Today is our Harvest Festival when we give thanks for all the rich gifts God has given us. It is also our Pledge Sunday when we reflect on the call to give generously ourselves. How does what we receive relate to what we give? I'd like us to think about the two themes of gratitude and generosity this morning.
Firstly, gratitude. Harvest festival is an opportunity to thank God for all the riches, beauty and fruitfulness of the earth. Today, the church is decorated with fruits and vegetables, tins and packets of food to remind us of the abundance of the earth and the seas on which we depend, as well as the sheer, gratuitous beauty of all that God has made, as we see in our beautiful flower arrangements. We may indeed delight in all the gifts of life we enjoy, not only the splendour of the physical creation but also the wonders of music and art, and the deep treasures of love, family and friendship. But gratitude is more than delighting in God's gifts; it presupposes a relationship with God the Giver. We look not only to the gifts we have been given, but even more to the God who gives them to us.
However, if we're honest, we have to admit that it is very easy to take the gifts of life for granted; to enjoy all that we've been given but to forget the One who has given them to us.
In our Old Testament reading the Israelites are warned that as they enjoy the riches of the land, and as they grow more and more comfortable and prosperous, they must be careful not forget God. They are reminded that the Lord has given them a rich land: 'For the Lord is bringing you into a good land, a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey....' They are to bless God for the abundance of the land, and to go on giving thanks to God as their wealth is multiplied: 'take care that you do not forget the Lord your God...do not exalt yourself...do not say to yourself "my power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth."'
The richer, the more prosperous and comfortable we become, perhaps the greater the danger that we forget God and the more we may be tempted to think of all we have as our 'achievements', our 'possessions', our 'rights', rather than as 'gifts' from God. A harvest festival like today reminds us not to take anything for granted and to give thanks in humble gratitude to the one from whom all good gifts come.
These gifts are not only the gifts of the earth and the gifts of the harvest, fruits, vegetables, flowers, but all God's good gifts: our work, our talents, experiences and opportunities, our families and friends, our health and strength, our faith and hope.
In our gospel reading Jesus heals ten lepers. They all receive this wonderful gift, not just the healing of the cruel and disfiguring disease of leprosy, but also healing from social exclusion and stigma. These healed men were then able to return to their families and communities from which they had been cast out when they succumbed to the dreaded disease. They must have been overwhelmed with joy at what they had received. But only one looked beyond the gift to the Giver and returned to give thanks to Jesus.
I pray that all of us today will come with gratitude for all that we have received from God. But what then of the call to generosity?
In our reading from 2 Corinthians, Paul urges the Corinthians to be generous and give with a joyful spirit. Paul is keen to collect money for the needy Christian community in Jerusalem. We learn, a few verses before our reading this morning, that the Corinthians have already promised a 'bountiful gift' and Paul is now urging them to keep their promise. He interweaves references to the blessings they have received with the call to give generously. The words 'blessing', 'abundance', 'bountifully', 'generosity', 'thanksgiving' occur several times throughout the passage. This is not about giving grudgingly as a duty but about giving with a joyful heart, mindful of all they have themselves received.
'God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.' Just as they have received abundantly from God, so they are to share abundantly in giving to support others. The God who has given so richly to them will enable them to give richly to others and they will be spiritually blessed as they do so. 'He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.' Their giving will be like a kind of spiritual harvest. Such language may remind us of Paul's words elsewhere about the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, humility and self- control. Indeed, 'generosity' is a fruit of the Spirit. The more generous we are, the more the fruit of generosity will grow in us.
Of course, part of the motivation for giving is awareness of the needs of others. The Corinthians are urged to give 'to supply the needs of the saints' but as they do this they will grow in spiritual riches themselves; they will become more like the generous God they worship. And their giving will 'overflow with many thanksgivings to God.' Our generous God delights in our generosity.
Paul describes giving as a joyful process which brings blessings to the giver as well as the one who receives and is also an expression of thanksgiving to God. But although there are so many words that express joy and abundance in this passage and we're told that God loves a 'cheerful giver', this doesn't mean that our giving should only ever be spontaneous and only ever happen whenever we feel a joyful spirit of gratitude and generosity welling up in us. Paul also says: 'each of you must give as you have made up your mind'. We are encouraged to think about our giving; to consider, to plan, to decide what we are able to give.
That's what this Pledge Sunday is about. Encouraging us all to think about our giving, to plan, to make up our minds what we can give and to commit ourselves to it, not under compulsion but cheerfully. In gratitude for all that we have abundantly received, we are encouraged to think about how we can give generously ourselves.
When we pledge our giving, we plan our giving. We commit ourselves to giving a certain amount per month, per quarter, or per year. I am very grateful that here at St Ursula's we have many people who pledge their giving. This helps us to plan our budget, our ministry and mission. All that we do as a church, all our activities and ministry, our support of various charities, comes out of what each of us gives. We are not supported by funds from the government or elsewhere. Things have obviously been difficult during these Covid times, especially as during lockdown we lost all our revenue from the bookings of the hall and also much of our Sunday collection. Several of our pledgers have increased their giving during this time and we are very grateful for their generosity. For those of you who have never considered pledging, perhaps now is a good time to think about it.
We are all in different financial situations and we will be able to give different amounts of money, but we are all called to be generous with what we have. Traditionally Christians have been encouraged to 'tithe' their giving, that is to give a tenth of their income; so each person gives proportionately from what they earn. That may be a helpful benchmark. Now I know many people may have other calls on their financial resources, and may decide to give some of their income to charities beyond the church. What we give is between us and God, but let us each think about it and give as we have made up our mind with a joyful and generous spirit.
We've thought about gratitude and generosity this morning. But let's remember, in conclusion, that gratitude and generosity are both responses to God's grace.
For God is not only our Creator who gives us the fruits of the earth and the gift of life itself. More than these gifts, God gives us the gift of his very self in Jesus Christ. In Christ we receive the grace of God; his utter, self-giving, unconditional love is poured out upon us. This amazing grace is lavished upon us; may this grace stir in us a deep gratitude and a joyful (and thoughtful) generosity.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Revd Helen Marshall