paul wrote: “For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable….”  What is acceptable? It is a word that we all know.  A word that props up from time to time in the biblical readings. From the scriptures, we learn about what kind of sacrifices, persons and works are acceptable and find favour in God’s eyes. 

In today’s readings, we heard Paul’s teachings on “the gift (that) is acceptable”. This “gift” refers to donations to help believers in Jerusalem who were suffering from wide-spread poverty and  a severe famine, because of the intense prosecution they were enduring.  If we read the whole chapters 8 and 9 in this epistle, we’ll notice that Paul had repeatedly made this appeal.  Obviously, this was something that mattered very much to him, as  the same plea was made to several of his gentile churches, including Macedonia, Galatia, and Rome.  What was Paul’s reason behind this concern?

As the apostle to the gentiles, Paul brought the gospel to the gentiles and built not a few churches that flourished among them.

And of course, he would be concerned about whether these churches really understood what the gospel was, and whether they truly experienced the grace of God. If so, they would certainly be concerned about their mother church and their brothers and sisters in Christ over there. If a church was built only on the basis of care and concern for each other within their own community, then the grace of God they experienced would not have been enough for them to reach out for others. 

Another reason behind Paul’s eagerness to help the Jews in Jerusalem was because of the element of “mercy” in our faith.  We all know that Jesus had summed up the laws into two commandments: love your God and love you neighbour.  “God so loved the world, that he gave his only son.”  From this we know God’s love and we act accordingly.

And so, when we say that the church is a community of followers of the Lord, it is only natural that we put mercy into action.  Loving our neighbour is more than a concept for lip service only.  Nor is it to be practiced only in Sunday schools or bible study groups.  It is something that we must incorporate into our daily life.

There was a person who knocked on a Christian neighbour’s door for some bread to feed his hungry children because he had difficulties making ends meet.  He promised to return what he owed come pay day.  But the neighbour piously replied, “I shall say a prayer for you.  Now go in peace.”  And that person said, “Actually, you don’t have to trouble God on my behalf.  All you have to do is open you pantry.”

And so, “mercy” is more than empty talk, but rather, something that needs putting into action. God uses our hands to open the pantry to help feed our hungry neighbour.  God also uses us and uses the whole church to make the move to help those in need, so that people could experience the love of God.

“Caring” for someone, is to really take them into our hearts as a person, rather than merely an object on the receiving end.  We need to treat them with respect, leaving enough room and freedom for them to decide whether they want to accept our kindness.

“Caring” also means intercession. In our prayers, we are not only praying for those near and dear to us.  We also pray for strangers. Why do we do this? It is because we are called to break through our barriers and limitations to reach out for people whom we might not even know by name.  This is one of the benchmarks of hearts filled with God’s mercy.  And with God’s grace and peace in us, we in our Sunday service pray for those who are suffering, whether they are far or near. We remember countries in conflicts, especially the Middle East and northern Africa, which are currently among the most affected regions.  We remember those caught in calamities, whether they are of natural and human causes.  We remember the sick and those in need.  I hope we are also doing this in our private prayers too, as this reflects how we put the Lord our God’s mercy into practice. This is how we bear witness for him.

If we look closer at Paul’s concern for the needs of the church in Jerusalem, we’ll notice that it was more than putting God’s mercy into practice. But also, it pinpointed on freeing believers from a self-centred life. This was one of the most important effect of the gospel.

Being self-centred is human.  Or shall I say, we are born being self-centred. I can still recall the days when my daughters were very young. Before her younger sister was born, my older daughter was quite ready to share her toys and her food with the rest of the family.   That was, her grannies and parents. Because we wouldn’t really take them from her, perhaps? Yet, I still thought that she was generous by nature. But that was only until my younger daughter was born. When the two-year-old cast her eyes on her baby sister for the first time, she was, of course thrilled.  But then, she began to look around and pointed at the baby’s bassinet, tiny items of clothing and toys etc, and began a long litany of: that’s mine, that’s mine, that’s mine.   She refused to share her goodies until her baby sister grew up a bit and became, by and by,  her life-size sitting, crawling and walking doll.  Even so, that was progress.  She was maturing bit by bit as a child and a big sister.

When we grow up and learn to give and appreciate what others have given for our sake, it signifies our maturity.  This is also true spiritually.  If a church remains self-centred, then it is but limited to mulling over whether God is giving them their needs and whether those in the faith community is easy to get along with.   If this is what our faith is like, then we cannot say that we truly understand the essence of the Christian faith. Nor can we appreciate the generosity of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty we might become rich.

How then are we to put God’s mercy into practice? How to make real God’s love and grace in our daily lives? We have to trust in the works of the Holy Spirit. Only when a church learns to give and to care would a church mature in spirituality.

Paul wanted his gentile churches to give to the church in Jerusalem, not for them to develop the church, but to help the poor and the hungry there.  This means that we as a church should also reach out to bring God’s care to the under-privileged, including groups and individual going through difficult times. In this matter, our food bank is doing a good job. So is the Seasons programme. But then, we must not allow ourselves to stay self-complacent.  From Paul’s concern for Jerusalem, he let these churches know that through teaching, liturgy, fellowship and various functions and activities,  it was possible for them to grow into deeply spiritual faith communities that could express their faith through good works.

As Paul said in another of his letters, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual  worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. ”  Amen.