Archives by: Gary Hoag

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

“If you are disturbed by the loss of property, then, in practically every passage of the holy Scriptures one is admonished to despise the world. And one can find no greater exhortation to an indifference toward money than the example of the Lord Himself who did not own any worldly riches. He always justifies the poor and condemns the rich. Thus He has set disdain for wealth ahead of the endurance of losses, pointing out through His rejection of riches that one should make no account of the loss of them. Hence we need not seek wealth, since our Lord did not seek it; and we ought not to bear the deprivation or even theft of it without regret. The Spirit of the Lord, through the Apostle, has called the desire for money the root of all evils [1 Tim. 6:10].

We should not interpret that this desire of money does not consist only in the desire for another person’s property. Even what seems to be our own belongs to another; for nothing is our own, since all things belong to God to whom we, too, belong. Therefore, if we feel impatient when we suffer some loss, we exhibit that we entertain a desire for money, since we grieve over the loss of what is not our own. We are seeking what belongs to another when we are unwilling to bear the loss of what belongs to another. The one who is upset and unable to bear one’s loss sins, you might say, against God Himself by preferring the things of earth to those of heaven. For, the soul which one has received from the Lord is upset by the attractiveness of worldly goods.

Let us then, with willing hearts, relinquish earthly goods that we may preserve those of heaven! Let the whole world fall in ruins provided I gain the patience to endure it! In truth, people who have not resolved to bear with fortitude a slight loss occasioned by theft, violence, or even by their own stupidity, will not readily or willingly touch what they own for the sake of charity. For who that refuses to undergo any operation at all at the hands of another, puts a knife to one’s own body? Patience to endure, shown on occasions of loss, is a training in giving and sharing.

Those who do not fear loss are not reluctant to give. Otherwise, how would one who has two tunics give one of them [Luke 3:11] to the destitute, unless the same is one who can offer his cloak as well to the one going off with his tunic [Matt. 5:40]. How will we make friends for ourselves with mammon [Luke 16:9] if we love it only to the extend that we do not share in its loss? We shall perish together with the lost mammon… It is for pagans to be unable to sustain all loss; they would set worldly goods before their life perhaps..since we are different from them, it befits us to give up not our life for money but money for our life, either by voluntary charity or by the patient endurance of loss.”

Tertullian of Carthage (c. 155-225) in On Patience, edited and translated by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 36-38.

Rhee sums up this piece aptly saying (xxvi): “When a Christian is unable to bear his or her material loss, he or she sins directly against God since greed is essentially an offense to God’s sovereignty ownership and a false and pretentious claim to non-ownership. Therefore, just as patience is a virtue that defines a Christian’s relationship with God and his/her “neighbors,” impatience in loss is a vice that disrupts and eventually destroys both vertical and horizontal relationships.” Today’s reading reminds us of the vital importance of indifference.

Father in heaven, “either by voluntary charity or by the patient endurance of loss” thanks for your grace and patience with us in learning indifference so we treat nothing as owned by us. Train us to give and share with open hands as good and faithful stewards. By your Holy Spirit root out the parts of our hearts that are captivated by worldly goods, so that the desire for money and things does not destroy our lives, our relationships with others, or with relationship with You. In Your mercy, hear our prayer, we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:9

“My mouth is not sufficient to praise you, neither am I able to conceive the care and providence which you have had for me. For I desired to gain riches, but you by a vision showed me that they are full of loss and injury to those who gain them; and I believed your revelation, and continued in the poverty of the world until you, the true riches, were revealed to me, who filled both and the rest who were worthy of you with your own riches and set free your own from care and anxiety.”

Judas Thomas a.k.a. “the Twin” (d. 72) in The Acts of Thomas 145, edited and translated by M. R. James in The Apocryphal New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon, 1924), updated and revised by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 30. Today marks the third of fourteen excerpts of voices from early Christianity that we will explore with Rhee’s assistance.

Church history reports that Judas Thomas, known more commonly as “doubting Thomas” to many, was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he went on to proclaim the gospel in India until his martyrdom.

