And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 2 Corinthians 8:1-2
“It is easily forgotten that the fellowship of Christian brethren is a gift of grace, a gift of the Kingdom of God that any day may be taken from us, that the time that still separates us from utter loneliness may be brief indeed.
Therefore, let him who until now has had the privilege of living a common Christian life with other Christians praise God’s grace from the bottom of his heart. Let him thank God on his knees and declare: It is grace, nothing but grace, that we are allowed to live in community with Christian brethren.
The measure with which God bestows the gift of visible community is varied. The Christian in exile is comforted by a brief visit of a Christian brother, a prayer together and a brother’s blessing; indeed, he is strengthened by a letter writ ten by the hand of a Christian. The greetings in the letters written with Paul’s own hand were doubtless tokens of such community.”
Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together (New York: HarperOne, 1954) 20-21.
Our journey through Paul’s letters brings us to 2 Corinthians, and chapters 8-9 provide some of the richest teaching on generosity in the New Testament. That text (today’s Scripture) begins with these words from the Apostle Paul. He was so excited about the generosity of the grace given the Macedonians that he wanted to share their story with the Corinthians.
Coupled with this, Bonhoeffer’s classic work reminds us today that Paul wrote these letters as tokens that celebrated the gift of community. In plain terms, Paul wanted the Corinthians to join in the collection because they were part of something bigger, the global community of recipients of the grace of Jesus Christ.
I don’t know about you, but Covid has sure caused me to appreciate the gracious gift that community is for each of us. But we can “reach out and touch someone” with a text, an email, a voice message, as well as a personal visit. How might this be an aspect of your generosity that is worth more than money?
Today I am taking the day of to rest, have coffee with my daughter, and clean my office. Funny how piles stack up around us. I may do some other things too. Not sure. I plan to message some people, as God leads. Join me. Let’s share this gift of grace, spreading love and Christian community today.