Our Rector , Fr Mark Soady reminded us this morning of the need to give sacrificially, as he launched our Stewardship Campaign.
Reminding us that giving is at the heart of the Gospel he taught us that there are two kinds of giving. Giving what we can live without and giving that pinches a little.
Preaching on Matthew 14.13-21 and Isaiah 55.1-5, he said:
“In today’s Gospel we hear the story of the wonderful miracle of the loaves and fishes, but that was not the only way that Jesus was giving and giving abundantly in today’s Gospel. His cousin John the Baptist had been killed, and Jesus wanted nothing more than peace and quiet. That was not to be! As He stepped out of the boat on to what he hoped was the quiet shore he found a throng of people waiting for him. Far from being angry or refusing to engage with them he put his own needs aside, for he realised they needed him. On example of the sacrificial giving of Our Lord and Saviour. Giving without counting the cost to himself.
The ultimate example of sacrificial giving is of course, Christ’s dying on the cross to save us from our sins. God does not expect us to repay him for that. That gift was unconditional, but that does not and should not stop of us from wanting to give something back to God.”
Later in the address, Fr Mark points out: “In the Book of Deuteronomy the ancient Israelites were instructed to give the first tenth of all the harvest to God as a thank offering. For so many of us we give out of what is left. We use our finances and our gifts and resources for or benefit, to fulfil our needs – and only then do we give to God out of what is left. That I suggest is hardly being generous., for generosity is not about how much we give, but how we give.”
He concludes: “Today’s Old Testament lesson from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah speaks of the new covenant between God and his people, a relationship of love, with generosity at it its heart. If we are made in the image of God and are disciples of Christ should we not be a generous people”.
