Preachers echoing Finley Peter Dunne: The gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable

“The gospel comforts the afflicted and afflicts the comfortable.”

I’ve heard this expression numerous times and did some research to find out its origin.

“Finley Peter Dunne…wrote under the pseudonym of an Irishman named Mr. Dooley. The full quotation goes like this:
 
“Th newspaper does ivrything f’r us.
It runs th’ polis foorce an’ th’ banks,
commands th’ milishy,
controls th’ ligislachure,
baptizes th’ young,
marries th’ foolish,
comforts th’ afflicted,
afflicts th’ comfortable,
buries th’ dead
an’ roasts thim aftherward.”
 
Preachers were quick to apply Dooley’s words to the Christian faith, that the nature of the gospel is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable – that the preacher’s job – and the job of every Christian, for that matter – is to offer hope and consolation to those who are hurting while standing strong against the evils of injustice and oppression and selfish pursuit.”

Finley Peter Dunne in “Newspaper Publicity” in Observations by Mr. Dooley (1902) as explained by Dr. Philip L. McLarty in his sermon, “Comfort the Afflicted, Afflict the Comfortable” (2007).

1. What are the ways I experience the generosity of God?

2. What specific scenes in the Gospels speak to me about Jesus’ generosity?

3. What inhibits my generosity in reaching out to others and sharing my resources with them?

4. How can I respond more generously to God’s love and Jesus; call to discipleship?

Gerald Fagin, Putting on the Heart of Christ (Chicago: CSRLE, 2010) 87.

Give to everyone who asks of you, and do not demand your possessions back from the one who takes them. Luke 6:30

“Benefactors gave to those deemed worthy to receive a gift and who could reciprocate. Those who outgave the other gained status as the superior while the other moved down a rung on the status ladder. Gifts were always business deals used to cement friendships among social equals or to gain or assert power over social inferiors. The benefactor became the patron and the recipient the client who must reciprocate through service or public praise.

Jesus command about giving would have struck the listeners as bizarre. He makes no mention about the worthiness of the recipient and effectively erases the social distinctions between the giver and receiver. To Jesus, [his disciples are to give] without expecting any return from the one who receives…The early Christian community lived this ethic out (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32, 34-35), essentially becoming “fools for Christ” (1 Cor 4:10) from the perspective of the world’s value system [in contrast to the rich fool who kept everything for himself and was not “rich toward God” in Luke 12:13-21].”

David E. Garland in Luke: Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2011) 280.

“With the help of the Spirit of God, we are empowered to goodness [also translated “generosity”].  We make changes in our world for the good of all, and we follow Christian ethics in all of our dealings with others—at home, at work, at church and in the community. Acts of goodness include helping those less fortunate than ourselves, visiting the sick, assisting the homeless, comforting the broken-hearted, and working for the equality of all people (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:16-19). It is through such good deeds that we become messengers of God’s love. It is Christianity at its most practical.”

Bobbie Reed, Listen to the Heart: Story Meditations on the Fruits of the Spirit (Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1997) 74. 

“If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself.”


Augustine of Hippo, Source unknown 4th / 5th century A.D.

“Take Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, all that I have and possess. Thou hast given all to me. To Thee, O Lord, I return it. All is Thine, dispose of it wholly according to Thy will. Give me Thy love and Thy grace, for this is sufficient for me.”

Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556) entitled this prayer, “Suscipe,” which in Latin means “take or receive” as a radical prayer of self-giving offered response to the love of God.

Jenni and I are on retreat in Wisconsin this weekend with some friends who live up in Door County above Green Bay, and interestingly, we were just talking about this yesterday. Picture this: Blue sky, white clouds, and fresh air. We were sitting out on the dock, probably one hundred feet from shore, eating Door County cherries and Wisconsin cheese with some crackers for our lunch.

We could not help but reflect God’s great love and generosity toward us. Of course we discussed how our response in living a life of generosity is not one of deeds to win His favor, but simply having received His generous love and grace by faith, we get to share that love and grace to others as generously as it was extended to us.

I always connect the thinking of Ignatius to my wife, Jenni, as she went on an Ignatian retreat a number of years ago for one of her Spiritual Formation classes at Denver Seminary. They worked through part of his Spiritual Exercises together.

…the fruit of the spirit is…generosity… Galatians 5:22 (NRSV)

“Our generosity is the work of the Holy Spirit— the work of God within us…It appears as though we develop our generosity on our own, but this is not the case. The Holy Spirit brings forth our generosity…To gain some sense of understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit is to overcome the notion that Christian generosity is some form of achievement…

God is the one who set us free from selfish pursuits. God sets us free from the pursuit of the self because he sets us free from the desire for more, and more, and more. He gives us what we truly desire, the gift of himself, in whom all happiness is contained. We will never completely understand this process because it is the work of God and our “unselving,” our conversion, our surrender, is the work of the Holy Spirit.

This means that it is not our achievement, but rather it is a gift, which is cause for us to be grateful to God. It is by God’s grace, not our own achievement that we surrender. This is cause to be grateful, not proud. Our contribution is to surrender to God; this is a matter of humility, not pride.

Generosity is a disposition of “unselving,” of surrender; it is not a skilled method to be accomplished. Generosity must be one with the Holy Spirit, God in us, a submission to God’s movement in us. It is a matter of releasing the desires of this temporal world so that we may connect with God.”

Harry Verhiley in white paper entitled, Generosity-Cause For Pride?

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

“Every benefit which God bestows upon us is evidence to us of His grace, love and power, from which we ought to conceive a stronger confidence for the future. The expressions exceedingly abundantly and above all that we ask or think [in Ephesians 3:20-21] should be noted, so that there should not be excessive fear in true faith. For however many blessings we expect from God. His infinite liberality will always exceed all our wishes and our thoughts.”

John Calvin (1509-1564) in The Epistles of Paul the Apostle to the Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996) 170.

“The value of our life does not depend on the place we occupy. It depends on the way we occupy that place.”

Thérèse de Lisieux (1873-1897) in A Guide to Abundant Living ed. M.K. Glavich (ACTA: 2005) 71.

“Christian leaders today need to model generosity in their giving, so that the average church-goer whose offerings prove paltry in comparison, can see that greater sacrifice is both possible and necessary.”

Craig Blomberg, Neither Poverty Nor Riches (Downers Grove: IVP, 1999) 55.