Caesarius of Arles on the heavenly implications to our earthly giving

“Christ hungers now, my brethren; it is he who deigns to hunger and thirst in the persons of the poor. And what he will return in heaven tomorrow is what he receives here on earth today.” (cf. Matthew 25:31-46, Philippians 4:17)

Caesarius of Arles (470-543), as recounted by Jill Haak Adels in The Wisdom of the Saints (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987) 15.

“[Those] who add forests, and who, excluding the poor from their neighborhood, stretch out their fields far and wide into space without limits…Such a one enjoys no security either in his food or in his sleep. In the midst of the banquet he sighs, although he drinks from a jeweled goblet; and when his luxurious bed has enfolded his body, languid with feasting, he lies wakeful in the midst of the down; nor does he perceive, poor wretch, that these things are merely gilded torments, that he is held in bondage by his gold, and that his is the slave of his luxury and wealth rather than their master.”

St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage (c. 218-249), in Epistle 1.12, as recounted in Brian Rosner, Beyond Greed (Kingsford, Australia: Matthias Media, 2004) 78.

“The heart of Christianity says that you haven’t given God anything until you have given God everything.

At 30, Florence Nightingale wrote in her diary, “I am thirty years of age, the age at which Christ began his mission. Now no more childish things, no more vain things. Now, Lord, let me think only of Thy will.”

Years later, near the end of her illustrious, heroic life, she was asked for her life’s secret, and she replied, “Well, I can only give one explanation. That is, I have kept nothing back from God.”

Florence Nightingale as recounted by Rick Ezell in “Two Sermons on Giving: The Heart and Soul of Christianity” (December 5, 2003).

“Thou shalt have not other gods before me.” Exodus 20:3

“The simple meaning of this commandment is, You shall worship me alone as your God. What do these words mean and how are they to be understood? What is it to have a god, or what is God?

Answer: A god is that to which we look for all good and where we resort for help in every time of need; to have a god is simply to trust and believe in one with our whole heart. As I have often said, the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol. If your faith and confidence are right, then likewise your God is the true God. On the other hand, if your confidence is false, if it is wrong, then you have not the true God. For the two, faith and God, have inevitable connection. Now, I say, whatever your heart clings to and confides in, that is really your God.”

Martin Luther in Luther’s Large Catechism: God’s Call to Repentance, Faith and Prayer trans. John Nicholas Lenker (Minneapolis: Luther Press, 1908) 44.

The father welcomed his wayward child,
a sign of God’s generosity and love.
May we be generous toward others,
willing to forgive past sins
and to welcome others as God welcomes us.
Lord hear us.

God of love,
You have reconciled us to yourself
and made us your children.
Listen to our prayers
and grant what we need
through Christ our Lord. Amen

Hugh McGinlay Prayers of the Faithful: For Sundays, Feasts, and Seasons (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2006) 29.

“The most disturbing thing about the fact that greed is idolatry is that hardly anybody owns up to being a worshiper. Imagine the response of disbelief in the local church if it were revealed that the vast majority of its members were secretly worshipping other gods. Yet if our analysis of the religion of money is right, the unthinkable may not be so far from the truth.

The most convincing evidence that greed is idolatry concerns the answer to a simple question: what do idolaters do with their idols which believers are meant to do with God? The answer is that they offer their idols love, trust and obedience. In each case that is exactly what the greedy do with their money.” (cf. Eph 5:5; Col 3:5)

Brian Rosner in Beyond Greed (Kingsford, Australia: Matthias Media, 2004) 52-53.

If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:17-18

“John describes the selfish believer of whom three things are true. First…John describes a person with an adequate though perhaps not lavish physical livelihood.

Second, this believer sees a fellow believer in need. Similar language in other NT texts reveals this was a frequent issue in the early church: some “had need” in the Jerusalem congregation (Acts 2:44; 4:35); Paul labored to supply the “needs” of himself and his coworkers (20:34); Paul commanded that “the needs of the saints” be met via sharing (Rom 12:13; cf. Eph 4:28; Tit 3:14). Such activity requires not only industry and economy but also willingness to give. In the scenario that 1 John 3:17 envisions, the former may have been present, but the latter was not.

Third, this believer with means “is callous” toward the one in need…To “close” this faculty is to be hardened, whether through indifference or brazen heartlessness…

First John 3:18 concludes with a terse exhortation to match confession with tangible action.”

Robert W. Yarbrough, 1-3 John BECNT (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008) 203-204.

“The ostentatious performance of religious acts in order to win approbation is not at all the same thing as a life of conspicuous goodness lived in the public arena so that people cannot help but be impressed.” (Cf. Matthew 5:16; 6:1-4; 1 Tim 5:25).

R.T. France, The Gospel of Matthew NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007) 177.

Lord, grant us simplicity of faith
And a generosity of service
That gives without counting cost
A life overflowing with Grace
Poured out from the One
Who gave everything
That we might show
The power of love
To a broken world
And share the truth
From a living Word
Lord, grant us simplicity of faith
And a yearning to share it

John Birch, The Little Worship Leader’s Helper (Thanksgiving Press, 2010) 26.

Pillar One: Provide intentional, systematic, year-round, whole-life stewardship education.

Pillar Two: Provide an annual stewardship commitment process for mission and ministry.

Pillar Three: Provide a regular financial management course for all members.

Pillar Four: Provide a Lifetime Plan for Giving for all members.

Pillar Five: Provide “over and above” opportunities for extending ministry.

Wayne J. Knolhoff, Director of Stewardship – Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in StewardCAST, July 2012, 1-2.