David DeSilva: Perfect

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21

“An attitude of detachment from worldly treasure will make it easier to use worldly wealth well; for example, using it to care for the poor (Matthew 19:21). The rich young man is called to make an investment in lives, to trust the “bull market” of works of charity to bring “treasures in heaven” (explicitly recalled here from Matthew 6:19–21). Only such generosity and compassion leads a person to be “perfect” (a distinctive feature of Matthew’s version of this story, recalling Matthew 5:48), for such is the generosity of God.

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 642.

The call to perfection is a call to detachment and maturity. I have a long way to go. Yesterday was an eventful day of travel for me. It was one of those days that numerous times I felt attached to the way I wanted things to go. Instead I endured perpetual difficulty.

If I were to recount the day, you would not believe it. And I would have to relive it. Unkind people. Horrible traffice. Late flight. Missed meals. Seriously, it was the evil one trying to stir frustration and anger within me. He won’t win, but he scored points.

I made it safely to my hotel room. I showered, but I was hungry after missing dinner. But then in silence with Jesus. I’m heard His voice reminding me of His presence and love. And then I read this in my ongoing reading of DeSilva.

When I think of “detachment” I think of the “Let it go!” song from the famous movie, Frozen. So, I actually played it on YouTube in the privacy of my hotel room to try to get myself to breath and let go of an unspeakably hard day.

These words touched me deeply. “Here I stand in the light of day. Let the storm rage on.” I stopped the song. There’s a battle going on here. The evil one does not want perfection (think: maturity) for workers in India.

The evil one does not want me here or for the 50-60 people to attend the all day session I will be teaching when this posts. So, I declare victory in the name of Jesus. I will not give up. I will detach from both treasure and difficulty and cling only to Jesus.

Pardon the vulnerability. Today the opposition was unspeakably hard. Pray for me.

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33

“Knowledge of the social codes of patronage and reciprocity, then, will be of great value to our appreciation of early Christian theology. We will read about the ways God’s favor has always been and continues to be known (e.g., in creation, the preservation of life and the like) and the new ways God’s favor flows into the human situation through the person of Jesus, the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the promises of deliverance and an eternal inheritance for those who approach God through Jesus. We will be alert to the ways early Christians are urged to make a suitable response to the favor of God and of Jesus or warned against responding in a disgraceful manner. We will be attuned as well to why this logic is compelling. Additionally, we will be equipped to understand many of the relationships between the people presented in the pages of the New Testament—reciprocity relationships that are sometimes merely noted or affirmed, sometimes reshaped and redirected (e.g., patronage of the community by the richer Christians being transformed into stewardship), and sometimes opposed (e.g., importing the worldly dynamics of using generosity to gain power and advance personal interests).”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 303-304.

When you think of social codes, think roles that people of a specific gender or status are expected to play. What I appreciated today from DeSilva is that he challenges us to see Christ through the lens of these codes.

Notice what comes into view.

We see Christ as saying to us. “Look, let me play the role of Provider. Just seek me first and let me sort the rest. Let me play the role of Savior. I can deliver you from the penalty and power of sin.”

And the list goes on.

When we soak in the thinking linked to social codes, we start to live in light of the reality that we have a good Father in Heaven eager to play His role, a Savior in Jesus, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

This fuels our generosity as sharing emerges as our role in the social code.

Whether you are traveling from Delhi to Bengaluru like me today or in your hometown anywhere around the world. Let’s show people the ways God’s favor flows into every corner of life by how we live.

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me. Romans 16:1-2

“Patronage within the church is not, however, meant to be pursued as a means of advancing one’s own honor or power within the group. Acts of love and service toward fellow believers was the service placed on the clients by the divine Patron. Giving to fellow believers is presented as a reflection of Christ’s own act on our behalf (2 Corinthians 8:9–14), and Paul presents giving as itself a spiritual gift (Romans 12:8). Patrons within the church are acting as stewards of God’s gifts (2 Corinthians 9:8–10), so that the concept of stewardship (and also the sharing of goods among “kin”) replaces notions of patronage and beneficence (with the potentially divisive claims to power and loyalty that accompany them) in the earliest churches. Christians are also urged to extend their own beneficence to the outside world (Romans 13:3–4; 1 Thessalonians 5:15; 1 Peter 2:15–17), not only as a reflection of the generosity of God but also as a sign that Christians too were honorable people who contributed to the welfare of all.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 303.

