GENEROSITY AND ABUNDANT
LIFE
A Reflection on Philippians 4:10-20
 |
| With Rev. Paul Joo, vicar of One in Christ Church. |
 |
| With Bishop Robert Ilay of Iglesia Filipina Independiente Easter USA Diocese |
I am delighted that your vicar and my Korean American
brother, Fr. Paul Joo, has invited me today
to preach on the Letter of Paul to the Philippians. This 11th book
in the New Testament is one of my favorite epistles and I tell you why.
It was
many years ago, 1975 to be exact, that I attended a youth conference in Arusha,
Tanzania (Africa) sponsored by the World Council of Churches. At the conference,
we were asked to tell our names and which countries we came from. So I introduced myself and announced that I came
from the Philippines. One of the delegates asked, “Where is Philippines?”
Jokingly I replied, “Philippines is where St. Paul addressed his Letter to the
Philippians.” The bible-loving Africans found it so funny that during the
Church service, one African youth announced, “A Reading from the Letter of Paul
to the Filipinos!”
The context of this letter to the Philippians (not the
Filipinos) was the Graeco-Roman world, sometime between 49-51 A.D. It was a period of religious persecutions and
the Apostle Paul was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the Gospel. While in prison
he received a generous gift of money sent by the Church in Philippi. The money
was delivered by Epaphroditus, whom Paul referred to as his “brother, fellow
worker, fellow soldier in Christ.” It is likely that Epaphroditus was a lay
leader and a trusted official of the Church in Philippi, a city in ancient
Greece. St. Paul was an evangelist and church planter and the Philippians was
probably the joy of his life and ministry. These Christians were generous
givers, not because they were rich but because they had given their lives to
Christ and are demonstrating this lifestyle by supporting his ministry.
So this letter is actually Paul’s “thank you note.” Written from prison, it is a
letter of joy and thanksgiving. I would
like to call this a “jailhouse letter” of contentment, generosity and assurance
of Christ’s promise.
1. Contentment in Christ
The mark of the resurrection life, the mark of life surrendered to God,
is the gift of contentment. St. Paul wrote, “I
know how to be rich and I know how to be poor. I have learned the secret of
being content in any and every situation… I can do all things through Christ
who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:10-13)
Contentment is the state of being when you are free to be
what God wants you to be; free to do what God wants you to do; and free to go
where God wants you to go. You have a freed-up lifestyle because you are not
possessed by your possessions. You are not envious of other’s wealth or success
because your whole life is committed to the One who owns everything and who makes
all things possible. You are not a slave of money; you are not in love with the
gifts because you are totally in love with the Giver of those gifts. We can say
that St. Paul was a free man, in more ways than one, even though he was in
chains.
To those of you who have Facebook,
I had just reprinted on my page, the amazing story of Dr. Charles Teo, a very
successful cosmetic surgeon from Singapore. His life was one of choosing
success over contentment and realizing that he made the wrong choice. He first
wanted to be a General Practitioner but decided to shift to aesthetic medicine because
of the money. In Singapore as in many
other cities where prosperity and image matter, rich people do not mind paying
huge sums of money to make them look good. This is what the media bombards us
with. We are immersed in a culture of
narcissism, where success is measured by how many toys we own, how large our
cars and houses are and how beautiful our faces and bodies look like. So those
who are wealthy would make no qualms paying thousands of dollars for a
liposuction, breast augmentation, face lift, nose lift, or making your lips like that of Angelina
Jolie. So instead of healing the sick, Dr. Teo became a “glorified beautician”---because
there’s plenty of money in making the celebrities, and those trying to be, even
more beautiful.
And he indeed became rich, a millionaire, with houses and
flashy cars and membership in golf clubs of the rich and famous. But at the
height of his career, he got sick of lung cancer. At his deathbed, Dr. Teo,
reflected, “I realized that in my success and prosperity, I lost my moral
compass; the more I became rich, the more I wanted more riches. There’s nothing
wrong with being rich; but I did not know how to handle it. The deeper the hole
I dug, the more that I got sucked into it.” He died last month at age 40.
The story of Dr. Teo reminds us of the rich young ruler who
asked Jesus, “What shall I do to inherit eternal life? I’ve done the
commandments and all.” And Jesus said, “You lacked one thing; go, sell your
possessions and give it to the poor and come follow me.” The rich young ruler
went away sorrowful because he could not leave his possession to follow Christ.
His possession possessed him. Unlike St. Paul, this man was imprisoned even
though he was free. (Cf. Matthew 19:16-30; Mark 10:17-31; Luke 18:18-30)
2. Generosity in Christ
St. Paul continued “Yet it was
good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover as you Philippians know, in the
early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia,
not one church share with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you
only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me again and again when I
was in need.”(Philippians 4:14-16)
It appears that the Philippian Church is Paul’s model of
generosity. This generosity to Paul was
not necessarily for himself but for the mission he does. In the Book of Acts,
Paul was known to be a “tent maker,”(Acts 18:3) which means he himself was
working as he planted churches. So the moneys that Philippian Church was giving
go into his total ministry.
I am reminded of the story of Fr. Charles Chen of St. James
Episcopal Church in Taiwan. When he
visited the Philippines, he saw the Episcopalians in one town worshipping under
a mango tree and he was moved with compassion. When he returned to his church,
he challenged the congregation to exercise generosity. Responding to his own
example of generosity, the church members chipped in dollars after dollars.
