Imagine if your world were completely turned upside down. What you thought was good and true, was actually evil and false. That is the theme of today’s readings. Jesus said,
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Then he said,
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
Jeremiah preached,
Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings,
who seeks his strength in flesh,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
If you want to live in God’s Kingdom, you have to live according to God’s Commandments. If you always choose the treasures of this world, the things that this world values, then you are choosing not to live the ways of God’s kingdom.
You can’t have it both ways. There is no in between. We must all examine ourselves and our relation to God and others with the eyes of our faith. Jeremiah says,
Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
Faith is not simply believing. The original meaning of “faith” was “trust”.
St. Paul had to confront many errors in his ministry. Some may have thought they had converted to be Christian, but they denied the resurrection of Jesus. Many tended to believe that the resurrection was simply a spiritual resurrection, but Paul insisted that Jesus’ resurrection was both body and soul. Paul said,
If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,
and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Paul told the Corinthians,
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ,
we are the most pitiable people of all.
And those who have fallen asleep have perished. What fools we are if we do not believe in the Resurrection of Jesus and trust in the promise of our Resurrection with Jesus.
Christian life and discipleship requires continuous spiritual growth and maturity. This Christian maturing process is something we can easily observe in ourselves and those around us. If people seek pleasure and material things and earthly power, it is a fairly reliable indication that they don’t trust God that much. They may believe in God, but they really haven’t come to actually trust Him. Discipleship means you trust the Lord and shape your life by your faith and trust.
We can do our own spiritual inventory. It is easy. If you observe in yourself or others great generosity and self-sacrifice in your lives, then you know you are becoming members of the Kingdom of God in your discipleship. You are growing in trust in God, and learning to put things in God’s hands. However, if you resist being involved in serving others in ministry or charity, or sharing your time and talent and treasure, caring for others, then you have a long way to go in discipleship and true trust in God. Mature faith in God is true trust in God and his Divine Mercy.
One of the best ways to know your own level of spiritual maturity is your practice of tithing. This takes planning and trust. If you tithe at the level of a biblical tithe, or 10% of all you earn, then you have learned to trust that God will provide for your needs and bless your gifts. If you have a difficult time even giving the loose change in your pocket, then you probably have a long way to go in your discipleship.
Our almsgiving should be planned, not a reaction on the spur of the moment. Tithing is a powerful spiritual tool. Tithing forces us to come face-to-face with our God, and with our Trust in God. Tithing requires self-examination, prayer and discipline. Tithing without prayer is useless.
Everything that we have has been given to us by God. Perhaps we worked hard and sacrificed for our income, but we must always be thankful, and prepare to share our treasure with others. God doesn’t ask us to give everything back to him. That is why the Word of God, our scriptures teaches us to share by tithing.
In biblical terms tithing suggests planning to donate 10% of our income, and learning to do it charitably.
Another way to think about tithing involves the concept of “first fruits”. In the bible we read about giving to God the first of the harvest, at the beginning of the harvest, not from what is left over at the end of the harvest.
For example, the first hour of each week’s salary. Let’s imagine you work forty hours a week, and you make $10 or $20 an hour. Then, at a minimum you would give $10 or $20 in the collection. You begin by giving your first hour. You plan it that way. If you are tithing. then your full tithe on Sunday should be equivalent to 4 hours wages per week. Make plans! Prepare!
This coming week we will challenge the entire parish to make your annual pledge to the parish for the first collection. We will tell our parish, “You can count on me!” Ask yourself, can the parish count on you? We hope each of you will respond, “Yes. You can count on me!” This commitment we will all make next weekend makes our parish stronger. At the same time, each of us is challenged to keep our promises. Our life on earth as baptized Christians is preparation for living in God’s Kingdom.
That is the theme of today’s readings. Jesus said,
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the kingdom of God is yours.
Then he said,
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.