Rhee notes (xxiii): “The Acts [of Thomas] shows a particular interest in portraying Jesus as a poor one (on earth) yet a generous dispenser of true (heavenly) riches. This portrayal of Christ seems to be a natural outworking of the apostle Paul’s description of Christ in 2 Corinthians 8:9.” For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

In short, today’s testimony from Thomas begs this question: What kind of riches are you pursuing? The wrong choice results in “loss and injury” or “ruin and destruction” as the apostle Paul put it. The announcement of Jesus about the possibility of gaining the whole world and losing one’s own soul intends to shake and wake hearers to pursue true riches (cf. Mark 8:36). If this all seems hard for you to grasp, then listen closely and take comfort.

This reading reveals that it was hard for the one known as “doubting Thomas” to conceive of the care and providence of God. So if it seems hard for you, take heart in knowing that you are not alone. Thomas would beckon you to believe. Just as Christ set him from care and anxiety, He can do the same for you!

Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” Mark 10:27

“It is the duty of all who love truth and who are a part of the Christian community not to treat wealthy members of the church with rude contempt or, on the other hand, to bow to them in order to benefit from their friendship and generosity. Use the words of Scripture to help them overcome their despair, and show them with interpretation of the Lord’s teachings that the kingdom of heaven is not an impossible goal for them if they will obey the commandments.”

Clement of Alexandria (c. 150 — c. 215) in The Rich Man’s Salvation, ed. and trans. by Jan L. Women in Morality and Ethics in Early Christianity (Sources of Early Christian Thought; Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1987), as recounted by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 8-9.

Today’s excerpt gives us a glimpse into late second century thinking with regard to the treatment of the rich in the church. This homily, Quis dives salvatur, or literally, Who Is A Rich Man That Is Saved?, wrestles with the implications of Mark 10:17-31 for the rich.

Rhee notes (xxii): “Is there hope for the rich, then? If so, how can they be saved? Clement acknowledges that salvation seems to be more difficult for the rich than the poor, but he wants to show the concerned rich that have already been initiated into the salvation process “how what is impossible with humans becomes possible” — with Christ’s instruction to the truth and their good works in lifelong perseverance.”

Clement’s advice in antiquity is timeless. We must neither despise the rich nor bow to them to benefit from their giving, but “use the words of Scripture” to help them obey the commands of Christ to share the riches they possess to take hold of a kingdom of one hundredfold value. Rhee’s counsel in modernity echoes that. We must help them understand “Christ’s instruction to the truth” and exhort them not just to hear Christ but to do what He says.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22

“Listen, my children: I brought you up in much sincerity and innocence, and reverence through the mercy of the Lord, who instilled righteousness in you in order that you may justified and sanctified from all perversity. Yet you do not want to cease from your wickedness.

Now listen to me and be at peace among yourselves, and be concerned for one another and assist one another; and do not partake of God’s creation in abundance by yourselves, but also share with those in need. For by overeating some people bring on themselves fleshly weaknesses and injure their flesh, while the flesh of those who do not have anything to eat is injured because they do not have enough food, and their bodies are wasting away.

This lack of community spirit is harmful to those of you who have, yet do not share with those in need. Look to the coming judgment. You, therefore, who have more than enough, seek out those who are hungry, until the tower is finished. For after the tower is finished, you may want to do good, but you will have not the chance. Beware, therefore, you who exult in your wealth, lest those in need groan, and their groaning rise up to the Lord, and you together with your good things be shut outside the door of the tower.

Now, therefore, I say to you who lead the church and occupy the seats of honor: do not be like the sorcerers. For the sorcerers carry their drugs in bottles, but your carry your drug and poison in the heart. You are calloused and do not want to cleanse your hearts and to mix your wisdom together in a clean heart, in order that you may receive mercy from the great King. Watch out, therefore, children, these divisions of yours deprive you of your life.

How is it that you desire to instruct God’s elect, while you yourselves have no instruction? Instruct one another, therefore, and have peace among yourselves, in order that I too may stand joyfully before the Father and give an account on behalf of all of you to your Lord.”

