Frederik Buechner’s wisdom applied to generosity. Where do your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet? What kind of giving inspires joy? What does the world need?

Generosity as Spiritual Gift - Part 2: Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control

Generosity is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Are our hearts and our lives headed in the same direction? Is it a good direction? Like the moisture meter, the answers to those questions speak truth!

The atmosphere in the quilt auction was electric. I can’t think of another setting where Mennonites go public with their generosity in quite the same way. Fundraising proclaims your values. Let’s unpack that.

Giving is a spiritual discipline like prayer, part of following Jesus. It’s a discipleship question, not a budget question. Can someone donate to your church using their phone?

Deuteronomy 26, the lectionary for this coming Sunday, talks about sharing the first fruits of the harvest as an offering to God.

The first ripe tomato, the cookies fresh out of the oven, part of the first paycheque. When we share what God has given us, from our first fruits, we honour God.

At the start of the harvest, we don’t know what the coming year will bring. Will there be famine or hardship? Should we can those first tomatoes in a jar on the shelf?

Some organizations have been looking at a plot of poor soil for so long that they can’t envision anything growing there. Stewardship becomes managing scarcity well.

Joyful generosity means telling other people about what’s growing in God’s garden and inviting them to water it. Digging our dreams in order to make certain that we we hope for will come true.

Three books on generosity: a picture book kids enjoy, a deep-dive into sociology and a beautiful understanding of generosity from an Indigenous botanist.

“You pray better when also writing a cheque.”

A donor told me that. After you give, then you pray for that charity more. Makes sense. Is the reverse also true? Can our prayers direct our giving?

Generosity means caring for the people around us, and accepting care in return. Like other forms of caregiving, generosity is not a “once and done” deal. Generosity repeats.

To learn the spiritual discipline of giving, we’ll have to practice. Many of you will cook dinner today. Again. You’ll have opportunity to be generous in a variety of ways.

Do not grow weary, my friends! Anything worth doing is worth doing over.