By Rev. Dr. Harvey Weitzel
Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift” (2 Cor. 9:15)! This is St. Paul’s exclamation upon hearing the Corinthian church’s response to the preaching of the Gospel and his request for support for the church in Jerusalem. The Christians in Corinth heard and received God’s mercy in Christ, and they responded to St. Paul’s call to support Christians in Jerusalem with a collection. The Corinthians’ joy filled Jerusalem’s need.
Because of God’s generosity in the giving of His Son to die on the cross for us, we are to be generous with all that we receive from Him. What do we receive? Everything! All that we are and all that we have is the Lord’s. He is the creator and the giver. We are His creatures and those who receive what He gives.
Through what God gives, we support others in need. And like our generous Father in Heaven, we, as His children, use what He gives to us to love and serve others.
Such thinking often goes against our natural inclination to think that what I have is mine to do what I want with it, that is our selfishness and our greed speaking. But, how can we who have been given everything — life, food, clothing, house, home, forgiveness, divine sonship, an eternal inheritance — be so stingy with what we give to others less fortunate than ourselves?
We are all guilty of this kind of thinking aren’t we?. And the only faithful response is to repent and trust in God’s gracious love for us. That there will always be enough.
For if God has given you His own Son, will He not give you all things? Yes. He will. This is His sure and certain promise. God provides for His people. He provides everything we need for this body and life and for the life that is to come.
Every church is a place where God’s mercy through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ, is given and received. For all who believe it means forgiveness, life and salvation in the face of sin, death and the power of the devil. We are all given God’s mercy in Word and Sacrament and share this same mercy in love and service to our neighbor. And that is an enduring, joyful thing to do. Our joy fills our neighbor’s need because His joy filled ours (Heb. 12:2). Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift!”
Rev. Dr. Harvey Weitzel
St. Michael’s Lutheran Church