Some gave from over and above their church pledge, others gave out from their
savings, some sold their artworks and others missed out on some luxuries in
order to give more. In a matter of time, they were able to send enough money to
build a church for that congregation. This generosity caught up with the whole
church in Taiwan that to date they were able to build twelve churches in the
Philippines. In the process, their own church did not become poor but even grew
healthier and healthier. Generosity is the gift that keeps on giving---and
growing.
3. Assurance of Christ’s Promise
This is Paul’s concluding words: “I
am amply supplied, now that I have received the gifts you sent. They are a
fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice pleasing to God. And (I pray) that my
God will supply all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ
Jesus.” (Philippians 4:18-19)
What a glorious prayer and promise: “My God will supply all
your needs according to his glorious riches!”
So it is God who owns everything; He owns the cattle in the thousand
hills; He owns the world and everything in it. He gives us the skills, the health,
the strength, the wisdom to gain wealth but it is not just for ourselves but
for the sake of the Gospel. In other
words, we are blessed so we can be a blessing!
Let me share my own testimony. Years ago, in 1980, my wife
and I attended a conference in Singapore and we listened to a missionary from
Sumatra who told of his ministry. It was a heroic ministry and we were
impressed by his dedication and self-sacrifice. He also shared about his needs and as he was
sharing, I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to give. Now I had only $50 bill in
my pocket and that day we had visitors from the Philippines and I promised to
treat them for lunch. That $50 was for our lunch. We were poor and I was just
finishing my Master in Theology at the Singapore seminary. So I had quite an
uneasy decision to make and my wife was watching what I would do. In an act of
faith, I gave it all to the missionary but then my wife whispered, “How do we
pay for our lunch with our visitors?” I dismissed it lightly saying “God
provides,” though I was also a bit anxious.
When we got out of the conference, a friend of ours whom we
met a few months ago, happened to be in the hallway and when she saw us, she
got excited. “Father Fred and Sister Angie, it’s so nice to see you. I would
like to treat you for lunch!” She was a lawyer
working with the Development Bank of Singapore. I said, “Thank you, but we’ve
got visitors!” “Oh, please bring them along. I also want to meet them” she
said. So that day, we had a wonderful, sumptuous lunch---at Shangri-La, one of the most expensive
restaurants in Singapore. I felt a bit embarrassed but then I also believe, “God
provides!”
God’s provision did not end there. We went home quite
contented. But when we opened our mail, there was an envelope without a back
address. We opened it and behold, there was $100! I gave my only $50 and we had
lunch and then got double of what I had given. I learned that we cannot “out
give God!” The gospel clearly says, “Give and it shall be given unto you. A
good measure pressed down, shaken together, will be poured into your lap” (Luke
6:38). Jesus likewise said, “I come that you may have life and have it
abundantly” (John 10:10).
Now I know that sometimes this scripture is taken out of
context and the Word of God is manipulated like a speculative investment or an insider
trading in Wall Street. But I think, the essence of the Letter of Paul, the
stories I shared and the Scriptures I quoted, is not that of the so-called “prosperity
gospel” where you give only because you expect to receive more. No doubt, we
have given gifts without having received something in return. The message of Paul
is that “when there is a need, do not be afraid to give because God Himself will
take good care of your needs---according to his glorious riches.” It is more
blessed to give than to receive. You are happy when you receive but you are happier
when you give.
Deepak Chopra, Indian-born physician and writer, in his book
“Seven Spiritual Laws of Success” wrote
that “giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin.” The blessing of God
is not to be hoarded but be allowed to circulate. If blood does not circulate,
it will coagulate and the body will die. It is interesting to note that the
other word for money is “currency,” and the word “affluence” comes from “afluere” which means “to flow to”. Like
a river, money as currency should be allowed to flow.
I was in Israel in
2010 and saw the difference between two seas: the Dead Sea and the Sea of
Galilee. The Dead Sea receives water but it does not give out water; that is
why it is dead. But the Sea of Galilee receives water but it also gives out
water. That is why it is alive, abundant in fish and water supply. It seems to
me that the two seas (Sea of Galilee is actually a freshwater lake and Dead Sea
is a super-salty water lake) is nature’s analogy of two lives. One life is a
life lived in selfishness, the other in selflessness; one is possessive life
and the other a generous life; one life is lived in receiving but not giving; the
other in giving and receiving and giving again and again. Which life would you
like to live?
Let us pray: Heavenly Father, you see our needs, you hear
our cries and listen to our prayers. You own everything and marked, even us, to
be your possessions. We thank you for sending Jesus who promised to give us
life and have it abundantly. We thank you for sending the Holy Spirit to be our
Counselor and Giver of life. You wish that we shall prosper and be of good
health as our souls prosper so that we may be a blessing to those around us.
Help us Lord, to choose a life of generosity, a life of contentment and a life
of giving. For the sake of your Son who gave His life to us, Jesus Christ our
Lord. Amen.
Sito che si occupa di notizie, attualità tecnologica, prove prodotto di smartphone e accessori, operatori, schede tecniche e commenti sulla mobile technology. Visita qui per maggiori informazioni :
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cellulare-magazine.it