Generous Living

Opening Prayer

Let’s open with prayer. If you have a prayer concern, just offer it up out loud in this space. It can be a situation, a need, a family member or friend. When I sense we are finished I will close out our prayer.

Lord, grow us to be people open to your Spirit and ready to answer your call. Amen.

Introduction

Intro series: Seven Practices that Shape Us...

Today we look at our fifth practice: Generous Living. Do you ever wonder if the little you have matters? The little that I have to contribute, does it really make a difference? I think any time we talk about generosity in church our minds go immediately to our bank account. We think, “I don’t have that much to give so what’s the point? It won’t make a difference.” Two things I’ll say real fast. First, generosity isn’t just about money. You can be generous with numerous things: your time, talents, encouragement, praise, love, prayer - to name a few. And all of these matter. Second, and our passage will show today, God specializes in using our little to accomplish great things. Small does not mean insignificant. Nothing given in love is ever meaningless in the eyes of God. Jesus said, “and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward” (Matthew 10:42, NRSV). Even a cup of cold water does not escape God’s notice.

I think God wants us to foster a culture of generosity. That if we have it to give, we give it. And God is going to show you that, as you are faithful in little things, he will give you greater increase as well. Small acts of generosity, done with great love, have the power to transform the world.

Why be generous?

Let’s turn to the elephant in the room first. I want to address the question, “Why be generous?” especially when we feel like what we could contribute is so small. Let me offer 4 quick reasons:

Theological reason - God is generous. Jesus modeled generosity. And we are told to imitate him.

Practical reason - There are people who have genuine need that your generous acts can help alleviate. You have words that might sooth those who need encouragement. You have the gift of your presence to be with those who are suffering. And sometimes you even have extra resources that can help those who are lacking.

Spiritual reason - Generosity is a protection against greed and discontentment. Everything in your Monday to Saturday world is about you accumulating more and more for yourself. And more is never enough. Choosing to give away is the antidote to this worldly spirit.

Personal reason - I think most of us want to feel like we are making a difference in the life of others. The power of generosity is that it lets us contribute in ways that we could never do on our own. I can’t feed food insecure people by myself, and neither can you. But together my small amount and your small amount can meet someone’s need and change their life.

With these reasons in mind, let’s look at the passage.

Cultivating generosity

V. 1-4 - Jesus has been ministering all over Galilee at this point. Crowds are following because they see the miracles. John includes an interesting note: the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. Why include that detail? I think one reason is that in this chapter John is going to make a very direct connection between the passover sacrifice and who Jesus is and what he came to do. But I think another thing we see is this: Generosity begins with God. This the festival that celebrates God’s act of liberating his people from bondage in Egypt. God, in his generosity, reached down to save these people. We can’t out-give God, and anything we have to give has come from him to us. As we grow in developing a character of generosity, we need to remember that whatever we do begins with God’s generosity toward us.

V. 5-9 - Jesus sees the crowd coming toward him. In Matthew and Marks version of this account they include that when Jesus sees the crowd he has compassion for them because they are like sheep without a shepherd. We can that Generosity is something that spring from love. This doesn’t mean that we have gushy feelings for someone. Biblical love means seeing a need and doing what you can to alleviate it. This is what is so powerful about generosity. That even if you don’t have a lot to give, when you do it out of love it can make a huge impact.

Jesus sets Philip up. “Where can we get food for all these folks?” He’s trying to teach the disciples a lesson. Philip takes the bait. “There’s no way!” We can pool six months of wages and still not come close to feeding everyone. Philip sees an impossible situation. When he surveys the crowd he only sees an insurmountable obstacle. This is worldly thinking, and we have to be careful to train our eyes to not simply see what is in the immediate. There is another reality - a spiritual reality - that is also always at work, and we must condition ourselves to see that as well. We don’t ignore the physical reality around us of great need, but neither should we ignore the spiritual reality of a great God who can meet that need through us.

