As a preadolescent, I had very few experience in church. One of those rare experiences stands out. I remember attending church services one time with friends of my family. We were visiting them at their home in another city. They were church goers, so we went to church with them on the Sunday we were at their home. They had a son who was about the same age as me and my twin brother. He acted as a kind of guide, providing running commentary during the worship service, so we’d know what to do.
When it came time for the contribution, he was particularly helpful. I’d never experienced the contribution before, and I didn’t know what to do. My parents hadn’t adequately prepared us. They hadn’t provided Craig and I any coins or bills to put in the wicker baskets that were now making their way down the pews, marching inevitably toward us. And everyone else, it seemed, was putting something in the baskets. No one, it seemed, was just passing the basket to the person next to them without dropping something into the basket. This was long before the days of electronic giving when someone might be assumed to have arranged his or her giving through direct deposit. Everyone in this congregation was dropping coins or bills into these baskets. And I was feeling an increasing amount of pressure to do something when the basket came to me, to drop something in it. But I had nothing to put in it! Not a penny. Not a crayon. Not even a piece of paper on which I could scratch out to God an “I. O. U.” And those baskets were getting closer. My heart was racing. Sweat droplets were forming on my brow. What was I going to do?
Thankfully, my friend, perhaps sensing my anxiety, leaned over and advised me. Here’s what he said, “When the basket comes, hold your hand closed, like you’ve got a fist full of coins. Then lower your hand into the basket and hit the bottom of the basket with it. It’ll cause the coins already in there to jostle, and it’ll sound like you’ve dropped a bunch of coins in the basket.” It sounded shady. Was I really supposed to try to pull a fast one over on the congregants, over on God? Was I supposed to fake give? But I didn’t have time to think it through. The basket was there. It was in my hands. And everyone, I thought, was looking at me, expecting me to give. What was I going to do? Was I going to pass it on, like some heathen, sure to earn their disapproval? So, I followed my friend’s advice. I balled my hand up, as if I had a bunch of quarters and was heading to Galaga in the mall in the 1980’s, and I lightly punched the bottom of the basket. The coins already in it jumped and jostled just as my friend had predicted. And it sounded like I’d just deposited several dollars worth of coins. I passed the basket on to my friend, who did the same. He passed it on to Craig, who did the same. And with that, the contribution was, thankfully, over.
That was my introduction to giving to the mission of Jesus.
Here, my friends, is a far better introduction:
1 Soon afterward he went on through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their means. (Luke 8:1-3 ESV)
Let’s take some time this morning to explore the scene. It is a scene about givers. And these givers put me and my story to shame. We’ll walk backward through this story, phrase by phrase. We’ll start here:
“out of their means.”
This word “means” may be better translated “possessions.” It refers to everything that belonged to these women. We could translate the word “means” as “goods” or “property.” Take an inventory of all that belongs to these women, all that has their name on it. That’s their means. This is what they were using to provide for Jesus and the twelve. They were giving out of their means.
Notice what this word doesn’t refer to. It doesn’t mean “leftovers.” It doesn’t mean “surplus.” This is often how many today give, especially to churches or to non-profits. We spend our means on what wewant. We use the majority of what belongs to us for us.And then, if there’s any left over, any surplus, at the end of the week or the month, we usethatto provide for the ministry of the church.
But that’s not how these women were giving. They were giving out of all they had. We are called to give out of our everything not our extra.These givers leave us a challenging example. They call us to give out of our everything, not just out of some extra we may have after we pay our bills and then buy everything else we want.
I remember the time our finance people asked me to make a call to a Highland family. A donation had been made out to Highland by this family for a large amount; so large that our finance people were afraid the family had made a mistake. The donation was made online and the finance people were concerned that the family may have accidentally typed in one too many zeros. So, I called the family. No, the family reported, it wasn’t a mistake. Things had gone much better for them recently than expected. And so, they reflected that in their giving. Their everything had increased. Thus, their giving increased. They gave out of their means.
The women in this text challenge us to give out of our means–to look at all we own and to make a generous decision about how we might provide for God’s work out of all of those means.
