Hello, wonderful family of Ballina Uniting Church. How are you? What an incredibly busy and yet amazingly fulfilling week we had as family, as congregations and as community. The rollercoaster keeps on going and the fun doesn’t stop, even when at times we are left slightly breathless when the cart goes down too quickly for our comfort! One of the things that have become very clear to me over the last few weeks is how generous our community can be when they see us, as church, leading the way with generosity. And I am not talking just about money, but about every area of our lives- yes, our financial resources but also our time, our talents, our gifts, our availability to serve, our friendship, our faith.

Walter Brueggemann is a renowned theologian and scholar known for his work on the Hebrew Bible, prophetic literature, and the theology of the Old Testament. In his book "The Prophetic Imagination," Brueggemann explores the idea of generosity from a prophetic perspective. Those ideas have challenged and inspired me for a long time now, and those words keep ringing in my heart and in my mind not just now, but every day of my life. According to Brueggemann, generosity is an essential aspect of the prophetic imagination. The prophetic imagination, he argues, is the ability to see beyond the dominant culture's ideology and envision an alternative reality based on justice, compassion, and generosity, a way to see according to the generous heart of God revealed in creation and in our everyday lives, and in a special way in the example of Jesus Christ.

In this context, generosity is not merely an individual virtue or a charitable act but a fundamental posture towards the world that challenges the prevailing power structures. Brueggemann suggests that generosity is a way of resisting the consumerist culture that values accumulation and possession over sharing and mutual care. Furthermore, Brueggemann asserts that generosity involves a fundamental shift in our perception of the world, from one of scarcity to one of abundance. He argues that the dominant culture perpetuates a sense of scarcity, which breeds fear, anxiety, and competition. However, generosity is rooted in the conviction that there is enough for everyone, and it requires the courage to share and give without expecting anything in return. Do you remember how the community reacted at the beginning of the pandemic about the issue of… toilet paper? When we act out of fear and insecurity, our tendency is to accumulate, to get more, to fight one another, even in issues like tissues (see what I did right there?).

These are a few of those words: “There is a generosity of the spirit in the gospel, a generosity not overpowered by our fears, a generosity that is not compromising on the basics, but open to folks who come in many shapes and sizes. It is finally this gospel-based generosity that will still our fears, curb our anger, quench our brutality, and make us new. In the end, all of us crave enough forgiveness and the gift of freedom to get through the day and sleep in the night. And now it is promised: At-homeness for all, all of us, here alive, today. It is promised to those who continue to do the hard work of old passions that permit new decisions. The burden of what Jesus says is this: give it away. Give it away gladly. Make friends by your generosity. The door to a gospel future is by generosity, outrageous, intentional giving away in the present to create a viable future. That seems to me such an urgent word, because we are so deeply caught in cycles of greed and affluence and self-indulgence and acquisitiveness of a fearful kind that will yield no human future.

There is the frightened notion that it all belongs to us and there are neither gifts we need to receive nor miracles to which we need to respond. For such people, there is no generosity, only grudging fear. Soon comes time for church people to pledge time, energy, and money for the work of the church. That is when we decide if we can join the new song. The world resists such a song. But those of us who come to the table are called into these wonders; we are among those who sing the new song and bring an offering deeply out of our poverty. God's generosity invites our generosity. The world is under new governance. This is authentic regime change. Receive the kingdom of abundance and do not engage with the gods of scarcity. Serve the God of neighbourly righteousness and quit worrying about all the threats and competitors. Give your life over to God's will for the neighbourhood, as an act of generosity, and all the rest comes, all the rest about which you have been anxious — your life, your food, your drink, your clothing, your house.”

Overall, Brueggemann's idea of generosity is deeply connected to his prophetic vision of social justice and solidarity. It challenges the dominant culture's values and invites us to imagine a world where generosity, compassion, and mutual care are the norm rather than the exception. But even in the context challenge of finding toilet paper, we saw people choosing generosity and watching over one another, at times in which the simple act of giving away toilet paper became the most amazing show of love. When you hear words about a potential recession hitting Australia soon, remember that is at times like these that we need to respond with compassion and faith, wisdom and discernment. But our spirit must be saturated by this notion of generosity, otherwise we will be trapped by fear. During the last weeks we have been amazed by the response of the community towards the family that we are helping through the Ballina Region for Refugees. Those conversations with café owners, authorities, medical staff, second hand shop managers, and people from the community in general, have been marked by their response in generosity to the church moving in generosity! From a gift voucher to a free bed, to discounted furniture to people making room for medical appointments, from government support to the community asking the question “what else could we do?”, passing by the many many hours of service provided by the team leading the way and every person who has openly shared their friendship, their love, their prayers and their resources to help, everyone has been a true reflection of the heart of God that calls on us to see Him as the source of all we have, and therefore believing that there is no lack of possibilities when we abound in faith and love.

So, beloved church, this is my way to say thank you, you are amazing, and I am humbled by your response and attitude. Let’s go for more! Grace and peace to each one of you!