Patrons in antiquity were accustomed to seeking glory or honor for themselves or gaining power with the group. This is common for wealthy people today. People who like the patron role give generously and often hold on to the power and prestige it gives them.

The Apostle Paul portrays Phoebe with three key words that show how stewardship has replaced patronage in the NT: sister, deacon, and benefactor. She could Lord over others through her giving but is portrayed as kin (sister), as a servant (deacon), and as a conduit of divine blessing (benefactor).

How would people portray you related to your giving? Would they refer to you as lord or as family, like brother or sister? Would they refer to you as a leader or as a servant? Would they depict you as a humble and generous channel of divine blessing like Phoebe?

In your life today, lean into what it would look like for stewardship to replace patronage. While you are doing that, I will engage my final full day of program work in Delhi and prepare shifting to Bengaluru where I have a full weekend of service, aiming to bless many.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

“Jesus is presented likewise as a patron of the Christian community. The author of Hebrews, for example, presents Jesus as one who “helps the descendants of Abraham” (Hebrews 2:16) and comes “to the aid of those who are tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). He supplies for the Christians what is wanting in their own resources. Jesus’ patronage may be more precisely defined, however, as brokerage. He is the mediator (Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) who secures favor from God on behalf of those who have committed themselves to Jesus as client dependents. As God’s Son, who is placed closest to the head of the household, Jesus’ successful mediation is assured. Jesus’ gift of access to God (Hebrews 4:14–16; cf. Hebrews 10:19–22) gives the community access to resources for endurance in faith in the present world so that they may receive the benefactions promised for the future, awarded before God’s court at the end of the age. The believers may draw near to God and expect to “receive mercy and find favor”—that is, the disposition of God to give assistance—“for timely help” (Hebrews 4:16). Christians, indeed, have been brought into God’s household (Hebrews 3:6) through their clientage to the Son; thus they are under God’s protection and provision.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 300.

Today I honor Jesus, my patron and the patron of the whole Christian community. He’s my broker or mediator who supplies all good things from God.

Today I celebrate Jesus. But why post this? I want to pause and honor my Lord Jesus who, as of today, has helped me post daily meditations for 15 years in a row.

Thank you, Patron, Broker, and Mediator Jesus, for daily providing the timely help that I have needed for my life and for sharing with others.

Thanks for your mercy, grace, and generosity to me over these 15 years.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8

“God’s favor is surprising not in that God gives freely or uncoerced. Every benefactor, in theory at least, gave freely. Rather, God astonishes humanity in God’s determination to benefit those who have insulted and alienated God in the extreme. The high-water mark for generous giving in the ancient world was to consider giving to the ungrateful — if a patron had enough to spare after giving to the worthy beneficiaries. Providing some modest assistance to someone who had failed to be grateful in the past would be counted a proof of a noble spirit. God, however, exceeds all expectation when God gives the most costly gift, the life of God’s own Son, to benefit those who have not merely been ungrateful but have been openly hostile to God and God’s law.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 298-299.

My scheduled has slowed down, relatively speaking. I have only 6-7 hours of meetings today. It’s a break from a 12-14 hour days I have had. It started well. I slept in, woke without an alarm, rode the elevator down to the restaurant level of my hotel in Delhi, and enjoyed some coffee and breakfast while reading and writing this post.

As I ponder the high water mark for generous giving, that God loved me even when I was undeserving, it fills me with new strength to live, give, serve, and love generously. Seriously, God has filled me with love and strength. People have asked me many times this weekend, where I get my boundless energy. Each time I have quoted this verse on the spot.