Shepherd of Hermas (c. late first or early to mid-second century) in Visions 3:9, trans. Michael W. Holmes in The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations (3rd ed.; Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), as recounted by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 2-3.

I am enjoying this book by Helen Rhee, which features the writings of 14 different early church writers. I plan to pull daily meditations from these ancient writings over the next two weeks. These Christian authors give us a glimpse of how the first followers of Christ championed obedience to the teachings of Jesus on handling wealth and riches.

Rhee adds this insightful comment that sums up the aim of the Shepherd of Hermas (xx): “The goal of these visions…is not to denounce wealth or the rich as such but the move the rich into concrete behaviors for the good of the community (and thus their own good).” The leaders of ancient and modern churches must avoid hypocrisy and model obedience in these matters!

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. Matthew 6:3

“Compassion, charity, duty and justice are all important virtues as we interact with one another. In fact they should all work in harmony… I believe that generosity is the first car in the train of virtues. Without it, the other virtues are unlikely to ever get started or be fully expressed.

On a number of occasions I have observed individuals who wish to practice charity, but their attitude is so lacking generosity that the expression of charity is almost lost. There is such precision and calculation to their gift that one questions whether they really mean to help another person or simply check off another mark on the list of good things they have to do. In an unfortunate way the process of expressing their charity undermines the very wholesomeness of the virtue. Generosity removes the pettiness and calculation that can easily work against the goodness of our original intent.

The Bible describes the attitude that the giver should practice when making a contribution — don’t let the left hand know what the right hand is doing (Matthew 6:3). The implication is not to think too much about your gift or how it will benefit you. The gift that is too calculated is not worth giving.”

Dave Toycen in The Power Of Generosity: How to Transform Yourself and Your World (Waynesboro: Authentic, 2004) 3-4.

It’s sobering to think we can tarnish “the very wholesomeness of the virtue” of generosity by being too calculated or by encouraging such over-calculation in the lives of others.

Conformity to the world is also evident when we start using merit-based giving language like this charity or that charity “deserves” our support. We should follow the leading of the Spirit over charity ratings because Christian giving flowed first from Christ to us when we were undeserving by grace. None of us was more deserving than another.

It’s getting close to the year-end giving season. That’s how it is often described in the USA associated with our tax laws. What’s my advice?

If you want to calculate things while also preserving “the very wholesomeness of the virtue,” adopt the perspective of Richard Foster in The Challenge of the Disciplined Life, “Rather than, ‘How much of my money should I give to God?’ we learn to ask, ‘How much of God’s money should I keep for myself?'” Calculate how much of God’s money you need and give the rest away!

Why do this? It all belongs to God, and that’s what Jesus said to do. I suggest you ask the Father to guide you in sharing it joyfully. Likely the Spirit will lead you to show mercy to your neighbor, to put it work with your local church, and to give it to ministries that engage in God’s work regionally, nationally, and globally.

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. Luke 1:38

“Does it matter what the will of God is for you? That may sound like a strange question at first. But think about it. Does it matter what God wills of you? What if He were to call you to constant work? Or what if He were to call you to a restful repose? Or what if He were to fill you with delight? Or remove all delight from your soul? Or call you to be extolled and honored in the sight of many? Or draw you into the desert of solitude and hiddenness?

The truth is that it matters not what God’s call is in our lives, it only matters that He calls. We must strive for a holy indifference in our lives. A “holy” indifference is not indifference to God and His will; rather, a holy indifference is a detachment to all preferences regarding what the Lord asks of us. We must be ready for all but we must be willing to receive nothing. The goal is to be ready for God and His will, whatever it may be.

Reflect on whether or not you are ready and willing to accept whatever God wills of you. What He wills is not as important as the fact that He wills. This may be a difficult subtlety to grasp at first. But it’s important to understand. The simple truth is that we should be ready for anything God asks of us without clinging to our personal preference. If you can achieve this level of detachment, the mercy of God will begin to flow in abundance in your life, and through you into the lives of many others.”

John Paul Thomas in “Reflection 181: Holy Indifference” in Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy: 365 Days with Saint Faustina (North Charleston: CreateSpace, 2016) 158-159.

