Sermon for Parish Gift Day 2025 – 1st after Trinity
Readings: Isaiah 65.1-9; Psalm 22.19-28; Galatians 3.23-end; Luke 8.26-39. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Last week as we reflected on God as Trinity, we concluded that the Trinity is not a puzzle to be solved, but a relationship with God that we are invited into. Today as we hold our Parish Gift Day we have the opportunity to reflect on how we respond to God’s love. To notice how God’s love changes us, both our thoughts and our behaviours around giving, and also to reflect together on how God is inviting us to use our resources at this time to serve His Church and His mission in this place.

I don’t know what comes to mind when you hear the word ‘offering’ or ‘collection’. Our language around money and giving can sometimes feel dull, heavy, awkward or embarrasing even. It lacks joy and gratitude. Churches are not places where people are queuing up to give money!

Some of this is cultural – British society is traditionally not as philanthropic as other places where people recognise their responsibility for cultural capital. Some of this is misinformation – I count myself as one of many who thought for a number of years that the Church somehow was paid for by the state. It is not. Some of this is logistical – are we supposed to give every week in every service we attend? Are we supposed to give monthly or annually? What is the best form of giving – in the plate as a physical offering at the same time as the physical offerings of bread and wine are offered to God, or virtually in a more secure, efficient, and yet somehow less personal way? Some of this is a confusion around money verses other forms of resource. We may give our time to the church, our gifts and our energies to the church, in place of or as well as a financial offering. Some of us may have less money and more time, for instance. All of these things need to be considered.

But some of this is also spiritual. We may not be sure why we are giving, and so we may not be giving at all. If we have not received the grace of God, the generosity and blessing beyond all measure that God has given us in Jesus Christ, how can we possibly be growing in generosity ourselves?

Church is of course not at all like a shop because it is a total inversion of that process. In shops we give money and then receive something in return. Here we give because we have first received. Our gift is a response to what we first have received from God. And our gift is a free, offering of love and gratitude to the God who in Jesus Christ has won for us eternal life, freedom from sin and death, an everlasting relationship with God our Father, and a Church which through every generation proclaims this good news, providing space to worship together, enjoy fellowship together, and commit to making the good news known. We give because we are overwhelmed with gratitude to God, and because we have hope in the mission of His Holy Church.

In the Old Testament, the Levitical code set out the 5 forms offering and sacrifice that God’s people were required to make. These were presented so that the people could say sorry to God, and receive atonement. But as Isaiah acknowledges, it was perfectly possible to make these offerings without any real change of heart – and so the law failed because people thought that obedience to the law was enough to reconcile them with God, rather than understanding that these offerings were intended as an outward marker of an inward change of repentance. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians we see him explain this, and celebrate that now by the blood of Jesus this old way of making sacrifices for the atonement of sin has been replaced by a new covenant of love for all people, Jew and Gentile.

So the shift is that our offerings are not about our sin but about our gratitude. There is no offering we could ever make that could cleanse us from sin in the way that Jesus has. His sacrifice is made so that our lives can bear witness to the joy and freedom of life we have in Him. And our offering therefore becomes a joyful, grateful response to what He has done for us.

This is so evident in our Gospel reading today. Our own personal testimonies may not be so dramatic, but each of us here today has had an encounter with Jesus, each of us in our own way knows His power to heal, to liberate, to completely change our lives. And so the command that Jesus gives to the man who has been released from demon possession is this: Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you. And this is the same command to us. Go and tell others. Go and live a changed life. A life full of gratitude and hope and love! Let your life speak. Let your heart speak. Let your wallet speak of your gratitude to God!

Today we are very specifically asking you to review your giving to God’s Church, and where possible increase what you give, ensuring giving is efficient and regular. It is also a good opportunity to consider leaving a legacy to the Church. We plan to do this at least annually, and I do encourage you to respond boldly and in faith. Very often we develop giving habits which can remain unchanged for a long time, but our giving should reflect our situation, both our financial situation and our spiritual condition. Today you may reflect either that in this season you would like to give more or in a different way, or indeed that at the moment you need to reduce your offering for a while. Today you may feel so overwhelmed by gratitude to God for His faithfulness in your particular life situation, that your heart is moved to give a single additional gift. I cannot convict you of anything, only God can do that. And there is no judgement in giving because only God sees our hearts.

I do need to impress on you that there are significant costs of ministry and mission. Our buildings, our ministers, our resources for worship, our community outreach – have physical costs associated. All of these are detailed in annual reports and on diocesan websites for complete accountability and transparency and our treasurers I’m sure

would be happy to assist with any questions you have about the cost of ministry in this place.

But if nothing else, my greatest prayer for today is a shift of attitude. From seeing money in Church as something which is scarce, something that feels burdensome, heavy or meaningless, into something full of joy, full of gratitude for what Jesus has done for you, and celebration and hope for the mission of God’s Holy Church.

I would like to honour all those who assist with the finances of our church, those who count, our treasurers, our gift aid secretaries, our independent examiners of accounts. I pray God’s blessing over your ministries, and ask that you too will be renewed with a sense of trust in God’s bountiful provision and a hope for the future of His Church.

As I close I offer you this prayer of St Ignatius of Loyola

Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds, to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labour and not to ask for reward, save that of knowing that I do your will.

Amen.