Why We Give

Matthew 5:9

Any of you who work with me on a regular basis know that one of my main understandings for any task involving other people is, “If there is more than one person in a room, there will be conflict—and there are times when the second person is not required.” So, the Seventh Beatitude resonates rather deeply with me—here is the hope, the possibility of redemption, and cure for what so often ails us—the presence of peacemakers—people who work to reconcile differences, negotiate compromise, and settle arguments. No wonder Jesus names them as “children of God.”

But what do they have to do with stewardship? Why should we consider them as we prepare to make our commitment to God and Church?

Let’s spend some time with that term peacemaker.

First, the word only appears in Matthew and only here in the Beatitudes. In Matthew’s Greek, the term indicates someone who works for reconciliation between neighbors, someone who attempts to lay a foundation for mutuality, even among people who would easily be at odds with one another—e.g., tax collectors and Zealots; Judeans and Romans; etc. Since Jesus spoke Aramaic, scholars are puzzled that there really is no Hebrew equivalent to Matthew’s term, so Jesus most likely spoke of this conciliatory person in beatific terms that Matthew then interpolated in his Gospel as peacemaker. 

With that lesson behind us, we still may not see what any of this has to do with stewardship.

Look more deeply at the action inferred by the term. 

Reconciliation and its cousins, conciliation and mutuality, require an openness to others. To succeed in these efforts, we have to practice acceptance, welcome, and graciousness. We have to affirm the other person’s right to be. We have to affirm that they will have needs and wants, things that may well coincide with our own, but might also conflict with our ability to meet our own needs and wants. So, if we are to be peacemakers, then we will have to practice selflessness and lose selfishness, becoming willing to give as well as receive. 

For instance, if I want to change the Thanksgiving menu away from the traditional turkey, dressing, and green bean casserole that are ubiquitous, but not to my taste, I will have to be ready with concessions; I will have to be prepared to give up something if there is to be any chance of making the change. I also have to be ready to accept that my effort may well fail, as the mighty power of tradition trumps all else. I will need to accept even partial acquiescence from my stunned relatives—i.e., this year the casserole gets jettisoned, but nothing else! The peacemaker accepts what is necessary to ensure a happy feast. 

Move to far more serious and weighty issues—the life and ministry of a church.

All of us here this morning have an idea of what Church is, should be, and should do. It is also true that there are a variety of opinions and visions for what that looks like. It is also true that some of those opinions and visions are exclusive of one another, while others dovetail nicely. To reach a place where we can achieve a consensus on what our congregation will do in ministry, in mission, in service, in worship, in education, and all else that makes us who we are, there will have to be negotiation, some mediation, lots of meditation and prayer, and a willingness to listen to one another without judgment, defensiveness, or stubbornness. Compromise will often rule in our decision making. No one will get everything they want, but, hopefully, everyone will get something they want.

As we look at the earliest Church, we see this process already at work. Peter and Paul were decidedly at odds about the expansion of the community. Peter saw a more localized gathering of Jewish converts, centered on the Temple, praising the Messiah, Jesus, simply reforming the larger worshipping community of Israel. Paul argued vehemently (cf. Galatians) that such a move was anathema. Christ came for the world, therefore, to the world must go the witnesses to Christ. Everyone should be welcome. No prior work need be done—i.e., conversion to Judaism. No preconditions or qualifications should hinder anyone from accepting Christ as Lord. Their battle raged, nearly ripping the Church apart. Finally, they met before a council in Jerusalem headed by James, who may well have been Jesus’ younger brother. The council miraculously reached a compromise. Peter’s rule would govern the Jerusalem churches, leaving them to be as they were, but Paul was free to wander far and wide, preaching wherever he chose to whomever he chose, creating communities that would be independent of the Jerusalem congregations. One condition—Paul was to stay out of Jerusalem! So, neither saint got exactly what he wanted, but rather James saw the wisdom of compromise. They would each get something and lose something; the Church would go onward, becoming what God needed it to be. 

And that is what we are about this morning—as we consider our commitment to God and the Church, we are continuing the art of peacemaking—we are considering how we will participate in such a way that we can benefit the most people with the promises of Christ, while understanding that how that happens will not always be necessarily the way we would do things on our own, but rather done in such fashion that all of us can participate, hopefully, joyfully, and in good conscience. 

As we do so with an eye to embodying the self-sacrificial, other-centered love of Jesus Christ, we become the children of God, i.e., people who walk closely with God, experiencing the fullness of God’s love, grace, and compassion. 

There is and will be peace among us.

Even in stewardship.