Rooted in holy indifference, a facet of our generosity this week (and every week) may just be that we serve as conduits of the mercy of God to others. We do this by embracing God’s will for our lives, regardless of what it may be.

We may respond like Mary and be “greatly troubled” at first, but with the holy indifference of Mary, knowing God’s call for us is for our good, we can trust Him and say, “I am the Lord’s servant” and “may your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:26-38).

Who could have imagined that a young girl could be a conduit of the mercy of God for the world? We must be ready for anything God asks of us. God’s will for your generosity or mine might be humble submission so that others are blessed.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14

“God’s generosity to us is out of the abundance, mutuality, and completeness of God’s own trinitarian life. Our generosity starts with this sense of abundant life appropriated by faith…There is a generous staring of time and space to the lonely and dispossessed. There is generosity to meet immediate as well as long-term needs. There is the sharing of ourselves, allowing other persons to enter our communities, just as the Trinity has invited us into the divine society of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This form of generosity, patterned on the generosity of God, is a means of becoming whole and holy through the participation in God’s own divine life…

What the Trinity offers us is a whole and holy model that informs and guides our commitments to just, caring, mutual relationships with others, as well as our commitment to their becoming. Becoming whole and holy occurs in our ongoing participation in the divine life of the Trinity, and through our attention and practices of virtues, those habits that form us and help us integrate what we believe with how we live. Desiring consonance between who are becoming and how we live is the expression of lives moving toward embodied wholeness and holiness, that which enables us to attend to the needs of others based on God’s vision of shalom.”

Wyndy Corbin Reuschling in “Wholeness and Holiness: Christian Moral Formation” in Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation by Jeannine K. Brown, Carla M. Dahl, and Wyndy Corbin Reuschling (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011) 137, 140.

Every person either functions out of fear and scarcity or faith and abundance. We take hold of the latter when we participate with our trinitarian God in the divine life offered to us. Thus, “becoming whole and holy” is what happens to us on the faith journey, we become the people God designed us to be and live the life God designed us to live.

I thought of this yesterday when my son and I took Hope St. Teresa, his German Shorthair Pointer puppy, to her first hunting class where I shot this header photo. Sammy is training her to be what God made her to be, a bird dog. It was fun to watch her retrieve a bird over and over and grow in the process.

Along these lines, the Apostle Paul reminds us that Christ lavishes us with grace so we can extend it to others, the Father fills us with love so we can love others, even our enemies, and the Spirit unites us together in fellowship (koinonia), which implies a community that gives and receives the good gifts of God. Collectively, the triune God offers us shalom.

Are you becoming whole and holy? Don’t try to figure it out and then live it out. Following Jesus requires faith. You must do what He says and you figure it out as you go. He transforms you on the journey. Just like it takes many lessons to train a hunting dog, becoming whole and holy takes time.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. 1 Chronicles 29:14

“We give when we delight in someone. . . We also give when others are in need. A stranded stranger receives a helping hand; we aid the sick or those recently laid off from work to get what they need. Finally, we give to help others give. We give to people who work for good causes in which we believe — we give to educational institutions (maybe to build and maintain a good library) and churches (perhaps to pay their ministers), to relief organizations (say, to help alleviate the global HIV/AIDS crisis). . . In all three types of situations, we give because we seek the good of another. In all three we imitate God.”

Miroslav Volf in Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005) 68.

As King David proclaimed in today’s Scripture reading, our giving is merely a reflection of God’s generosity toward us. As Volf notes, it often takes three forms or appears in three different situations. Yesterday was an unforgettable day where I got to experience all three types of situations.

I am so filled with joy about it that when I woke up in the middle of the night, I could not go back to sleep.

First, I had lunch with a CPA who loves to do business deals for God. With the resources God supplies, he in turn, loves to help others give. When I shared about the ECFA international liaison work I am giving myself to around the world, he expressed enthusiastic desire to partner with me.

Second, during our lunch we learned a lot about each other. We had many things in common, including the fact that both of us had times when our wife had battled cancer which brought us closer to God. Mine, had survived. His wife passed away, and in God’s providence, he had recently remarried.

