According to the Book of Acts, in approximately 50 A.D. (while Claudius was the Emperor of Rome) there was such a famine in Jerusalem and throughout Judea that the disciples asked the churches throughout the Roman Empire to send what help they could.^[1]

This is the offering Paul wrote about in chapters 8 and 9 of II Corinthians. He did not make his appeal for money the way might.^[2] He did not appeal to pity, describing the skin and bone skeletons of people starving to death. I suppose he was aware that pity all too often humiliates and degrades the persons being helped. His appeal was not to guilt about having plenty, probably because such appeals tend to provoke more anger and denial than generosity. He did not appeal to a sense of duty, probably because what is done merely out of duty is all too often done with an undertone of resentment. And Paul did not urge the people to give so that they would feel good about themselves and experience self-satisfaction, because he probably recognized that such giving tends to be more an act of selfishness than love. Nor did Paul appeal to motives of prestige, because I suspect he knew that when our giving is tied to the recognition, reward and applause, ego and pride rather than love are in the driver's seat.

I am also confident Paul was aware that none of these motives for being generous are terribly evil. The truth of the matter is, generosity that has its beginnings in such motives not only does significant good, it sometimes leads persons to deeper and more appropriate motives. Remember, Jesus told us that where our treasure is, there will our heart be also. It is not unusual for persons whose original motives for generosity were duty, selfishness and pride to be led through their giving to deeper levels of compassion and love. Often it is true that our heart does follow where we give money.

But, in the passage we read today, it is clear that it was not merely a harvest of money, Paul was after. It was a harvest of what Paul called "righteousness"-what we would probably call a harvest of living in harmony with God. Paul wanted the people to do more than give; he wanted them to grow in grace through their giving.

Throughout the New Testament it is clear that the dominant characteristic of God is amazing and abundant grace. The compassion we see in Jesus reaching out to those in need and embracing the outcasts of his society with a healing love is the compassion that is at the heart of God. For us to live in harmony with God, (what Paul meant by "righteousness") is for the love of God revealed in Jesus to be the dominant characteristic of our living. This is Paul's concern: that our living be rooted in love-the kind of love we see in Jesus Christ. It is the motive of love that makes giving a joy, and it is joyful love shared that enables us to be what Paul called "a cheerful giver."

Of course we do not suddenly, all at once, shed all our sinful selfishness and become grace-filled persons living lives of Christ-like love. Like any journey in life, we get there one step at a time. But what is essential is that we begin the journey of allowing God's grace to shape our living and that we keep going, that we keep growing in grace.

This was Paul's concern for the people of Corinth as he asked them to give money to help feed the hungry in Jerusalem and Judea. He was interested in more than money for the hungry; he was also interested in the Corinthian Christians growing in grace. A large part of his message to us is that when we share Christ-like love with others, God enables us to share even more. The more we love others, as God in Christ loves us, the more we are aware of God's love, and the more we are aware of God's love, the more our lives become lives of love. The more we love, the more we share; and the more we share, the more we love.

"The point is this," Paul wrote, "the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

There is a lot of evidence in life that points to the truth of what Paul was saying. The student who studies little, learns little, and the one who studies much, learns much. The athlete who practices poorly, performs poorly, and the athlete who practices well, performs well. Much more often than not, we reap what we sow. And the more our living expresses God's love, the more we are aware of God's love and the more we grow in God's grace, and the more we grow in God's love the better able we are to live lives of love.

But it is not just what we do that enables us to grow in grace. We not only reap what we have sown, we also reap the benefits of what others have sown.
For example, this is true of our congregation. We who are Tarrytown United Methodist Church are reaping benefits from what those who have gone before us have sown. Just as the people who came together to begin this congregation in 1946 were standing on the shoulders of generations of faithful men and women who preceded them, so we stand on the shoulders of those who began this congregation. They invested themselves in various ministries that build faith, hope and love, and in the process they shaped what this congregation has become and is becoming.

But for them to do the work of building these ministries they needed tools, just as carpenters need tools to build a house. The basic tool they needed was a place to meet and gather so they could worship God together, and study God's Word together, and nurture one another through fellowship. All this was done together so that as individuals they would be better able to live as God intended them to live.

