"For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich" (2 Cor. 89).

 Our second reading this morning is taken from the Second Letter to the Corinthians, in which the Apostle Paul offers leadership and guidance to the early Christian community in Corinth.  Much of this part of the Letter reads like an administrative memorandum, concerning the collection of money from Corinth and other places for the relief of the Church in Jerusalem. Hallowed now with the patina of age and sanctity, Paul’s message is eminently practical.  He touches all the bases that we might expect from a good administrator he tells the Christians in Corinth how the money is to be collected; that the person who is collecting the money (Titus) is trustworthy; that Paul himself is administering the gifts that are being given.  As we might expect from an apostle, Paul even gives some teaching about Christian stewardship it is not the size of the contribution that is pleasing to God, but the spirit in which it is given. "For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has ­ not according to what one does not have" (2 Cor. 812).

Here we have Paul in a role that is familiar to modern Church people that of pastoral management, taking care of "church business" and in the process teaching and leading the Church.  Generations of rectors, vestries, and church treasurers have known this role well.  The issue which exercises Paul, and demands his pastoral skills, is the challenge of building connections between the Churches he has founded (largely made up of Gentiles), and the "mother Church" in Jerusalem, made up exclusively of Jews.   There are divisions here that the Apostle must overcome; he is challenged to bring these Churches together and to help them see that they are engaged in a common task and a common mission.

So it is that the collection for the Church in Jerusalem is devised, to supply that Church’s need from the Gentile Church, and to bridge the gulf that divides them through the generous sharing of God’s gifts.  Here, treasure functions to unite the Church and to create a bridge by which ministry can take place.   Through the generosity of the mission Churches, Paul is building a bridge into a future in which Jews and Gentiles will share as equals in the communion of the one Church.

In our day, we are challenged to build our own bridges into the future.  Our presence in the Commons Room is a reminder of one sort of bridge into the future; physical space now being renovated which we are supplying, not only for ourselves, but for the next generation.  This is not the only such bridge, of course; these bridges into the future are being planned and built all the time.  Ministry to and with youth, of course, is a natural, as we prepare the next generation of Christian leaders, and benefit as well from their energy and enthusiasm now.  (If you want a thrill, visit our Web Site this next week for progress reports from the teens who are on the Mission Trip in Sewanee, building homes for Habitat for Humanity it’s just one sign of the contribution youth make to our community.)  Part of the bridge we are challenged to build into the future will be providing the staff and facilities for this particular ministry.  I’m thinking, of course, about the youth facility that I’ve mentioned before, and also about the call of a third full-time priest next Summer who can focus us on this ministry in a new way.

Another way in which the bridge into the future can be built is by a small yet very significant act remembering the Church in your will.  Reminding you of this aspect of Christian charity is actually enjoined on the Rectors of parishes by the Prayer Book, and so consider yourselves reminded once more.  There are many creative ways to do this, and our Endowment Fund exists to help make these possible.  The unique aspect of this act of "bridge building" is that it turns the past into the future, by an act of legacy stewardship that creates new possibilities out of gifts that have come from God.