Let’s look more closely at what these women did with that giving:
“[they] provided”
This word “provided” is an interesting word. It is the word “diakoneo.” Does that sound familiar? In 1 Tim. 3 this very same word is translated “to serve as a deacon.” Twice in 1 Tim. 3 Paul uses this word and it’s translated to “serve as a deacon.” Of course, the word “deacon” simply means servant. But it is striking that we find a group of women and attached to them is this word “diakoneo.” Literally, by giving this money and these resources, these women were “deaconing.” They were serving.
The word is also translated elsewhere in the Bible as “minister.” The point is simple. In donating money and resources, these women were engaging in ministry. Ministry is not simply when we go out and paint a home. Not simply when we tutor a child in reading. Not simply when we grade a World Bible School lesson. Ministry is also when we give money and resources. Providing resources and money is ministry. It is an act of service. These women were probably engaged in many types of ministry. This was one of them. Giving is ministry.
Alice Jackson ministered in a many ways during the decades she was a member at Highland. In her younger years, she was engaged in evangelistic ministries like door knocking. She was also involved in the Children’s Ministry. She also wrote notes of encouragement to members and to our missionaries. And she made gifts for members, staff, elders and others. Like many women at Highland, she used her time and talents to serve in ministry.
But she ministered in another way. She gave money. Especially in her later years, Alice was on a very fixed income. And there were many weeks when, due to health challenges, when she could not get to Highland for worship services. But there were countless times when Alice would slip me a white envelope from home and ask me to put it into the collection plate the following Sunday. Inside the envelope was a check or some cash. She was a committed giver. It was an important way in which Alice ministered.
It’s easy to dismiss the discipline of giving, thinking that the real ministry happens in a classroom with a room full of kids, or in the neighborhood with a brush wet with paint, or in a foreign country on a mission trip. But the truth is that giving is ministry also. If, all of a sudden, these women stopped giving, all of the good being done by Jesus would also cease. If, all of a sudden, those of you who give to the weekly contribution stopped giving, this church would shut its doors and the immense good God’s accomplishing through us would cease. What you are doing when you give to our weekly contribution is ministry.
Let’s look more closely at who was giving:
“And the twelve were with him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others”
The most significant thing about these women is notthat they were giving. The most significant thing is what Luke says first about them: they were “with him,” meaning “with Jesus.” It’s the same thing Luke says about the twelve. Jesus has not yet sent the twelve out, or the seventy-two, to imitate his ministry. At this point, the essence of discipleship is to be “with Jesus” and to witness his ministry, to watch what Jesus does and hear what Jesus says. This is what the men–the twelve, and the women are doing.[1]They are spending time with Jesus.
Luke specifically mentions Mary, Joanna and Susanna. In Luke 24:10 Luke is going to mention Mary and Joanna again. Luke is showing us that the women play an ongoing role in Jesus’ ministry—from chapter 8 through chapter 24. And in chapter 24, it’s these women who are the first to witness Jesus’ resurrection–not the men. And it’s women who are the first to proclaim the message that Jesus is raised–not the men. These women are “with Jesus” from beginning to end. Once again, giving is just part of their larger ministry.
We also see here that the nature of the women who are giving couldn’t be more different. Susanna we don’t know much about. But the other two we do. One the one hand there is Mary, called Magdalene. She is called Magdalene because she hails from Magdala, a city on the western shore of Galilee. If she were from Memphis she’d be Mary, called Memphian. Some later Christian writers wrongly associated her as the sinful woman mentioned in Luke 7–they thus believed her to be a prostitute. There is, however, no evidence for this in the text or in church history. Luke simply tells us that Mary had seven demons. This would have made her a social outcast. She would have lived on the margins of society, perhaps destitute, and without means. Mary Magdalene was probably low on the ladder of society.
On the other hand there is Joanna the wife of Herod’s household manager. The word “manager” here could refer to a manager of an estate or it could refer to a political office. Either way, Joanna’s husband would have been a person of some means. Joanna, therefore, was the opposite of Mary. She was high up on the social ladder. She was a person of class and of means.
Thus, both poor and rich were giving. It wasn’t just Joanna who was giving. After all, she could afford to. But it was also Mary. Even though, technically, she couldn’t afford to, at least not in the way Joanna could. But they both gave. As did Susanna. And, Luke says, many others–meaning many other women.