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

One person who asked me is a follower of Christ. Another is a Hindu. I am thankful for the chance to share with that person about Jesus. I sowed seeds. It was a powerful conversation. While I can be arrested for proselytizing in India, I praise God I get to serve as a conduit of love who can testify about to the source of abundant lufe.

I appreciate your prayers for me. And right now I pray for you. I pray you can join me in aiming for this high water mark.

God, fill us with your matchless love and enthusiasm to serve. Give us your heart for even the most undeserving. And fill us to the high water mark so we can dispense your goodness freely, graciously, with kindness and mercy. Make it so Lord Jesus. Amen.

There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to Him, asking Him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with Him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” So Jesus went with them. He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to Him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. Luke 7:2-10

“As we turn to the New Testament, we find not only examples of friendship relations (e.g. Paul and Philemon, Paul and the Philippian Christians, Herod and Pilate after the trial of Jesus), patron-client relationships (like, most probably, Theophilus and Luke) and public beneficence (like the centurion who showed uncommon generosity toward the local Jewish population in Luke 7:2–10) among people, for which the foregoing discussion is immediately relevant. We also find New Testament authors — like Jewish and Greco-Roman authors — using the language of patronage and reciprocity to give expression to supernatural or unseen realities, especially our relationship with God and God’s Messiah. Even their use of family imagery (e.g., calling God “father” and speaking of the “household of God”) connects with the image of the patron who brings a host of clients into the “household”, although now with the special status of adopted daughters and sons.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 293.

DeSilva shifts in his narrative from generosity in the ancient world to examples in the New Testament. Again, I am exploring his writings as he’s from the part of the world where I am serving the next two weeks.

He speaks of these cultural realities linked to generosity that appear in the New Testament: Friendship, Patron-Client Relations, and Public Beneficence. Let’s ponder their relevance to us today.

We give for all three reason. Think about your friendship giving. Last night, I enjoyed dinner in the home of GTP board vice chair, Sanjay Patra. It was priceless time. And he gave me some “South Indian coffee” as a gift.

Each time I drink it I will think of him and his dear family. That’s friendship giving. I can imagine the biblical friendship between Paul and Philemon for example. He would stay with him on their visits.

Then you have Patron-Client relationship giving. It reminds me of major foundation grants GTP has received. They give the gifts because they share the vision of the work of GTP but they have expectations linked to reporting or other things.

When I think of this in NT terms, I think of the comprehensive work that Luke undertook with Theophilus. Imagine getting a grant to write a comprehensive account of Jesus. Not a small project. It was likely a multi-year grant.

And then you have public beneficence. This represents generosity that touches everyone. Today I will lead a seminar for IndiaDonates. I am doing this in Dehli, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad. Why do this?

There are nonprofit organizations that serve humanitarian causes in areas of great need, like putting toilets in towns with no toilets or setting up medical centers. And so in addition to GTP work, I do seminars for these groups to strengthen their service.

It provides public benefit and the nonprofit workers really appreciate it, as does the Indian government, who welcomes me into their country. Pray for this strategic work to bless many in the name of Jesus. Thanks.

And ponder your generosity today. Will you bless someone through friendship? Might God call you to make a major gift  like the patron-client gifts do over a span of years. Or is God moving you to make a contribution for public beneficence? 

If you have not made a gift to GTP this year, or want to help support our current efforts, please give here. Pray with us that God supplies at least $14,000 and rallies about 30 more gives to help us reach targets set for us by foundations. Thanks.

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Luke 6:35

“According to ancient ethicists writing about giving, benefactors were to give without calculation of reward. Giving was to have in view the interest of the recipient, not the self-interest of the giver. When forming personal ties of patronage, however, patrons were cautioned to select their beneficiaries well, which meant selecting people who had a reputation for honoring the giver with gratitude. In exceptional circumstances, however, a patron could be exhorted to give even to a known ingrate, thus imitating the generosity of the gods.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 293.

DeSilva represents the voice of a biblical scholar with roots from the region where I am serving the next two weeks so it will be interesting to read his writings while abroad.

