by Joey Clavijo, St Georges Episcopal Church, New Orleans
Psalm 112 speaks eloquently about “living generously.” It defines generous living as being gracious, merciful and righteous. To live in such a way, we are to conduct our lives with justice.
Generous living is much more than what we do with our money. We are called to be kind to one another and to all living things. We are called to deal with each other honestly and to be humble.
Living generously is a strong call to action for each of us as followers of Jesus. He showed us the way to live generously: by welcoming the outcast, by overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple, by dining with the poor and healing the sick, by teaching, by forgiving, and by ultimately giving his life so that all might have life abundant.
To live wildly generous lives can transform us and our faith communities. And that spark of light the psalmist refers to in Psalm 112 is embedded in us through the grace of the sacrament of baptism. We carry that grace with us throughout our life and nothing can wash it away! And the strength we need to live gracious, merciful, and righteous lives, to deal generously and lend of our time and talent is given to us in the Eucharist. And the grace we receive through the power of the Holy Spirit through the sacraments of confirmation, marriage, and holy orders, enable us to conduct our affairs with justice. They endue us with righteousness, and hold us upright never to be moved!
This is our faith. The stewardship of our time, talent, and treasure, to live generous lives is our response in faithfulness to our One God, who creates, redeems and sanctifies us all. May it be so, in Christ name, Amen.
Joey Clavijo is a member of St. George’s, New Orleans, a deacon postulant, and a member of the Stewardship Congregational Consultants.
Our Congregational Consultant teams are comprised of knowledgeable lay and ordained individuals from throughout the diocese. These teams have experience and training in areas that are critical to congregational vitality and they are available to serve our congregations in a variety of ways. For more information, contact the Rev. Canon John Kellogg at jkellogg@edola.org.