It wasn’t just one or two or a few who were giving. It was all of these women who were giving, regardless of their social class or income. They were all giving. Giving is an opportunity meant for all.
And that presents a challenge to us at Highland. Our finance people tell us that, in general, about 30% of Highlanders give about 80% of our weekly contribution. Now, I’m very grateful for those of you who are the 30%. Without you, I don’t know what we’d do. Your sacrificial giving is making many good things possible. But can you imagine what could be done if the other 70% of you here at Highland kicked in even more? Could you imagine if Highland experienced what Jesus’ ministry experienced? What if everyone at Highland, just like all of these women, gave of their means, to help other forms of ministry take place? If 100% of Highlanders gave, it’d be remarkable to see all of the additional things we’d be able to do! Giving is an opportunity meant for all.
And it’s clear why all these women were giving isn’t it? It’s clear they weren’t giving out of guilt or duty. They were giving out of gratitude. What does Luke tells us about these women? They’d been healed. Each had experienced healing of some kind. Some think that Joanna’s husband is the unnamed official who approached Jesus in John 4. His son was sick and he asked Jesus to heal the son. Jesus did just that. This may be the healing that Joanna experienced. Mary, of course, had experienced an even more personal healing. She’d been freed from seven demons. All of these women have experienced healing and help from Jesus. And this is what motivates their ministry of giving. Giving is driven by gratitude.
Collection is probably considered the most “secular” part of our service. I remember in the church were I was baptized that that guys who always did the communion made a distinct effort to separate giving from communion. They would always say these words: “And now, separate and apart from the Lord’s Supper, we now take our collection…” They wanted to make sure no one made the mistake of thinking that the passing of those gold trays had anything at all to do with the drinking of that juice and the eating of that bread. But I’m not so sure that was the right thing to say or the right thing to do. After all, look at what Luke’s describing. He draws a direct connection between what these women have experienced from Jesus and their willingness to give to the mission of Jesus. Perhaps the reason more of us don’t give is that we rush this giving experience and we don’t draw the connection strong enough. Perhaps what we need to do is this: before we pass the trays or the baskets, perhaps we need to ask everyone to take five minutes and to reflect first on all what Jesus healed them of when he went to the cross and second of all to reflect on what Jesus has healed them of since the cross. Those five minutes of self-reflection and gratitude might unlock deeper and more generous giving.
This month we begin a new fiscal year. Our fiscal budget is significantly higher this year. We’re taking on a nearly 11% increase over last year. Why? A significant part of it has to do with the tools that allow us to do ministry. The technology like computers and microphones. The building with its classrooms and air conditioning and security measurements. All of these things are aging and requiring replacement, renovation, or upgrade–and will for the foreseeable future. It might be tempting to say, “Surely we can do ministry without those things can’t we?” But from Highland’s beginning, we’ve relied on tools like these to do effective ministry. We started under a tent in 1928. But it wasn’t long before we started meeting in a building down by the University of Memphis. And ever since then, we’ve had to fix air conditioners, replace carpet, buy computers, replace microphones, and all kinds of things like this as a part of doing ministry. It’s not the sizzle most of us get excited about.
But then, neither was what these women were doing. The sizzle was what Jesus was doing. The sizzle was Jesus going “through cities and villages, proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God.” But something far more ordinary was making that very thing possible–these women providing out of their means. It wasn’t the only ministry they were doing. But it was a critical ministry they were doing. And more of us giving, and giving more deeply, so that we can begin to address the growing needs having to do with our campus and our building is also critical. It’s not the only ministry you can do. But it’s vital to what God’s doing through this church.
Will you be part of it? If you’re already giving to the weekly contribution, can we count on you to prayerfully consider increasing your giving? And if you’re not giving regularly, can we count on you to begin? One easy way to do this is to sign up for online giving. Just go to our website and click on the link.
It’s intriguing to me that of all Luke could have included when he wrote his summary of the gospel, the story of Jesus, he included the story of these women. He left out a lot, no doubt. But he included the story of these women who ministered by giving. My hope is that somewhere in heaven there’s a book being written about us. And it’ll include the stories of us who minister by giving. Because that ministry makes a huge difference. The ministry of giving matters immensely.
[1]Gospel Women: Studies of the Named Women in the Gospels, By Richard Buckham, 112.
