John 12:1-11: Christian Giving

Three clergymen were discussing how they decide to give part of their income to the church. The first vicar said, "When God tells me so, I just empty my wallet in the collection plate." The 2nd vicar was quite impressed and almost ashamed to tell of his approach. He says: "I draw a 3 foot circle around me, I throw the money in the air and everything that lands within the circle, I put in the collection plate." The 3rd vicar, who was both greedy and a penny pincher said, "I throw all of my money in the air and everything that falls to the ground I keep, because if God wanted it he would take it while it was up in there.

This morning I want to talk about the subject of Christian Giving. It’s a really important subject, and one that we cannot ignore as Christians, but it is also one of those subjects we don’t like to talk about. But the Bible talks about money 2,350 times, and of the 29 parables Jesus told, 16 deal with the subject of money, and in Matthew, Mark and Luke 1 out of every 6 verses deals with the subject of money. I think the reason why we DON’T like to talk about money, is because there are few subjects that expose our hearts more quickly than our view of money. Perhaps one of the reasons we would prefer not to talk about money, is because it is a topic that cuts close to who we really are, and about where are true priorities lie.

But it is something we cannot escape from, as Christians we are called to give generously, as part of the outworking of the Holy Spirit’s life within us. Christian Giving is meant to be a way of life in which we regard ourselves and our possessions as a trust from God to be used in His service, for what He has done for us in Jesus Christ. This is why in 1 Chronicles 29:14 we read: “All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.” Of course, Christian giving or stewardship, doesn’t just relate to money, it relates to how we use our time, our possessions, our whole lives. But this morning I want to focus on the financial aspect of stewardship.

Our Gospel reading (John 12:1-8) has a lot to teach us about the nature of Christian giving. Jesus was staying at the home of Lazarus in the village of Bethany, just two miles from Jerusalem. It was six days before the Passover, and the day before Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. As Jesus was reclining at the table with his disciples, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, comes into the room, and breaks the seal on an expensive jar of perfume, and anoints Jesus’ feet. And we are told that the fragrance of this perfume filled the whole house.

Mary’s act was an act of loving extravagance and spontaneous generosity. Hers is a love that is full-to-overflowing with spontaneous, unmeasured giving towards Jesus in response to all that he had done for her and her family. And this in essence is what should motivate our Christian giving. Our giving should be an outpouring of love for what God has given to us. We give, not because we feel obliged to do so, not because someone tells us it’s what we should do, but because it’s an outpouring of our love for what God has done for us.

So we should not be asking ourselves What do I need to give, but rather, How can my giving reflect something of God’s love for me?

We should see Christian giving, both as a challenge AND ALSO a privilege that effects the whole of our lives as Christians.

What we learn from Mary is that her giving is both extravagant and costly. We are told that the perfume she used on Jesus was worth a year’s wages. I don’t imagine that Mary or her family were particularly wealthy, but she gives the best to Jesus, because that is what he deserves.

What Mary reveals is that Christian stewardship is not about giving only what is needed, but it is about giving so generously that it has a touch of recklessness about it. If we give grudgingly, and reluctantly, then it probably indicates that our attitude towards giving needs to be looked at.
We need to be generous in our giving. Mother Teresa said “If you give what you do not need, it isn't giving.” And C S Lewis said “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.“

Both Mark and Luke record the occasion when Jesus took his disciples to the Temple, and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. We are told that many rich people there put in large amounts of money, but then along came a poor widow, and she put two very small copper coins into the treasury. And Jesus commends this widow for what she does. He’s says to his disciples "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on." (Mark 12:43-44) She gave sacrificially.

Compare Mary’s generosity with Judas’. Judas’ response to Mary’s action is to criticise her, saying that what she has done is a waste of money. He makes the claim that this money could have been used for the poor, but John tells us that this was not Judas’ real concern, he wanted to keep the money for himself. When the rich young man came to Jesus wanting to follow him, the one thing he could not do was let go of his money. Are we like Mary, who gives joyfully and generously, or Judas, who wanted to hold on to the money himself?

Another question to consider is how do you go about organising your giving? Is it something you think about in advance and plan at the start of each month, or do you give whatever is left over at the end? There is a saying which goes, Give to God what is right, not what is left.

When was the last time you sat down and reviewed your giving? This is something I believe we need to do at least once a year. It is something I personally do two or three times a year, and I adjust my giving accordingly.

In 2 Corinthians, Paul lays out some guidelines for giving. For example he says that we should give both proportionately and also regularly. We are each called to give according to our means, so how much we give, will very much depend upon our different circumstances.

So we need to prayerfully consider what we can afford to give, and to consider what are our main priorities? For example, how does are giving to God, compare to the other things we spend our money on, for example going out for the night, buying a daily newspaper, and so on. Jesus said, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 writes, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

In our Gospel reading, one of the results of Mary’s generous outpouring of love to Jesus was that the whole house was filled with the fragrance of perfume. If we are committed to serious and sacrificial giving, then it will be a fragrant offering to God.

The commission that Jesus gave to each one of us, was to build up his kingdom, to spread the good news of Jesus. Bill Hybels, leader of the Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, one of the largest churches in America, and author of many Christian books, describes the local church as being the hope of the world. We as a church are to be a sign of hope to this community. But to achieve this, we must take seriously the commitment to give generously, to support and enable the work and witness of the church to continue.

Two weeks ago, at the ACM I mentioned that as a church, we face a significant financial challenge. And therefore we have issued the 5% challenge. In order just to break even, we need to increase our giving as a church by 5%, or to put that another way, we need to raise a further £5000 a year. I believe this is easily achievable, if we take seriously our commitment to giving.

Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). There is real grace in being able to give, and a real joy that comes from it. Giving is not intended to be a heavy burden. Julian of Norwich said, “A cheerful giver does not count the cost of what he gives. His heart is set on pleasing and cheering him to whom the gift is given.” We can fill up our lives with material possessions, but I have found that there is something incredibly liberating about giving back to God, and this is something I believe Mary herself realized, when she anointed Jesus, and I hope we also will all come to discover this.

Stewardship Prayer:

All that I am, all I can be, all that I have, all that is me, accept and use Lord, as you would choose Lord, right now today!

Take every passion, every skill, take all my dreams and bend them to your will.

May all I give Lord, for you I’ll live Lord; come what may.