After our lunch, we happened to be parked next to each other. He learned that I was driving my wife’s car as we were sharing a car. He said,” Gary you need another car.” He was driving the vehicle that his late wife had driven. With joy he said, “Gary, I want to give you this car. It’s got a lot of miles on it but it’s reliable.”

I am still speechless about this. He says he wants to clean it up. I can’t wait to receive it as God’s provision.

Third, we went out to dinner last night with our neighbor because we delight in him. The food was good as was the fellowship. The meal was a celebration of friendship.

In one day I got to experience all three types of situations. Sometimes I was giving, others times receiving. Each situation imitates God who delights in us, who provides when we are in need, and who enriches to help others give. Thank you God.

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 5:48

“The virtue of indifference as espoused by St Francis de Sales, is completely at odds with our modern understanding of indifference as being apathetic and uncaring.

Indeed, St Francis teaches that ‘the passions are part of our human nature and we become perfect not by ignoring or eradicating them but by bringing them under the dominion of the will and integrating them to our personality’. It is against this backdrop that we need to consider indifference as a choice to orient our will toward the love of God…

In a letter to St Jane Frances de Chantal, St Francis declares that when we enter the stage of holy indifference we do not, and need not, give up our human affections and feelings, but they are perfected.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622) as quoted by Eunan McDonnell in The Concept of Freedom in the Writings of St. Francis de Sales (New York: Peter Lang, 2009) 233.

I was studying God’s Word with my neighbor, Ken, on Wednesday. In our discussion he recounted a lesson one of his teachers taught him. He reminded me that the evil one has many tactics but they all have one purpose: to get our eyes off Christ. That thought stuck with me. With help from Francis de Sales, notice how it relates to generosity and the virtue of indifference.

The evil one entices us to become attached to things instead of Christ. The evil one tempts us to be overcome by feelings of fear or worry instead of trusting Christ. When we are indifferent to these distractions and focused on Christ we “orient our will toward the love of God…we do not, and need not, give up our human affections and feelings…they are perfected.”

God wants each of us to become “perfect” or mature. He wants the fruit of generosity to ripen on the branches of our lives as we are connected to the vine of Christ. When our hands and hearts abide in Christ, things no longer entice our hearts and circumstances cease to tempt our minds. Without holy indifference, generosity is impossible; with it, generosity is perfected!

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 1 John 2:15

“O Lord, I beseech of Thee that holy indifference which Thou wouldst I should feel respecting everything in this world, either good or evil, greatness or humiliation, joy or sorrow. What does it matter to me if I am rich or poor, in health or bearing sickness, despised or highly thought of? If I am Thine and Thou forever mine, of what importance will the way and means be whereby I gain my end, if only I do attain unto it? Holy indifference, which would deliver me out of all my troubles, all my anxieties, all my fears, of which my clinging to this world is the root. Holy indifference, which would banish from my heart all the passions with which it is continually disturbed. Holy indifference, which would speak peace to my soul, and would be a foretaste of eternal blessedness.”

Louis Bourdaloue (1632-1704) in Spiritual Exercises: Readings for a Retreat of Seven Days (London: Joseph Masters, 1868) 11.

This prayer is fitting for all of us.

Holy indifference aids all of us in shifting from clinging to this world to clinging to Christ. It’s vital because none of us can cling to both. Think about it. Today’s Scripture echo’s the words of Jesus who says we “cannot serve God and Mammon” (cf. Matthew 6:24). We can’t love the world and the Father both.

What’s this got to do with generosity?

Holy indifference positions us to exchange the insignificant for the significant. Holy indifference frees us from the disordered attachments that enslave us. Holy indifference releases us from fear, worry, and insecurity so that we realize the hope, peace, and security we have in Jesus Christ!

It’s a taste of eternal blessedness because we are holding on to the only One that satisfies our souls. We can never be generous unless we are satisfied. To have enough, to be satisfied with Christ, is to taste holy indifference. Grant each of us holy indifference Father, I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.