As St. Paul tells us, there are many who,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Their minds are occupied with earthly things.
Their god is their stomach, … they should be ashamed – – and they only think about earthly things.
Who is Paul talking about? Perhaps, Paul means those who live by themselves and do not share their goods with the needy. Or perhaps those who live only to party? Or, the man who leaves his family after work to go out with friends. Or, seeks alcohol? Or drugs? Or, food? Or seeks sex or pornography? Or perhaps they are persons who live only for shopping? Or, gossip? Or, the Internet? Or, maybe they are slaves to material things or other disordered desires. If they can not escape from their temptations, St. Paul says that they,
conduct themselves as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Their end is destruction.
These do not love either God or their families. They only love themselves.
There are others in our community who are living as enemies of Christ and of the community, including those who abuse their families or their partner with anger. There are those who abuse sexually, and are enemies of Christ, especially those who sexually abuse young girls, or young boys. Many young girls are abused by their own uncles, cousins, parents or siblings. These impure acts happen in our community all too often, my brothers and sisters, and within your families. All too often the mothers of these girls refuse to protect their daughters, and look the other way in shame. We must pray for these victims, and rid ourselves of the demons of abuse, impure demons. St. Paul says they are enemies of the Cross of Christ, and,
Their end is destruction.
Their God is their stomach;
their glory is in their “shame.”
Lent is a time to look clearly at the real truth in our lives, and examine clearly when we are the enemies of the cross of Christ.
Lent provides time to repent and return to God, asking forgiveness for our sins. We must set aside time for reflection on our actions and to be with God. We do penance with the help of fasting, sacrifice, charity and prayer. “Forgive me, Lord, I allowed my belly to be my god instead of You, Lord. I am a sinner. Forgive me.”
God will not forgive us if we do not repent and ask for forgiveness. But if we do, God will forgive.
A great reason to be a member of a parish is Lent, and Easter. In our Christian community we acknowledge our mistakes and seek forgiveness; … Not in the world. In our Christian community we prepare for the Kingdom of Heaven, forgiven, spiritually nourished; … Not in the world. I do not know how I could exist without my community, my parish, where I can repent, find forgiveness, and serve. Alone, I can not do it; By myself, I’m not able. I need my God, my church, my parish to find a healthy, just, forgiven life. I count on you. To support me and accompany me on our journey to God.
And you can count on me, because we all need a community where we can trust and be trusted. Together as a parish we become friends of the cross of Jesus Christ.
Today I wish to talk about “Tithing”, because tithing is one way we can learn to live together in our parish. Tithing forms a faithful bond between us in our shared parish life.
Everything we have is a gift from God. None of what we have or enjoy comes from any source other than God. Our God loves us. God forgives us, if we ask Him. God has given us everything we need, and invites us to live eternally with Him.
In return, we offer our prayers, praise and thanks to God. We must constantly examine ourselves if we are really grateful to Him for all His blessings.
A “Tithe” is generally defined as one-tenth of our income, the fruits of our labor. We owe it to God in recognition of His love.
The practice of tithing goes back to antiquity. It is mentioned in Genesis 14 where Abraham was depicted as offering one tenth of his wealth. Also in Genesis 28, Jacob is remembered for giving a tithe of all his possessions to the Lord. Under the law of Moses tithing was mandatory. The requirement of tithing is biblical. In the Gospels, Jesus recognized the importance of sharing our wealth.
This Lent, think of tithing. Many suffer from the “One Dollar bill disease,” and just put a dollar in the collection, or coins, or nothing. We must think of our tithe as “the first fruits”. One way to start tithing is to offer God at least a value equivalent to our first hour of work each week. If you earn $10 per hour, consider putting at least the first $10 dollars you earn, your first hour into the Sunday collection. If you are already giving your first hour’s wage, can you increase it? Each of us can give God 10% of our income. Each of us should be grateful, praying and seeking ways to increase our gratitude to God for everything we have received. God will bless our generosity.
Many people consider themselves “generous”. But in biblical terms, if they are not doing a tithe of 10%, can they be regarded as generous? Generosity begins only after having fulfilled our responsibilities. For example, can you consider someone “generous” if they give gifts to their friends or to themselves, while not fulfilling their responsibilities to their family? Or, to their parish? They cannot be called generous if they do fulfill their responsibilities to God and their family.
Also, we must have faith that God will bless our generosity.
I invite you to reflect this week on tithing and generosity. Couples, husbands, I suggest that you talk together with your spouse about your tithing, because it is family affair, not just for the male. Generosity is a way to get rid of machismo. Generosity is the remedy for selfishness. Next week we invite you to come prepared to make your annual promise, or tithe pledge to the community. Everyone needs a plan to become generous.
Together, as a parish we become friends of the cross of Jesus Christ. Together, we say to each other in community, “You can count on me.”