Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time B
The Precepts of the Church
Part IV
The pastor was completely preoccupied
with
how he was going to raise enough money
to
repair the leaky church roof,
so
he didn’t have much time to deal with the fact
that
the regular organist was sick and unable to play.
A substitute was brought in at the last minute.
A substitute was brought in at the last minute.
“Here’s
the music the regular organist picked,” he said.
“You’ll
have to think of something yourself
to
play after I make the announcement about the roof.”
As
the service progressed, the pastor said,
“My
brothers and sisters, we are in great difficulty.
The
repairs needed on the roof
will
cost twice what we expected—maybe more.
Any
of you who can commit to a pledge of $1,000 or more,
please
stand up now.”
At
that very moment,
the
substitute organist started playing, The
Star Spangled Banner.
The
substitute immediately became the regular organist!
In my 15 years of experience,
there
are two topics of preaching
that
consistently garner more criticism than the rest: money and sex.
“Father,
what could you possibly have to say?
You
shouldn’t have very much of the first,
or
any of the second!”
And
yet, aren’t money and sex
(or
variations on these two themes)
what
consume a vast amount of our time and attention
when
we’re not in church?
And
have you ever noticed
how
often Jesus himself speaks about these two topics?
Most
people are surprised to hear
that
Jesus preaches about money more than almost any other subject.
If
these two things were so crucial to Christ,
then
we need to talk about them—
probably
not less, but more.
As
I continue in this series of homilies on the Precepts of the Church,
guess
where the last two take us?
This
Sunday, we look at the precept:
5.
To contribute to the support of the
Church
according
to your ability
Research
confirms again and again
that
Catholics are among the worst givers in the United States.
On
average, our Protestant neighbors
give
2.9% of their income to their faith community;
in
some individual denominations, that rises to between 4% and 8%.
On
average, we Catholics give only about 1.5%.
It’s
estimated that, among Catholics,
one
third give consistently and generously,
one
third give only occasionally,
and
one third give practically nothing.
This
is not because Catholics are poorer than other religious groups.
In
fact, surveys show that Catholics, in general, do quite well.
But
as people grow richer, they tend to give less.
IRS
statistics on charitable giving reveal
Those
who earn under $50,000 a year
give
4% of their income to charity—
outpacing
everybody except the few
who
make $10 million dollars or more.
Sadly,
each new generation
seems
to become both more materialistic, and more wasteful—
a
rather destructive path for the human race,
the
environment, and souls.
Why
isn’t there a better culture of giving among American Catholics?
A
big part of that, I’m sure,
is
that most of us priests don’t like to talk about money.
I
know it sure makes me uncomfortable!
I
feel like I’m often nickel-and-diming you to death,
begging
for you to give to this project,
and
then support that fundraiser.
Of course, if
regular giving were both sustained or sustainable,
that wouldn’t even be an issue.
I
also cringe whenever I hear well-intending folks say,
“We’ll
do what we can to help you, Father!”
Please know: you’re
not doing it for me!
While
I might be where the buck stops around here,
the
parish account isn’t my personal slush fund.
We’re
all in this together,
and
the financial state of St. André’s
Once
upon a time, we Catholics did a good bit better at this.
Look
at the great cathedrals built in Europe during the Middle Ages—
or
even at the beautiful churches our more recent ancestors
constructed
right here in the North Country,
all
while struggling to simply eek out a living.
This
history of sacrifice and generosity is even built right into the Mass.
Notice
at the offertory how the basket with the collection
comes
up at the same time as the bread and wine
which
will soon become the Body and Blood of Christ.
In
the early Church, people brought forward in procession
bread
they’d baked themselves,
wool
they’d sheared from their own sheep,
grain
from their fields and eggs from their hens.
People
offered the physical fruits of their own labors—
offered
for the support of the Church and of the poor.
That’s
why the priest started washing his hands
after
receiving the gifts:
he
often got a bit dirty!
But
the modern economy doesn’t so much work that way.
Sure,
folks occasionally drop of
actual
“goods” from the kitchen or the garden at the rectory—
and
for those, we’re most grateful.
But
today, the money contributed in the collection
well
represents the fruit of our labors and the work of our hands.
And
it purposefully comes up at this moment in the Mass
because
contributing it is a sacred act:
a
duty we have to the Lord; a sacrifice united with Christ's own;
a
way of giving God thanks and praise.
