The carnival came to town. There were lots of booths for people to test their skills and win a prize. One booth featured a strong man. In front of the gathered crowd, he took a lemon and squeezed it with all his might, his huge biceps bulging as he did. The juice flowed into a large container until he couldn't squeeze another drop out of it. Then he challenged anyone from the audience to come forward and if they could squeeze just one drop more from the lemon, they'd win the prize. Big, macho men came forward and gave it their best. But, not a drop more could they squeeze. Then, one man came forward. Just a mouse of a man. The strong man handed him the dry lemon and said, "go ahead, give it your best shot." The man squeezed the lemon sure enough, not one but five more drops came out of it into the container. The strong man marveled. "How did you do that?" he asked. "Oh," said the man, "I've had lots of practice at this. For the last 17 years, I've been the stewardship chairman at my church."
Nobody had to put the squeeze on the Macedonians. Paul writes that they gave "of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints."
So, just who were these Macedonians and what was this 'relief of the saints' that they were so anxious to participate in?
Macedonia was a region, north of the Mediterranean Sea. Several of the cities in the region included Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. There was a Christian church in each of these cities. Paul would write a letter to the Philippians and two letters to the Thessalonians that would become a part of our New Testament. In Acts, the Bereans are specifically commended because they tested what Paul was preaching and teaching against the Scriptures to see if it agreed.
The "relief of the saints," was the name of a special offering that Paul was collecting from all of the congregations he has planted. The offering was for the mother Church back in Jerusalem that was experiencing some very hard times.
Paul is appealing to his congregations to gather an offering for the saints in Jerusalem that he will deliver. Paul sees the Church as the body of Christ. There's only one Lord Jesus Christ, and so there's only one body of Christ – one, holy, Christian and apostolic church. When one part of the body is hurting, they whole body suffers. Those who have should share what they have with those who lack.
As Paul makes his rounds and writes his letters, he asks each congregation to pledge themselves to participate in the "relief of the saints." He gives them specific instructions as to how they should so this. To the Corinthians, Paul writes, 'do as I told the churches of Galatia to do. On the first day of the week, each of you is to set aside a sum of money, in keeping with his income, so that there will be no collecting when I come." (1 Cor. 16:1 NIV).
Here's the reason for why we use offering envelopes to this day. It's the way we put what Paul is prescribing here into practice. We budget what we pledge to give to the work of the Lord and set it aside for the first day of the week, which is today – Sunday. When you think about it, its a great way to start each new week. Let the bank, the grocery store, the gas station and Dunkin Donuts have their due, but the first giving you do every week is to the Lord.
And that brings us back to the Macedonians. "We want you to know brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches in Macedonia for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part." vs.1-2.
When you read this over a couple of times, you get the impression that Paul is a bit dumbfounded as to how to explain these Christians in Macedonia. When you add up the circumstances of their situation, you don't expect to get this kind of result. Paul lists the ingredients that make up of the life of the Macedonians. Take a large measure of 'extreme poverty,' and "abundance of joy" and mix the two together. Which in itself sounds something like trying to mix oil and water. But then, to those two ingredients, you stir in a very large measure of "severe affliction." Blend all of that together and what do you end up with? An "overflowing wealth of generosity." How do explain that?
Well, Paul explains that in the only way that it can be explained. "We want you to know brothers, about THE GRACE OF GOD that has been given among the churches in Macedonia." Only one chef can create such a wonderful result out of ingredients like these. God. This is what God does to the life to which He gives His grace. His grace converts us. And by our conversion, the situation and circumstances of our life come out in the most surprising and wonderful ways. Apart from the grace of God at work in them, you just can't explain this. I like that Paul doesn't explain how the grace of God does this. It's a mystery. You don't have to solve it to enjoy living in it.
"For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints." Vs.3-4.
Evidently, Paul had not asked the Macedonian churches to participate in this offering. Maybe he figured that since they were experiencing 'hard economic times,' he should just let them alone. But much to his surprise, 'they begged us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief for the saints.' There's the attitude of stewardship that stands as a model for us all. The Macedonians considered it a privilege to participate in the offering.
I had a professor at seminary, Don Deffner, who used to tell us about a Lutheran church he visited in Los Angeles. The church was in a culturally diverse section of the city and it was not at all unusual for visitors to come to worship who were from all different religious and non-religious faiths. Every Sunday, the pastor would made a brief announcement before the offering took place, welcoming all who were visitors, and then saying that the offering that was about to be taken was a unique privilege that Jesus Christ has given to His Christians, and with all due respect, a privilege reserved for Christians only.
