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VOL. 15, NO. 11

WALKING IN THE WORD

The Spirit prompts sharing

Acts 3:1-9

In his reading of the New Testament, Methodisms founder, John Wesley, came to the conclusion that, 'It was the natural fruit of love wherewith each member of the community loved each other as his own soul. And if the whole Christian Church had continued in this spirit, this usage must have continued through all ages.'

When we have experienced the outpouring of Gods gracious Spirit, the only way to respond is by sharing Gods gifts with the people around us, for the upbuilding of the community.

Are we responding that way today? If we were honest, most of us would have to answer no, not as fully as we could be.

The fact that we arent able to share in this spirit of generosity is a profound sign that were not living out of a sense of Gods presence with us.

We to have to clutch at what we have because we dont really trust that God will provide for us. That, in turn, becomes a self-fulfilling expectation, because when we clutch at what we have, we close ourselves off from the grace that God is offering us.

In his journals, Wesley notes that one of his most significant disappointments was that his Methodist revival was not more generous.

He was concerned that many Methodists were merely 'tithers,' when he felt that the Gospel called for so much more of a response.

Today when someone says that they belong to a 'tithing' church, theyre bragging, because on the whole, were so far below that standard. As far as I know, there are no churches in the Baltimore-Washington Conference in which a significant portion of the congregations tithes.

We do have churches where tithing is preached, which is great, but not many where it is lived out in any significant respect.

If every United Methodist in our conference gave 3 percent of his or her income to the church, we would blow the doors off the budgets of the almost 700 churches in our conference and wed have no financial pressures on the conference level. If people gave only 5 percent wed be looking for project to spend the money on. If they gave 10 percent, well, only God knows what might be possible.

This reminds me of a story that is told from the life of Thomas Aquinas when the saint met with Pope Innocent II. The story has its roots in Acts 3 where Peter and John were going to the temple and a lame man begged them for alms.

Peter replied, 'I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give to you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.' Jumping up, the man began to walk, and he entered the temple, 'leaping and praising God.'

As Aquinas walked into the elaborately decorated chamber, the pope said, 'You see, Thomas, the church need no longer say, Silver and gold I have none.'

'True, holy father,' was the reply, 'but neither can she say, Rise up and walk.'

Now, as then, our preoccupation with wealth blocks the movement of the spirit in our lives: our individual lives and our corporate life.

The Holy Spirit often works most profoundly in our lives when we share our resources with people around us.

The Rev. Charles Parker is executive director of the conference Stewardship Center and Foundation. This essay is excerpted from the Bible study he presented at annual conference May 28.