Tag: giving

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Spam and the Finest Wine – John 12:1-8

The gospel of John is in part built around seven signs of Jesus’ divine identity, starting with water into wine and culminating with the resurrection of Lazarus. Each of these signs is followed by a reaction from the religious leaders.

  • Turning water into wine (John 2:1-11)
  • Healing a royal official’s son (John 4:46-54)7
  • Healing at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:1-15)
  • Feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-15)
  • Walking on water (John 6:16-21)
  • Healing a man born blind (John 9:1-12)
  • Raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-45)

The final sign is the story of Lazarus – Jesus goes to Bethany despite the threats to his life by the Pharisees, doubts from his followers and the stench of death, raises Lazarus from the dead.

In this story we have a counterpoint to that stench of death, with the fragrant nard that Mary anoints his feet with.

A variation of this story is told in each gospel, but the details of each are very different – different places, different people’s houses, different parts of Jesus anointed and different objections and objectors.

Zeroing in on this story, though, we have Mary, anointing Jesus’ feet in gratitude for raising her brother from the dead, while also, unknowingly, preparing Jesus for his own burial. It also calls ahead to Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the Last Supper, a story only in John. It may even be that Jesus was inspired by Mary in this action.

All of this demonstrates the humility Jesus modeled and calls us to – “Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”

Mary’s act, in some ways a contrast, is extraordinarily lavish – the perfume she uses, we are told, is worth a year’s wages. It gives us an insight into the economics of the region and era, and also confirms that Judas’ objection is reasonable, as far as it goes.

Judas is tapping into a biblical truth about care for the poor. Think of all the meals and shelter that could be provided by a year’s wages. But of course, we know from the passage that Judas was really just a grifter – in reality, he just wanted access to the money for himself.

It is easy for us to use scripture to seek things that benefit ourselves – ironically, this very passage is used in exactly this way, with people pretending to biblical values but only for their own ends. “The poor you will always have with you” is not a license to ignore the hundreds of scriptures calling us to care for the poor. It is specifically in contrast to the unique opportunity Mary has to lavishly serve her messiah in the flesh. We know from Matthew 25 how we are to do the same thing today – “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”

The lavishness of Mary’s action also echoes the lavishness of Jesus’ own sacrifice. Mary gave something priceless for Jesus’ dirty feet – Jesus gave his own priceless life for our dirty souls. We are called to do the same for the weak and poor and oppressed all around us. And not the bare minimum, but the best – spam cooked in the finest wine.

This is the core of Jesus’ command – “love each other as I have loved you.” We can be soft hearted and compassionate, we can serve and give regardless of what is happening in the world – because Jesus went before us and built us a firm foundation with his example and his sacrifice.

— Sermon Notes, Dave Sim, Renew Church, Lynnwood WA, April 6, 2025

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The Discipline of Giving – 1 Corinthians 16:1-4

Some people hate money – not necessarily what money gives you, but the need for and the process of acquiring it. Others love money – not necessarily for what it gives them, but the process of managing it, earning it, etc.

But all of us have to deal with money. It is a prime source of stress, cause of divorce and so on. So it is not a surprise that the Bible has lots to say about money. Some on the best ways to use it (Proverbs), some on not worrying about it (Sermon on the Mount), but a lot also on giving it away.

Paul here, coming off a discussion of the Kingdom of God and the Holy Spirit and all that, as he wraps up, shifts to this very practical, material thing.

He is speaking to a church in a relatively wealthy city. The Greek provinces of Rome where Paul preached like Corinth, Ephesus and Colosse were generally wealthy urban areas. Jerusalem, where the Church began, was a much poorer city with much greater material needs.

At this time, there were only single churches in each city, and the churches were all part of a single seamless, if loose, organization – the “catholic” i.e., universal church. The leaders would come together in Presbyterian-style councils to make broad decisions and settle disputes. So the money being given here was not really for an external organization, but rather for the brothers and sisters within the church.

This section here sets forth a few important concepts about giving that we should keep in mind.

First, giving should be a habit – an ongoing habit, not something that you increase or decrease based on your satisfaction with the church at any one time. It is not supposed to go to specific things that you like or support – it is to go to the church and be distributed as needed. It is not natural – it is a spiritual discipline, just like reading the Bible or prayer. If any of these things are only done spontaneously, they will rarely be done at all.

Who should give? Anyone who is able. The amount should be in keeping with their income. Those without income, barely keeping their heads above water, getting meals from food banks, living in a van down by the river, who should be the ones on the receiving end, should not be the ones giving. Other than that, you should be giving.

Funnily enough, those with little money tend to be better at giving than those with much. Part of that is that those with little money tend to have more empathy for those with less. Part of it is that those who have money tend to have money because they are careful with it and don’t just give it away.

How much should we give? In the Old Testament, you were to give your “first fruits,” the first 10% of the earnings and crops that came in, done twice a year. The New Testament never specifically cites this number, but does keep the concept of “in keeping with your income.” We see widows giving a penny praised, and we see people going out and selling property in order to give more.

So the question is, why does God, who can do miracles and owns all “the cattle on a thousand hills, the wealth in every mine” have to have us give anything? There are lots of answers: we are the hands and feet of God and the mechanism by which He distributes that wealth.

The giving itself is also a mechanism for measuring our faith. When we have means but are stingy with our giving, we are saying that we do not trust God. If we say we love others and love God, the habit of giving is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate that.

It is also a way to strengthen our faith. When we live in dependence and give more than is comfortable, it gives us an opportunity to trust God in a new way.

The habit of giving also lets us practice grace. Giving to those you don’t like or that may not deserve it is an imitation of the grace of Christ. If we give only when we want to to those we think have earned it, there is no grace there. By willingly giving things up without maintaining control over the end use of that money, we are, in a small way, following the path of Christ who gave away his life, something of eternal value, for us who did not remotely deserve it.

If you think that the amount you have to give is too paltry, consider that God is not concerned with the dollar amount. He is concerned with the process, with the heart behind it. The economy of God is not the economy of man.

So, the habit of giving tests our faith, strengthens our faith and lets us practice grace. It is an opportunity presented to us by God to participate in His mighty work.

– Sermon Notes, Brent Rood, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA

1 Corinthians 16:1-4

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