In
all that he has to say on the matter,
Jesus
doesn’t teach that money itself is bad.
But
he does teach that we must use it legitimately:
that
is, in line with the law—with God’s law.
All
we have is a gift from God.
And,
like all of God’s gifts,
our
material goods come to us with a responsibility.
They’re
not given for our personal gain.
We
are not so much their owners as their stewards;
we
don’t so much possess them as hold them in trust,
to
be used for God’s purposes, rather than our own.
And
for this stewardship
we
will one day have to give an account.
When Jesus raises you up on the last day, as he promised,
how
will you answer for all the money
you’ve
handled in your lifetime?
What
does God’s word, God’s law, have to say about our giving?
From
the days of Abraham and Moses,
God has called his people to tithe—to give 10% back to God.
God has called his people to tithe—to give 10% back to God.
Remember:
this isn’t my figure, or even the Pope’s figure;
it’s
God’s figure!
That
means it’s a good bit stronger than a simple suggestion;
I
dare say it’s sinful to pay it no mind.
Jesus
himself speaks favorably about tithing
on
at least a couple of occasions in the Gospels.
And
yet…less than 10% of all Christians tithe.
Of
course, there are genuine exceptions to tithing.
I’m
well aware that times are tough:
many
of our older parishioners are on fixed incomes,
and
our younger ones are often bearing a lot of debt.
You
can’t give what you don’t have.
No
one’s expected to put life or limb in danger.
But
we must be honest:
in
my personal budget,
does
my commitment to giving to the Church and to the poor
come
ahead of my unnecessary, discretionary spending?
Do
I make it a priority at all?
To
do otherwise, of course,
would
be to rank my desires ahead of God’s.
To
put your sacrificial giving at the top of your expense list
is,
indeed, risky business.
It
calls for a leap of faith.
This
is not foolishness, but wisdom
for
it is obeying God’s will.
And
that makes giving not a burden, but a blessing.
If
you haven’t already,
I
challenge you to very prayerful consider tithing:
giving
5% of your income to the Church, and 5% to the poor.
As we
see in the banquet described in the book of Proverbs:
God
will not be outdone in generosity.
Believe
in Divine Providence,
trusting
that God will provide.
Make
the most of the opportunity God has given you
in
the good things he’s put at your disposal.
Don’t
settle for the temporary wealth of earth
when
you were made for the eternal treasures of heaven.
If
you don’t now, I ask you to consider using offering envelopes.
They’re
more helpful than you think—
not
so that anybody can track you gift,
but
because they really do encourage regular, planned giving.
Responding
to the ways of the modern world,
we’ve
just added an option for electronic giving
accepting
one-time or monthly contributions
from
your checking account or credit card.
And
do remember the needs of the church when writing your will.
Everybody
wants to leave a legacy for their kids;
be
sure part of that legacy is leaving them a strong parish
in
which to come to know and love the Lord.
A
lot of this has focused on money
since
money is a necessary part of life,
and
the Church must live and work in the real world.
That
being said, our contributions can’t stop with our wallets.
Your
time and your talents are also vital.
As
your pastor,
I
must say that I don’t really need any more advisors;
I
have plenty of those—trust me!
But
the parish does need more willing workers.
In
this Sunday’s bulletin alone,
there’s
mention of the coming Holy Harvest Festival,
starting
a bereavement team,
and
finishing the work of the census.
Your
help is needed!
Jesus’
language in this Sunday’s gospel is no metaphor.
In
fact, it’s quite startling in its realism.
It
looks forward to his redeeming death
and
to the Eucharist—which will be the memorial of it.
It
is the language of sacrifice.
To
give his flesh and blood speaks to his total gift of self.
Jesus
holds nothing back in making his offering to the Father,
in
making his offering for the life of the world.
To
partake of the Eucharist,
to
eat the Body and drink the Blood of Christ,
is
intended to make us more and more like him.
We
are to become what we eat.
We are
to give ourselves—all that we have and all that we are—
When
the 18th century Protestant reformer, John Wesley,
visited
his congregations to assess their progress in the faith,
he would often ask if their Christianity had yet affected their pockets.
he would often ask if their Christianity had yet affected their pockets.
It
remains a good test of our true values today.
May
we increasingly recognize the link
between
our faith and our finances.
It's not that God needs your money;
it's that God needs to be first in your life.
It's not that God needs your money;
it's that God needs to be first in your life.
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