UNIFORM LESSON FOR August 12, 2018
Scripture passage and lesson focus: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15
Most people are familiar with fundraising letters that have been carefully crafted to persuade the persons who receive them to make a donation. Professional fundraisers know that no matter how sophisticated their donor research has been, only a small percentage of those letters will result in a gift. Therefore, they typically send thousands of requests for money in the hope of meeting their goal. Political fundraisers send written appeals and numerous email requests for financial support.
Churches also depend on contributions they solicit from faithful members. By basing their appeal on a shared commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ and the ministry of the congregation, they get a much higher positive response than the mass mailings aimed at the general public. The results of the annual stewardship drive are eagerly awaited by the budget committee and the leaders of the congregation.
It may come as a surprise to some church members that the apostle Paul was quite adept at writing a fundraising letter. 2 Corinthians contains two examples of such letters in chapters 8 and 9. These letters are especially noteworthy because they were written after Paul’s tense relationship with this congregation had been severely tested.
2 Corinthians 8:7-8 — Overcoming opposition in Corinth
Earlier Paul had written to the Corinthians “out of much distress and anguish of heart and with many tears” (2:4). It is difficult to reconstruct the exact issues and the sequence of events that threatened Paul’s relationship with this congregation. Some scholars believe that Jewish-Christian missionaries influenced the Corinthians to question Paul’s legitimacy as an apostle while others suggest that severe internal tensions caused a faction of the congregation to reject Paul’s leadership.
After recounting the numerous tribulations he had suffered as a missionary (imprisonment, nearly fatal beatings, stoning, shipwreck, hunger and more), Paul said he was under daily pressure because of his anxiety for all the churches (11:23-28). Clearly his complicated relationship with the Corinthian Christians was a significant factor.
By the time 2 Corinthians 8 was written, however, opposition from the enemies Paul ironically labeled “super apostles” had evidently been overcome. With effusive praise, he writes that the Corinthians now excel in faith, speech, knowledge and even in love for Paul (accepting the well attested alternative reading of 7:7). Like all effective fundraising letters, this appeal for support emphasizes the positive attributes of the recipients. They were no longer at odds with Paul.
Paul even dared to test their love for him by comparing their love with that of other believers. Effective fundraising often involves comparative challenges from other supporters.
2 Corinthians 8:9-11 — Be as generous as Jesus
Paul now makes his strongest appeal for generous giving by pointing to the example of Jesus, who “though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” Paul is expressing the same understanding of Jesus he describes in the well-known Christ hymn of Philippians 2. There, Paul writes that although Jesus “was in the form of God … he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave … and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross.”
The poverty of Christ that Paul refers to involved the incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus, but the application to sacrificial giving by Corinthians is unmistakable. Paul wants the Corinthians to be as generous as Jesus was. At least, he says, they should complete their intention expressed a year ago to be as generous as their means would allow.
2 Corinthians 8:12-15 — Fair and balanced generosity
Paul’s reference to the self-giving generosity of Jesus could have easily caused the Corinthians to throw up their hands in despair. How could they be expected to match the generosity of Jesus? Paul’s response is that the size of the gift is not what is important. Instead, it is the desire or eagerness to give that is paramount.
If the desire to give is strong, Paul says, the just way to make a gift is to compare one’s present abundance with the needs of others. Paul was well aware of the limited resources of the Corinthian Christians, but he was also determined to provide material assistance to the struggling Christians of Jerusalem. A fair balance between one’s own abundance and the needs of others is what Paul requested of the Corinthians — and of us.
For discussion: Why do you think Paul was so eager to collect funds from the churches of Macedonia and Achaia for Christians in Jerusalem? How would you describe Paul’s fundraising method? Do you think Paul’s fundraising approach would be effective in your congregation? Why or why not?
