Archives by: Gary Hoag

“But you, dearly beloved, who have believed the promises of the Lord with your whole heart, flee the foul leprosy of avarice and make a holy and wise use of God’s gifts. Since you enjoy His generosity, take care that you may be able to have companions of your joy.

The things that are supplied to you are lacking to many, and in their need the material has been given to you for imitating the divine goodness, so that through you the divine goodness might pass over to others. As you give out your temporal goods well, you are acquiring eternal.”

Leo the Great (c. 400-461), Doctor of the Church, excerpt from Sermon 17.3-4. (ACCS.P1-50.117).

“Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ,
For all the benefits which thou hast given to me,
For all the pains and insults which thou hast borne for me.
O most merciful redeemer, friend, and brother,
May I know thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
And follow thee more nearly,
Day by day.”

This prayer is ascribed to St. Richard of Chichester (1197-1253) also known as Richard de Wych, Bishop of Chichester.

The Latin he recited on his deathbed as recorded by his confessor, Ralph Bocking (below) can be found in Acta Sanctorum, an encyclopedia of Christian saints, which is housed in the British Library:

Gratias tibi ego, Domine Jesu Christe, de omnibus beneficiis, quae mihi
praestitisti; pro poenis et opprobis, quae pro me pertulisti; propter quae plactus ille lamentablis vere tibim competebat.

Some believe the triplet “clearly, dearly, nearly” was added later. That aspect of this prayer was made popular in the modern era in Godspell (1971) when it was adapted for the song “Day by Day.”

“Christ himself … says in Luke 6:35, “Lend, expecting nothing in return.” That is, you should lend freely, and take your chances on getting it back or not. If it comes back, take it; if it does not, it is a gift. According to the gospel there is thus only one distinction between giving and lending, namely, a gift is not taken back, while a loan is taken back—if it is returned—but involves the risk that it may become a gift. He who lends expecting to get back something more or something better than he has loaned is nothing but an open and condemned usurer, since even those who in lending demand or expect to get back exactly what they lend, and take no chances on whether they get it back or not, are not acting in a Christian way.”

Martin Luther Selected Writings of Martin Luther 1529-1546 ed. Theodore G. Tappert (Fortress Press, 1967) 97.

“Live within your income, and…do not refuse to dip your hand into your pocket to satisfy a generous impulse, or to help in the mutual enjoyment of yourself and your friends, because you think you will be the richer for keeping your money…

Of your natural gifts you can never give enough…If you are not generous to your employers and to your friends and family, they will not be generous to you. They will reward you, too, in a grudging spirit.

Man, who is made in the likeness of his Creator, should give greatly of his own gifts, rendering back to the Great Bestower the munificence that is given in trust…

No money can buy gratitude and love and true friendship. These are the things that inevitably come from real generosity, and each one of us, within the limits of our own minds and purses, can be generous…”

Keith J. Thomas Personal Power (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1914) 157-159.

“Paying of debts is, next to the grace of God, the best means in the world to deliver you from a thousand temptations to sin and vanity. Pay your debts, and you will not have wherewithal to purchase a costly toy or a pernicious pleasure; pay your debts, and you will not have what to lose to a gamester. In short, pay your debts and you will of necessity abstain from many indulgences that war against the spirit, bring you into captivity to sin, and cannot fail to end in your utter destruction, both of soul and body.”

Patrick Delany (1686-1768) Irish Theologian, as recounted in Days Collacon (New York: International Printing and Publishing Office, 1884) 166.

“Biblical mission demands that those who claim Christ’s name should be like him, by taking up their cross, denying themselves, and following him in the paths of humility, love, integrity, generosity, and servanthood.”

Lausanne Cape Town Commitment excerpt from the Conclusion. To read the document, visit: http://www.lausanne.org/en/documents/ctcommitment.html

“There is nothing more to be dreaded than debt; when a person, whose principles are good, unhappily falls into this situation, adieu to all peace and comfort; the reflection embitters every meal, and drives from the eyelids refreshing sleep.”

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) English Cleric, Author of Holy Living and Holy Dying as recounted in Days Collacon, 166.

“Paul’s understanding of generosity requires that there must be equality in the body of Christ where the wealthy are required to provide for the needs of the poor…it is through one’s generosity that the confession of the gospel is authenticated [cf. 2 Cor 8:24].

Paul’s understanding of generosity…is timely today especially in many instances where the rich are getting richer, and the poor, poorer. Christian generosity would require that a relative proportion of giving should be guided accordingly.

The wealthier should be challenged to give more in terms of higher percentage, compared to those who are poorer so that the confession of the gospel of Jesus Christ can be authenticated through love in action.”

Kar Yong Lim, excerpts from PDF entitled: Paul’s Theology of Generosity and Care for the Poor.

“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who, by profession or culture, are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.”

Dallas Willard, The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’ Essential Teachings on Discipleship (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 2006) xv.

“You lead people to become disciples of Jesus by ravishing them with a vision of life in the kingdom of the heavens in the fellowship of Jesus. And you do this by proclaiming, manifesting, and teaching the kingdom to them in the manner learned from Jesus himself. You thereby change the belief system that governs their lives.”

Dallas Willard, Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1998) 305.

Today’s two-part meditation is honor of a brilliant scholar and beloved disciple of Jesus Christ who befriended and inspired me many years ago in a long conversation together in Long Beach, CA.

While I was seeking advice on teaching stewardship and generosity in the seminary setting, Willard paused, then expressed: “it may be one of the most important if not the most important topics you could teach.”

From there Dallas was generous with wisdom on making our churches and schools places where followers of Jesus are taught to handle possessions according to the Master’s instructions, by leaders who are living out the gospel.

Undoubtedly, Dallas Willard (September 4, 1936 – May 8, 2013) heard these words yesterday: “Well done, good and faithful steward. Enter into the joy of the Lord.”

“We are committed to being good stewards of God’s grace and your gifts.”

Hector Rivas, Potter’s House 2012 Annual Report, 9.

Visit the Potter’s House Guatemala website to view the 7-minute Annual Report video or to view the report in pdf form. Please take a moment to view the video and/or the report to see the place my family is returning from May 25-June 1 and to see how God is at work in the garbage dump.

Who can be compared with the LORD our God, who is enthroned on high? Far below him are the heavens and the earth. He stoops to look, and he lifts the poor from the dirt and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people! Psalm 113:5-8 NLT