In order to do this, the people who began this congregation made financial sacrifices so these buildings could be built-not as monuments to their glory, but as tools they needed for the sake of doing the work of being the church. As the congregation grew they expanded the facilities-not for the sake of human glory, but for the sake of providing the tools necessary for doing the work of being the church. By 1965 the facilities of this congregation had grown to be almost the size they are today. A few more square feet were added in the late 1980's, but for all practical purposes, the buildings we now use were completed in 1965 when the membership was 676.

Those people who were Tarrytown Methodist Church from 1946 through 1965 did not build just for themselves; they also built for the generations to come. They knew that the generations that followed them were also going to need facilities that could be used in building ministries of faith, hope and love.

Across the years these facilities have been used in building a wide variety of these ministries-ministries that have not only served the members of this congregation, but have enabled the members of this congregation to serve others more effectively. Today, those of us who are members of this congregation are the beneficiaries of the financial sacrifices they made.

Now it is our turn. The facilities they completed in 1965, when we had 676 members, were designed to serve a congregation of about 900. Our membership today is closer to 1900. What this means is obvious. We need more space. We need more classroom space for our nursery and toddler ministries. (We are birthing babies at the rate of 50 per year.) We need more space for our children's ministries. We need more space for our youth ministries. And as the babies of the last few years become youth, we will need even more. We need more space for our adult ministries.

And this need is not just a Sunday need. All ages-nursery through adults-are using this facility everyday of the week. From as early as 6:30 in the morning until as late as 10 o'clock at night, members of our congregation are here involved in ministries and involved in preparing to do ministries. And it is not just our members who are served by these buildings. These buildings are also employed in the outreach ministries of this congregation by providing much-needed space for helping and healing done by others within our community. Various Scouting organizations, Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Debtors Anonymous, Tough Love, Body Recall, Austin Singers, and others are able to offer personal growth and healing opportunities because this congregation understands our facilities are not merely tools we use for our ourselves. We understand that by allowing these tools called buildings to be used by groups such as these, we are, in yet other ways, engaged in building ministries of faith, hope and love.

Those who built the first buildings did not build just for themselves, but for all who have followed them. And they had to make financial sacrifices to do it. We continue to reap the benefits of what they have sown.

Now it is our turn, not only to build what we need, but also to provide tools that can be used by those who follow us. In a few weeks, each of us will have the opportunity to make a special, sacrificial three year offering to expand our facilities so that we can improve our ability to build ministries of faith, hope and love-both now and in the years ahead.

As we move through the next few weeks, it will be tempting to focus only on raising money for expansion. During this time, it will be helpful for us to remember the passage we read today. Paul wanted the people to do more than give; he wanted them to grow in grace through their giving. He was concerned about their hearts and souls as well as their pocketbooks. Of course, he wanted money for the Jerusalem offering, but he also wanted the people to give that money as a response to God's grace and as an expression of their love. Paul knew that the more we love others as God in Christ loves us, the more we are aware of God's love, and the more we are aware of God's love, the more our lives are lives of love. And the more we love, the more we share, and the more we share, the more we love.

"The point is this," Paul wrote, "the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

God, fill us with your grace so that by your grace at work through us we will be better able to build ministries of faith, hope and love. Amen.

Pastoral Prayer:
God, thank you for the gift of this day, for the marvel of the universe, for the magnificent gift of life. Thank you for all that is beautiful to see, delightful to hear, pleasant to touch, taste and smell. Thank you for those persons who love us and who have tried to help bring out the best in us. Thank you for the gift of forgiveness that is not merely giving us a second chance, but another chance and then another. Thank you for the gift of grace that enables us to change and grow. Thank you for opportunity after opportunity and for the gift of abilities to make the most of those opportunities.
Forgive our arrogance in assuming we have all these good things because we deserve them and for implying that we are better than those who are less fortunate in both abilities and opportunities. May we be transformed by your grace so that we are so sensitive to all we have been given that we live in joyful gratitude. Fill us with your love so that we will see all persons as you do. May our living-our use of our time, talent and possessions-reflect joyful gratitude to You and compassion for our neighbors.
All this we pray in the name of the one who taught us about living when he taught us to pray: "Our Father …"

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