The Macedonians "begged us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief for the saints." And not only did they take part, but the extent of their participation floored Paul. It wasn't the size of their offering that astounded him, but the size of their offering in comparison to their means. "They gave according to their means, and I testify, beyond their means."
Paul was floored by the Macedonians in the same way that Jesus was floored by the poor widow at the Temple. "And Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on." (Mark 12:41-44)
It's not the size of the offering that makes the offering special. It's the size of the offering as it relates to the means of the giver. "They gave according to their means, and I testify, 'BEYOND THEIR MEANS.'
The Macedonians are enshrined in the New Testament and every generation of Christians will always remember them for 'GIVING' beyond their means. Kind of makes you wonder what the 21st Century Church in the U.S. will be remembered for. I'm afraid it'll be for 'LIVING' beyond our means. And because we do, we find it impossible to 'give' "according to our means," let alone, "beyond our means."
So, what does 'giving according to your means' mean? The biblical answer to that question is the tithe – 10% of your means is giving according to your means. Giving beyond your means, means giving more than 10%. For example, this congregation is currently giving 12% of our offerings to the work of the church at large and to the needy in our own community. And we're increasing that by 1% a year until we reach 15%. That's giving beyond our means like the Macedonians.
Now, you may say, 'if I gave according to my means, that would require me to make a change in my lifestyle. I'd have to quit living beyond my means so that I give according to my means.' And I would say, 'yea, you've got the idea.' But truthfully, I don't believe that you can do that. But I do believe that God can do that and I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the grace of God is being given to you through His Holy Word which you are hearing and His Holy Communion that you will be receiving.
Even in this, let the Macedonians be your example. "They gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us." Vs.5. Here again, the more you read over this the more it becomes clear that Paul was shocked at their reason for wanting to be a part of this offering and for giving as generously as they did.
"Not as we expected," he writes. Paul might have expected that these were compassionate and sympathetic people who were moved by pity for their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. What he discovered however was something much different. They were moved, not primarily by pity for others, but by gratitude for the Lord. "They gave themselves first to the Lord and then, by the will of God, to us."
I think that if it were we making the appeal, we would probably show pictures of starving children and homeless families in Jerusalem. But the Macedonians were moved by the pictures that Paul had shown them of Jesus Christ, crucified on the cross for all of their sins, and raised from the dead for their salvation. The picture that Paul painted with the words of his preaching and teaching were of a Lord who was rich, yet, for their sake became poor, so that they, through His poverty might become rich.
All talk about giving has to begin, continue and end with Jesus. He defines what real giving means. He, who is love, gave His life for the world. He didn't give a measure of Himself or a percentage of Himself to you. He poured out His love upon you as completely and without limit as the blood and water that poured out from His side.
Christ gave Himself to you, so that you might be rich in Christ. When Paul says, "He became poor," he's not talking about material poverty. Although Jesus tells us that the Son of Man has no place to lay His head, there's nothing in the gospels that suggests that Jesus was poverty-stricken. He's not the one who begs for charity. He's the one who gives it.
So, lets just be sure that we understand here that when Paul says, "he became poor so that you, by His poverty might become rich," he's not talking about getting financial or material wealth by His poverty. He means that Christ gave Himself to you, and you are worth more to Him that all the gold and silver in the world. You are rich with His love.
So, the thing that makes the Macedonians such a wonderful example for us all, turns out not to be their great giving, but their great receiving. They gave much because they had received much. You've got to receive before you can give.
By faith, we receive the gifts that Christ our Lord has died on the cross and risen from the dead so that we might have them – forgiveness of our sins, life and salvation. But faith is not all there is to the Christian life. The one who receives these gifts by faith, gives these same gifts by love. Faith without love is no good. James calls that no faith at all. And love without faith is no good either because it gives no thanks to Jesus.
Where the grace of God is given, is always a wonderful harmony of faith and love. By faith, we freely receive from the Lord, and then by love, we freely give to the Lord, not counting the cost to us, but always counting what it cost Him.
By faith, we are made rich with the love of God in Jesus Christ. By love, we participate in the 'relief for the saints' by simply giving what we have been given. We give ourselves first to the Lord and then, by God's will, to one another.