The Feast of St. Lawrence

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast day of a deacon of the Roman Church, St. Lawrence who was martyred in 258 A.D. As a deacon, he served the poor and the needy generously. Legend had it that when the Roman Prefect wanted Lawrence to hand over the treasure of the Church, he brought along all the poor whom the Church had fed and supported. In his fury, the Roman Prefect grilled Lawrence slowly to death. The generosity of St. Lawrence is admirable. He faithfully put the gospel teaching into practice. In short, St. Lawrence is our model.
go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; (Mark 10:21b).
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20).
Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys (Luke 12:33).

In his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to be generous in their almsgiving to the Jerusalem Church.
Imagine you are responsible for fund-raising for a charity, say the Red Cross. You are writing an appeal letter to donors.
How do you persuade people to donate? Will you describe in graphic details the plight of the needy? Or will you explain the benefits of helping the poor? Or will you appeal to the vanity of the donor by telling him that so-and-so has already donated a huge sum of money?
I believe St. Paul employed the last two tactics to make the Corinthians donate generously.

First of all, he created a rivalry (of generosity) between the Macedonians and the Corinthians. St. Paul did it in a very tactful way. He told the Corinthians that their generosity had inspired the Macedonians who looked up to them as models.
for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them (2 Corinthians 9:2).
Therefore, the Corinthians had better get the contributions ready lest the Macedonians found them failed their expectations.
How did St. Paul make sure that the Corinthians would donate generously and not half-heartedly?
St. Paul appealed to God. God loved cheerful givers.
The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
If you give, God will reward you. The more you give, the more God will reward you.
Among Christians, the above argument may work. As for the Red Cross, I wonder if we can appeal to God. You are asking people to part with their money, in return for a receipt which they may use to apply for tax exemption. Other than that, there is no more 'benefit' you can give the donors. Other than God, I know of nothing else to which we can appeal to ask people to part with their hard-earned money.

Before I leave, I want to appeal for St. Paul. Martin Luther had painted a St. Paul who championed faith and only faith as the determining factor of justification, who denied the utility of good work for our salvation. I think St. Paul's teaching has been pushed to the extreme and such an act is not doing him justice. St. Paul does not deny the utility of good work. Listen to him.
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness (2 Corinthians 9:10).
St. Paul was telling the Corinthians that God enabled them to give. God would also reward them for their giving. And when they gave, they became righteous before God --- increase the harvest of your righteousness. St. Paul did not say faith alone justifies and good work does not justify. Christians who deny the good work of other Christians are simply too lazy to study the Bible.

Dear Lord, we are able to give because You enable us to do so. You want to help us share Your eternal life. May we follow the footstep of St. Lawrence, be generous in giving our time, our energy and our money to the needy. Amen.