Andrew pipes up then. Well, there is this young boy here who packed a lunch. I’m not sure that is much help though. I think Andrew verbalizes our fear: will my small amount really make a difference? The need is so great, and what I can do is so small, it seems almost pointless. But I think even in his admission of doubt, Jesus sees the mustard seed of faith that he was looking for. “God, I’m not sure this will make much difference, but I’m willing to give it a go.” The transforming power of generosity can be activated by the smallest drop of faith.

V. 10-14 - Jesus has the people sit down, and what he does next seems almost ludicrous. He takes the loaves…and he gives thanks. Jesus teaches something important here about generosity and abundance. Generous people don’t see their lack; they see possibility. Generous people are expansive in their thinking. Their attitude is “God will provide.” They are people who live in light of who they serve, and they know their God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and so he can multiply their little to meet the needs of all. There is no shortages in God’s economy. And so in light of this it was only reasonable that Jesus gave thanks - not only for what was, but for what would be.

Keep in mind that Matthew and Mark explain that Jesus came to this part of Galilee to escape the crowds. He was exhausted. But when he saw the crowds he knew that he had to meet their need, and he trusted that while he may lack energy, his Father could supply all that was necessary to meet this need. You may lack the emotional energy to pray for one more person, but God can empower you to go beyond what you can do on your own. You see a lack, God sees the possibility.

Everyone eats all they want, and everyone is satisfied. And Jesus tells the disciples to gather up what’s left over and it fills 12 baskets. What is Jesus showing them? That God is able to do beyond our wildest expectations through small acts of generosity. Small acts of generosity, done with great love, have the power to transform the world.

Applications

I want to close by going to where this all started. Someone I haven’t really mentioned. The young boy. We don’t know anything about him. He isn’t named. We don’t know why he is there. Maybe he was a local shepherd boy who saw a crowd forming?? What we know is that he was willing to share the small lunch he brought. I’m pretty sure, knowing Jesus, that he didn’t just take it from him. I positive the young boy was asked if he would be willing to share his meal. And in his childlike generosity, he said sure.

Here’s the thing. You can’t multiply loaves on your own. You can’t take care of everyone’s needs by yourself. But you can be that young boy. You can be that person who says to God, “it’s not much, but it’s yours”. You can be a person who lives from a place of abundance instead of a place of poverty.

One thing we need to have some correction on. I’ve heard it said a thousand times, and I’ve probably said it myself, that if you give God will give back to you. Unfortunately, it often comes across that if you give your seed money, God will multiply it and give it back to you. This is usually accompanied by testimonies of people who gave their last penny to the church because God told them to and the next day they get a check in the mail for $1,000 or whatever. But I don’t think that’s how God’s economy of generosity works.

Here’s how I think it works. What did the generous boy get out of this? Did they collect the 12 baskets of food and give it to him as a return on his investment? No, I imagine Jesus had them distribute it to everyone so they would have food to see them home. What did the boy get out of his generosity? One, he got to eat too. His generosity did not result in a lack for him. He ate from the same loaves and fishes he brought. I think God’s promise to us about giving needs to be seen from this standpoint; that when we give God doesn’t promise us wealth in return, he promises that our needs will be met as well. That we won’t have a lack.

The second thing I think this boy got out of this is that had the joy of watching his small about of generosity bless a multitude of people. I bet he never forgot that. I bet he told his children this story - “Here was all these people eating the bread and the fish that I brought!” The abundance we see through generosity is not one we hoard, it is one we have the joy of seeing bless many others. We are blessed to be a blessing, and this is the reward of generosity. God says through the prophet Malachi, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing” (Malachi 3:10, NRSV). But we are wrong-headed I believe if we think this promise means personal enrichment. The blessing of generosity is that we get to see God multiply it so that it overflows into blessing for others.

Ministry time...

Communion

In this passage, John sets up a bigger story he is telling. Later in the chapter Jesus will declare himself to the the bread of heaven, his body and blood being the true food that comes down from God. Ultimately it is Jesus who in the greatest act of generosity ever displayed gives himself for the life of the world.

In the breaking of the bread that we read, the 5,000 received am much as they wanted, as much as they needed. As we break bread this morning, which is the body of Jesus given to us, we too receive from his generosity all that we want, all that we need.

Join me in the prayer Jesus taught us...

The Lord’s Prayer

Words of Institution