Community, Communion, and Money

2 Corinthians 8:1-9; 9:6-15

Introduction

Today we are richly blessed.

• We received new members into our fellowship.
• We celebrate the Lord's Supper and thereby confess Jesus Christ as the integrating centre of our community and our life.
• And we commit ourselves to fulfil our ministry budget to which we agreed during the week.

Koinwni/a (Koinonia)

It is no accident that in the New Testament there is one word that covers all three occasions! And indeed: it graces these three occasions with the promise of God's continuing presence.

The early Christians, and prominent among them the apostle Paul, must have had something in their mind when they named these three things, the community, the Lord's Supper and money for church matters with the same word: Koinwni/a! And then even describing God, the foundation of it all, as koinwni/a.

1. God is a communion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We have often heard the benediction with which the apostle blessed the church in Corinth:

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God,

and the communion (koinwni/a) of the Holy Spirit (God's continuing presence)

be with all of you"

(2 Cor 13:13).

That is the foundation of everything we do. That is the wellspring of love that will never run dry. The communion of God as a communion of love.

2. Christian Community. Then we hear the same word being used for Christians who are in a koinonia with God

"God is faithful;

by him you were called into the fellowship (koinwni/a) of his Son,

Jesus Christ our Lord"

(1 Cor 1:9).

3. The Lord's Supper. Koinonia is also used to describe the Lord's Supper, Holy Communion, the Eucharist. Every time we participate in the Eucharist we celebrate the great Christian mystery that through faith we have communion with the life of Christ:

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing (koinwni/a) in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing (koinwni/a) in the body of Christ? (1 Cor 10:16)

4. Collection of money. And now the amazing thing! The same word, used for God as the communion of love, the trinity. The same word used for the community of Christians, and for the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The same noble word – koinonia! – is used for a collection, an offering. 

The Apostle Paul was collecting money in the churches in Asia Minor for the poor in Jerusalem, and he called this collection – koinwni/a!

... Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to share their resources (koinwni/a) with the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. They were pleased to do this, and indeed they owe it to them; for if the Gentiles have come to share (koinwne/w) in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things. (Romans 15:26f.)

Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing (koinwni/a) with them and with all others … (2 Corinthians 9:13; compare 2 Cor 8:4).

Money and God's economy

The Bible is fairly realistic about money. Money was part of life then and it is even more part of life now. We don't need Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx to tell us that money, sex and private property are the most influential, yes, determinative influences on our life. They are a challenge. They can be used for good and they can be used for bad. With them we can celebrate life and we can destroy life.

We all know the story where a young man turned down the invitation to follow Jesus – and it was because he had many possessions; and because he was not able or willing to make the decisive distinction between what is pen-ultimate and what is ultimate in our lives. It is the only story in the Christian Bible where someone turns down Jesus – and it was because of money! (Mark 10:17-31, Matthew 19:16-30, Luke 18:18-30)

Money is a necessary part of life. We all have it. Some more, some less. But whether we have little or much, it is still our responsibility to assign money its place in our lives. The power of money is the power that we grant to it.

In the New Testament, bishops and deacons are exhorted to be respectable people. And part of that respectability was that they should not be "lovers of money" and not be "greedy for money". Rather; they must "hold fast to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience." (1 Tim 3)

What is true for bishops and deacons is true for all Christians. In the Pauline churches we find this theological analysis: "… the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, …. But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness." (1 Tim 6:10f.)

This warning, this exhortation, is not morality being preached at us. No, it is a reminder of what is ultimately good for us. You don't really need to focus your conscience on money: "Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5)

Church budget

The occasion for talking about money today is that today we start a new financial year. And a new financial year means a new budget that we have voluntarily imposed upon ourselves and that we therefore have decided to meet.

Allow me to impress on you a couple of things:

• When you give your money for the church's ministry, to meet the church's budget, you give part of yourself. By placing your money into the offering plate, regularly, Sunday by Sunday, you are part of a symbolic act. You are fulfilling what the apostle means when he speaks about worshipping God with our "bodies" (Rom 12:1f.). Giving our money means giving part of ourselves in response to the grace that God has shared with us. What you give is important. We decide what we want to do and then do it. The church does not store up treasures on the earth, because we believe that every generation will meet its obligation before God.
• Another point I want to make, is to remind you of the importance of money in God's economy. We have money. We know its power over us. The challenge is, will we see our money in relation to God's economy. Are we prepared to see our money as part of the communion of God with us, and us with God, and as part of our fellowship with one another.
• Your gift is voluntary. Therefore you decide. People ask how much they should give. There is a strong biblical tradition that people should give a 10^th of their income. That was a minimum. A good Pharisee, for instance, would give more.
• Your gift is a visible expression for your commitment to the ministry of this community.
• In order to raise our new budget, each of us needs to give a little more. May I invite you to increase your giving a little and then give it regularly.

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion (koinwni/a) of the Holy Spirit be with all of you" (2 Cor 13:13).

TL: Canberra, June 6, 2005