The late Archbishop Karl Alter of Cincinnati once
said that grace and money are the most vital needs
of the Church. Most people would not disagree
that grace is an absolute need. But 1 Timothy 6:10
says that “the love of money is the root of all evils.”
St. Paul provides a scenario in which grace and money are
quite important in 2 Corinthians, chapters eight and nine.
He encourages the people of Corinth
to be generous in a collection, using
the word grace 10 times.
Admittedly, the word is translated
in various ways because of different
nuances. But there is no doubt Paul
sees the collection in terms of grace.
Primarily, it points to God’s freely
given and generous kindness.
Chapter Eight begins, “We want
you to know, brothers, of the grace
of God that has been given to the
churches of Macedonia.” Paul then
tells the Corinthians that the people,
in spite of dire poverty, begged Paul
to grant them the “favor” (grace) of
taking part in his collection for the
poor in the Church of Jerusalem. He
sends Titus to the Corinthians to
“complete for you this gracious act [grace] also.” Paul reminds
them that, since they excel in many other God-given gifts,
they should “excel in this gracious act [grace] also” (8:7).
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 Imitating Christ
In verse nine, Paul raises the discussion to a higher plane.
The people are to imitate Christ: “For you know the gracious
act [grace] of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that for your sake he became poor
although he was rich, so that by his
poverty you might become rich.”
As God, Jesus was rich in glory,
but he abandoned such divine trappings
to become human. His poverty
includes not only material poverty
but also the rejection, the suffering
and the death he endured for love of
us and our salvation.
Jesus did not cease to be God, but
he did embrace all that he endured
for our salvation. The riches we
enjoy are all the gifts of grace that
accompany us in life and find their
completion in eternal glory. One
can hardly read 2 Corinthians 8:9 without thinking of
Philippians 2:6-8. Jesus became poor when he emptied himself,
humbled himself and became obedient to death on a
cross. The following verses indicate that his Father exalted
him, and Jesus is recognized as Lord. As he returned to
heavenly riches, so he enriches those who believe in him.
To return to 2 Corinthians, references to grace appear
again in 8:16, where Paul gives
“thanks” (grace) to God, and in 8:19,
where it appears as “gracious work.”
In 9:8 and 9:14 it appears as “grace,”
in 9:15 as “thanks.” This suggests
that our thanks to God mirrors
God’s gift of grace to us.
Paul wishes to help the poor people
in the Church in Jerusalem. But he
also sees the collection as a unifying
force for the churches.
There was tension between those
who entered the Church from Judaism
and those who entered as gentiles.
This graced collection shows
that the gentile converts were concerned
for those who entered the
Church from Judaism. God’s desire is that all be one in
God’s Church.
Paul reminds us that grace is at the heart of our relationship
with God. All God has done for us is grace. Eucharistic
Prayer III expresses it graphically: “All life, all holiness
comes from you [Father] through your Son, Jesus Christ
our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit.” When we are
generous with God’s gifts, it is God’s
grace at work.
Even when we have nothing
material to give, we can be generous
toward God with praise and thanksgiving.
We can be generous toward
others by performing the spiritual
and corporal works of mercy.
Like Paul, God’s grace can move
us to unite people, working for unity
among Christians and among people
of every religion and race.
Hilarion Kistner, O.F.M., editor of Sunday Homily
Helps, studied Scripture at The Catholic University
of America in Washington, D.C., and at the
Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. |