I love how he presents from his research that God’s posture toward us is simply divine.

As you think about your generosity toward others, do you give to the “known ingrate” or only those you deem deserving. Fascinating that when each of us was in that spot, God lavished grace on us.

And notice the giving has the view of the interest of the recipient and not the self-interest of the giver.

This runs countercultural to giving in my country, USA. We tend to give to the things we care about. Imagine if every follower of Jesus decided instead to give to the things Jesus cares about. It would be world-changing and divine.

I pray that God will give me opportunities in India to extend divine generosity. And same for you where you are.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3

“Most people – and to some extent all of us – lead a meaningless and purposeless life. We do not always know the meaning of what happens at present, the purpose of human existence and the direction for the future. One could just be drifting, subject to various forces, like a boat on the sea or lake at the mercy of the winds; or one could just be carried by mere routine, moving in a rut; or one could be caught up in a vicious circle not knowing, and helpless to come out of it; and one could also be a part of a machine leading a mechanical life.

Further, one could also be leading a very peripheral and superficial life on the margin of self and on the margin of society. Which is worse is one could also be, consciously or unconsciously, in a state of holiness and isolation, left to oneself and centered on self, with all doors and horizons closed, related with neither the Other nor the others, the only reality being self. To have none but oneself is a state of non-existence and non-person. It is also a state of chaos and void: ‘Tohu bohu’.

It is then that the Spirit of the Lord hovers over it. It is then that the Word of God manifests itself with dynamism. It becomes a fresh a creative and transforming Word; order and harmony come into existence; light begins to shine; an opening is made on the horizon; something happens at the core of oneself. Call it intervention of God or irruption of the Spirit, call it the explosive manifestation of the immanent word or the opening out to the dimension of transcendence. A vision of the goal appears and it sheds light on everything gives meaning to everything.”

D. S. Amalorpavadass in “Renewal by Encounter between the Word and the People” in Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World, ed. R.S. Sugirtharajah (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2006) 317.

God spoke light and meaning when everything was chaos and void or in Hebrew, Tohu bohu. We get to do the same thing where God leads us. For me, it’s India over the next two weeks.

Here Amalorpavadass, an Indian scholar, celebrates what God does in such settings through the power of the Word. The truth brings light and meaning and sets people free.

Pray for me as I prepare to teach from the Word on Sunday in Delhi. And wherever you are, shamelessly and boldly share the Word. It’s the greatest gift you can give people because it brings light and meaning to life.

The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. Matthew 11:5

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18

Looking at His disciples, He said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” Luke 6:20

“In only three New Testament texts (Matthew 11:5 = Luke 7:22; Luke 4:18; and Luke 6:20) is the meaning of ptōchos in dispute. These are the texts in which Jesus announces ‘the privilege of the poor’. The ‘poor’ have the ‘good news’ preached to them (Matthew 11:5; Luke 4:18), for the Kingdom of God is theirs (Luke 6:20).

How then are we to understand these ptōchoî, the privileged beneficiaries of Jesus’ preaching to whom the Kingdom of God is exclusively promised? Are they spiritually poor whose religious attitude of openness and trust disposes them to receive God’s love? Or are they the sociologically poor whose situation of social deprivation invites God’s saving action on their behalf?

Western exegesis, part of the immense ideological production of an affluent and intensely acquisitive society built on principles diametrically opposed to those of Jesus has tended to the first option, and has tried systematically to spiritualize the gospel understanding of the poor…

This tendency to spiritualize the poor of the Beatitudes which cuts across all denominational differences and brings together exegetes who would otherwise agree on scarcely anything else, is a good indication of the extent to which exegetical trends are in fact determined by the spirit of the times…

There may indeed still be scholars who would like to understand the poor of the New Testament, specifically those to whom Jesus promised the Kingdom, as the spiritually poor. But there is a growing consensus today that in the New Testament, even more than the Old, the word ‘poor’ is a sociological category in the three good-news-to-the-poor texts mentioned above.”

