Stewardship and Tithing Homily Revised 2007 I am speaking personally to you this year about stewardship and tithing. It is important that you understand my story and conversion as your Pastor to this way of life. It is important also because I want you to have confidence that I would not ask anything of you which I do not strive to do myself. As you have heard me say often, this is NOT a financial program. It is a way of life that includes all aspects of who we are as a community of God s people with all the gifts and talents he has given us. Financial matters of individual parishioner support and parish finances are an important component of stewardship and tithing, yet they are only one component. To understand this, we need to be in open mind, spirit and heart to the joyful message. You might be thinking, Wait a minute, how can he describe a pitch for money as a joyful message? It all boils down to the fact they want more money! Is that what this is all about? Let s stop right here and take a little inventory of what might be happening inside our emotions and heads right now. It s natural to have resistance and skepticism to a pitch for money. However, in spiritual matters, resistance and skepticism work against understanding, growth, peace, and yes, joy. This isn t a pitch for money. I m not trying to sell you a lemon. I m trying to preach to you a spiritual way of life as we are called to live it in our daily circumstances. Rather than go over many of the references from Sacred Scripture that have to do with giving or tithing, I ll refresh your memory with only one. It is commonly referred to in such discussions as
this. It is Malachi 3:7-10: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try me in this, says the Lord of hosts: Shall I not open the floodgates of heaven, to pour down blessing upon you without measure? A tithe is a tenth. But even more than just a tenth, it is the first tenth, or the first fruits of all we receive from any source. It s not a tenth after I pay all my bills. It s not a tenth of what I have left over after I use my money to do what I want. It is the first tenth from all sources. That means gifts, wages, capital gains, interest and dividends, Social Security payments, inheritances, profit from the sale of anything all sources. Our Protestant and fundamentalist friends take this form of giving for granted. They grow up with it as part of their spirituality. Most members of these non-catholic denominations are taught from childhood that they will support their churches with tithing; that is giving ten percent, the first fruits of all they receive. Just a little example for illustration: A friend of mine back in New York told me the story of her little grandson s attitude toward the birthday gift she had given him. His family belongs to what is sometimes called a Bible church. Their congregation practices stewardship and tithing as the way to support their church. My friend gave her young grandson $5 for his birthday. He thanked her, and immediately turned to his mother and said, Mom, how much is ten percent of $5? His mother responded, Fifty cents. He replied, That means on Sunday, I m going to put fifty cents in the collection at church. Wait a second! I m talking about money. Well, I never said this isn t about money. I said it s about a spiritual way of life as we live it in our daily circumstances. It certainly is about money, but not only about money. 2
Jesus talked about money a lot. Think of the parable of the talents. A talent was a denomination of money, like a dollar is. Think of Jesus preaching about helping the poor, the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the story about the rich young man who wouldn t give his wealth to the poor in order to become his disciple, the Good Samaritan who paid the innkeeper to take care of the Jewish pilgrim whom he rescued from the roadside, or Jesus comment that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get to heaven. Jesus talks about money, and wealth, and riches, a lot. Notice that he doesn t condemn money, or wealth, or rich people. What he does condemn is the misuse of wealth, and the holding back of wealth when others are in great need. These are just a few examples from Scripture, in the Old and New Testament that deal with money, wealth, riches, and how to use them the way God wants us to use them. My own experience with stewardship and tithing began in my first assignment in 1990 as a newly ordained priest in New York City. I was assigned as an Assistant Pastor in a black Harlem parish. Shortly after I was assigned, the Pastor initiated stewardship and tithing as the way of life for our parish. I had only heard about it, but never thought it was for me. It was for Protestants, or somebody who could afford it, somebody rich or somebody without bills to pay. Speakers came from New Jersey, and over two weekends, presented not only the information about what stewardship and tithing is, but gave their personal witness about adopting stewardship and tithing as their own personal way of life, and the effect it had in their lives. As soon as I heard their testimonies, I immediately and interiorly grasped its rightness in my heart, and decided to live henceforth, as one who lived the spiritual way of life that is stewardship and tithing. I must make a critical distinction I wasn t merely convinced, I was truly converted. There s a big difference. To this day, I practice stewardship and tithing, and try to share the joy with others. I learned first from them, and then for myself, that we need to give, 3
we don t give to a need. That is, we don t give because we need to build something, or fix something, or get something. We give because sacrificial giving is the only fitting manner of return for God s generosity and goodness to us, and ultimately the only response that will satisfy us. Deeper inner peace and joy have been my resulting blessings. Before I learned about stewardship and tithing, I never gave generously to the Church, and only occasionally to charity when some sort of disaster happened, and I was emotionally moved to make a large single donation. Before I accepted my vocation, I was a professional soldier. At the time I resigned from the Army in 1984, my monthly gross pay was around $3,900.00. Every Sunday, I felt myself to be so generous as I placed my $10 check in the envelope, and dropped it in the collection basket at the parish. I wish I had known then what I learned in Harlem, and what I have done since. Despite the fact that I was ignorant of stewardship and tithing, I was still aware that the weekly $10 offering was really no big deal for me. I could easily afford it. It was no sacrifice. It was out of my surplus, and not my need. It was, shall we say, cut from the fat, not the muscle. Despite my ignorance, I am still ashamed of my lack of generosity, my unwillingness to sacrifice for God and his Church, and others in need. I was giving God my leftovers, less than I might have tipped a waiter after a good meal. I have learned since that to offer God leftovers is to be lukewarm and unworthy. I have also come to the realization that God does not want or need our tips. We, as Catholics, have a different approach to stewardship and tithing than others. In our concept, we ask that members tithe, that is, give ten percent of all we receive, and that we give half of that, or five percent, directly to our parish for its support, and the other five percent to any charitable work of our choice. Notice that I said charitable work. It may be to an established organization like Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Charities, or our own 4
