God's Fruitfulness - June 28, 2009
Sermon Notes for 2 Corinthians 9:6-15
Key Verse—2 Corinthians 9:10 "For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you."
Today, we continue our Celtic spirituality series by exploring the fruitful generosity of God’s creation. The creation story describes God bounding the waters into the sea and bringing about dry land. As the waters nourishes the land, vegetation sprouts up providing food for animals and people. The plants reproduce and spread to cover the earth. Celtic spirituality understands this generous provision as symbolic of God’s generous grace.
Just as the waters that flow deep below the earth provide nourishment to plants, God’s grace flows deeply within all of creation to nourish all of creation with grace. The plants put their roots down deep into the soil, and so God invites us to plant ourselves securely in divine love. Roots provide not only water and nutrients from the soil, but also stabilization when strong winds blow. So, God’s love holds us firmly against the storms of life. As we draw our strength from God’s love, we reproduce like the plants, sending seeds of God’s grace out everywhere, much like a dandelion sends its seeds on the wind. Just as God’s love provides refreshment to all, God invites us to send our seeds out indiscriminately to all, sharing not only our love in relationships but also sharing our food and money and time and resources with all in need.
Early Celtic Christians (around 600 C.E.) understood this call to imitate God’s generosity and lived simply and shared everything with those in need. Their understanding that God gave grace to everyone clashed with the Roman church’s understanding of predestination, that God chose only some to receive salvation. They also clashed with the Roman church over their practice of giving away their resources in a time when Rome focused on amassing great wealth and power through the Holy Roman Empire. This sharing of resources with all who are in need reflected the Celtic view of God’s goodness. Goodness, then, went beyond simply refraining from evil, and involved instead an active pursuit of participating in God’s generosity.
Our passage from 2 Corinthians describes this aspect of mutual sharing well. Paul writes to the Corinthians that he will soon be coming to pick up the collection for the people in the church in Jerusalem, and warns them not to disappoint him. He says that he has been bragging about their generosity to other Christians and does not want to be let down. So, he encourages them to be as generous as possible, giving joyfully without resentment. He reminds them that God has provided them with everything they could need with plenty leftover to share. But, God does this in hopes of us imitating that generosity, making ripples of God’s grace into the world as we constantly expand the circle of divine love.
Our key verse describes God as the sower who scatters seeds through the farmers to provide bread for nourishment. This imagery reminds us of Isaiah 55, where God invites everyone who thirsts to come and drink and to listen to God, which will provide the best food of all. Isaiah 55:10-11 call to mind this image of God as farmer: “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” Paul summons us through this image to share God’s generosity as we produce fruit in our lives and in the world. He also reminds us the paradox of love and sharing: the more we give, the more comes back to us. When we sow generously, we reap generously as well. God’s love only continues to deepen and grow in us the more we give it away. So, let’s bear fruit in our lives, individually and as a community, and so share in the generous nature of God’s heart.
Questions for Reflection
- Have you ever planted something and watched it grow? What did you notice about the growth? What has happened this summer with all of the rain we have been getting? Take some time this week to connect with the God’s creation. Walk barefoot in the grass, take a walk, smell the flowers, etc. Allow these experiences to bathe you in God’s love and grace.
- How have you experienced God’s generosity in your lives? How do you respond to that generosity? Who are examples of generosity in your life? What makes them so generous? How can you imitate their generosity?
- How has the recession impacted your giving to others? Has fear prevented you from experiencing the joy of sharing with others? How can this passage teach you to trust God’s provision?
- How did the Holy Spirit speak to you in worship today?