George M. Soares-Prabhu in “Class in the Bible: The Biblical Poor as a Social Class?” in Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World, ed. R.S. Sugirtharajah (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2006) 155-156.

Reading scholars from India and Asia really helps me understand how people in this context read the Scriptures. And I am learning new things from them. Consider for example, today’s meditation linked to these three Scriptures.

If you read the whole chapter (I am reading an online version in internet library to which I have access), Soares-Prabhu explains the use of this language in the OT points to the sociologically poor.

And, he also shines light on the bias of most scholars who tend to come from the Western setting and who tend to spiritualize these NT texts. In so doing, I think he’s right that though we may all agree, we miss the point.

In places with poverty, God hears the cries of the poor. He wants us, His people to minister to them. Think: Mother Teresa turning brokenness to blessing among the poorest of poor in the gutters of Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), India.

And consider with me the connection between sociological poverty and trusting God. Soares-Prabhu explains in his piece that the sociologically rich tend to hold on to and trust in money to care for them and meet their needs.

I (wrongly!) did this for years. People called it good stewardship. Yet, it requires no faith to stockpile wealth for yourself. Jesus calls it foolish because our heart always follows the money and reveals our misplaced trust.

Soares-Prabhu continues that the sociologically poor have no wealth to give them comfort or in which to place (or misplace!) their trust. So they cry out to God. And He’s there for them. He hears them.

Consider where you fit in the story. Are you sociologically rich or sociologically poor? Are you spiritually rich or spiritually poor? Be honest with yourself. Your eternal destiny may depend on it. Material blessings always come with a test.

They can turn us corrupt or allow us to serve as conduits of blessing. But most Americans try to have their cake and eat it to. They think you can be materially rich and spiritually rich.

They point to Abraham or other biblical patriarchs. In response, I always remind them that such people amassed wealth, but it was always for a purpose, to not stay with them but to be enjoyed and shared by those around them.

And being in India brings to mind the famous saying from Thornton Wilder: ““Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.”

I say that because often in India we see cows walking around or manure in the streets. Rather than taint my attitude, I am saying the quote to myself. We need to spread around the resources God gives us to help things grow.

If you have resources, spread them around. At GTP we will steward them to serve the sociologically rich (urging them to grow as conduits of blessing) the sociologically poor (teaching them to use faithfully whatever they have), the spiritually rich (strengthening their faith) and the spiritually poor (helping them grow in their grasp of accountability and generosity).

And consider GTP in your giving today. We still need $15,416 by 30 June 2024 to meet budget (and cover the cost of this trip) and we need about 50 more givers (of any size) to position us to apply for another major grant to add two staff. Give here today.

On Friday morning, Anand Joshua and I fly from Hyderabad (pictured above) to Delhi for high level strategic meetings regarding the future of peer accountability in India. And it will be hot there: 110°F / 43°C. Pray for us.

The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” Exodus 3:7-10

“Exodus reveals what anyone who participates in the struggle for liberation comes eventually to realize: God is on the side of the oppressed and downtrodden and will always give encouragement and protection to them.”

Cyris H. M. Moon in “A Korean Minjung Perspective: The Hebrews and The Exodus” in Voices from the Margin: Interpreting the Bible in the Third World, ed. R.S. Sugirtharajah (Maryknoll: Orbis, 2006) 243.

I have arrived safely in Hyderabad, India. I snapped this photo from the top floor of my hotel. It’s a beautiful day. It gives me hope for great trip to India.

God’s people are oppressed and downtrodden here. The country has 1.5 billion people. The leading religion is Hindu, followed by Muslim. Christians are the minority, but their presence is felt.

The FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) aims to hinder any outside support to Christian workers. So, they need training to raise local funds. That’s part of the reason I am here: to bring encouragement and coaching to do this.

But I am also here to show them how to ensure God’s protection. I have strategic meetings with leading Christian workers about bringing accountability to India. This is not a small vision. Only possible with God’s help. I appreciate your prayers.