Archdiocesan Annual Catholic Appeal. Or it may be to help a sick relative or neighbor. The possibilities of application of this half of the tithe, or five percent of our first fruits, are almost endless. Stewardship and tithing includes return to God of the whole tithe, as Malachi states. We strive to return to God the first fruits, or first tenth, of time, treasure and talent. Time is a very important gift God gives us. The time we have is really his time, not our time. How often we think of how we spend our time. Often it may be easier for some of us to write a check than to give more of our time, or our service. I personally think that most of us would find giving our time harder than changing our donation habits to give up to ten percent of our treasure. Yet, sacrificial giving of our time is what it s about, too. The practice of stewardship and tithing itself is based on a simple recognition that all we have comes from God. St. Paul asks, What do you have that has not been given to you? If we recognize this truth, and respond in gratitude, we should want to be ever more generous in giving back to God a portion of what he has given us. If we really took this seriously, what a difference it would make in our lives and in the life of our parish, our Church. God is so good to us. Think how good God is to you. Reflect on all that you have, even your life. How can we come to any other conclusion that all is from his goodness and love? It amazes me that we aren t banging on the doors of the parish every day, offering ourselves our time, treasure and talent in service to him and his Church out of gratitude. How can we not be filled with a burning desire to love him back this way? Yet, we are. We have to be convinced to be holy; convinced to be good; convinced to be charitable and self sacrificial. That is until we have tasted the joy of the blessing of this return, this way of life. Even when we are generous in sharing with God and others his own gifts to us, he is pleased and he blesses us the more. 5
Ultimately, this is a choice between you and God. The more we act out of unselfish, sacrificial love toward God, the more we open ourselves to receive the greater gifts he wants to give. In fact, we may find that giving ten percent of time treasure and talent is not enough. We discover that we need to return even more to the good God who loves us with an infinite love, and can t do enough for us. We are caught up in the spirit that moves us to burst, knowing that we cannot do enough for him. This is love, and indeed, a cause of great joy. What form do the blessings we receive when we practice stewardship and tithing take? It is a mistake to think that we give with one hand, and immediately extend our other hand to receive more. We might ask the question in a different way: What blessings do you need? Your confidence and trust in God will deepen. Your peace of mind and soul will grow. You will be happier and free of excess concern about money and wealth and material things which can enslave us through preoccupation and possession of our thoughts and desires. Not only will we see that our needs are provided for, but we will not be craving things we do not need. I should also say that I have seen families who are having trouble managing their finances and who are disturbed because of selfish attitudes, begin to practice stewardship and tithing, and see these problems gradually come under control. Why? I think that when we put God first in everything, even in finances and the way we spend our time, we become less and less hungry for, and controlled by the desire to have and possess. The whole focus of our lives is off things, and on him! Then, the pieces fall into place, not only in this, but in other aspects of life. When I served as Pastor in Questa, we initiated stewardship and tithing, and in the next year, we had a very significant increase in the number of volunteers in the parish, including Religious Education program teachers. The positive attitude and spirit of joy with which many served was remarkable. The whole parish 6
seemed to be happier and more at peace. I heard many say that the practice of stewardship and tithing brought great peace to them, that it really worked, and that their priorities in life changed for the better. Why not think of returning time and talent to God in these areas? YOU are needed in your Church. In addition, there are many who do service which is unnoticed, but just as much part of the love of stewardship of gifts as any public ministry. The community and parish which tithes time, treasure and talent reflects an open and generous spirit that is characterized by joy and freedom to fulfill the mission God gives us as a parish. Your parish and your families will grow in that spirit as you become more committed to stewardship. What a blessing that is! The first step for many of us in considering or continuing stewardship and tithing is dealing with our emotional and sometimes automatic resistance, as I said earlier. It is not easy to make the move which is really an act of faith and trust, to begin something new, or to increase if we have taken the plunge partially. In fact, many may start with a percent somewhat less than ten, and gradually increase. Some start returning the gift of time and talent with a one-time act of volunteering. Wherever we begin or continue, it should always be a sacrifice. Like prayer, we never know the beauty and rewards until we commit ourselves to it, and struggle to be faithful to that commitment. Remember what God tells us through the prophet Malachi Trust me in this! Please carefully consider your situation and make a determined effort to live the spiritual way of life that is stewardship and tithing to the best of your ability. You won t be sorry. You will experience a deep satisfaction and joy that is part of the blessings God has for you. 7
Remember, when it comes to God and our Church: we need to give, we do not give to a need. And most important, stewardship and tithing is a spiritual way of life; it is not a financial program. May God continue to shower his blessings upon you, and may you be fully open to receive them. 8