St. Paul wrote, “What do we have that was not given to you as a gift? If then, you have received it, why do you boast as if it had not been given to you.”
I remember one of the homilies of my parish priest which had so much impact on me and I would like to share it with everyone.
In the readings of 2Kings 4:42-44 and John 6:1-15, Looking at the two readings, we will see that both could be brought under the scope of the question of St. Paul.
In the first reading, there was a man who came from Baal-shalishah who came to pay his tithe of twenty loaves of barley and fresh ears of corn to Prophet Elisha. This tithe came about the time that there was hunger in the land and a hundred men were with the prophet who needed to be fed.
We should realize that the timing of the barley loaves’ arrival was providential because immediately, the prophet shared the loaves among the men and surprisingly, the twenty barley loaves went round everyone. The scripture goes further to say that each had their fill, and they had some left.
This goes to show us that with the intervention of God in all that we do, there can be no insufficiency or inadequacy simply because He is a God of abundance. Worthy of note is also the fact that the intercession of the prophet of God, in the name of God and by the power of God brought about the multiplication of the barley loaves.
A hundred men were fed from only one man’s tithe! In the olden days, people pay tithe to fulfill three different obligations namely:
1. Sustenance of the Levites or Priests in modern days
2. For the things of worship and feasts in the temple of God
3. Taking care of the poor
It is therefore evident that the man from Baal-shalishah actually fulfilled all these three obligations and must have gone home as a happy man. This is because what he brought took care of men and brought glory to God. Such should be our offering to the Lord so that God may take the glory.
It is possible for some to say that tithe paying is of the Old Testament, but on what foundation is the New Testament standing? The answer is simply that the New Testament is rooted in the Old Testament. Therefore tithing is still allowed and even encouraged in the days of the New Testament.
There are abundant biblical references to the fact that payment of tithes is one of the foremost offerings of every child of God. Even Abraham, the father of all nations paid his tithe to Melchizedek, because he is a priest. The Psalms say for every priest, he shall be a priest according to the order of Melchizedek of old.
Therefore it is evident that the payment of tithe is not the making of man, rather, it is a requirement of God. Therefore wherever we work, be it on land or in the skies, a tenth of our income belongs to God! If the tithes were to be used for the duties stated above, and the Church cannot take care of the poor, the guilt becomes that of every member of the Church, because the y have failed in advancing the resources with which the poor will be cared for.
In John 6:1-15, mention was made of the boy who brought five barley loaves and two fish, mind you, in the Judaic culture, this was the food of the poor. No provision could be made for the multitude that gathered to listen to Jesus. Jesus felt for them and wanted them fed. Phillip suggested sending them away but Andrew brought the boy forward. His doubt was evident when he asked the Lord if he felt the food would be sufficient. He had forgotten that with the intervention of God in all that we do, there can be no insufficiency or inadequacy simply because He is a God of abundance.
They were all fed to satisfaction and had twelve baskets full of left over fragments.
When we bring any offering be it material or even souls to God, we should be devotional because we can never tell what he will do with them. It is assured that for everything you bring into the coffers of God, great things will happen!
What we see is not what God is seeing, what we cannot do is what God will do. Let us joyfully bring our offering to the Lord. We must not try to calculate and justify it because we can never pay God enough for the free air we breathe, good health we enjoy, the sunshine we even complain about and above all the gift of life.
In our world today, people are on a diet because they have eaten so much, do they remember those who have nothing to eat? Some of the hungry are friends and family members or people we know in our neighbourhood. Every time we invite friends over for lunch or dinner, we should remember that the food is of no value to our guests as they would eat at their homes anyway. But if we share the same food among those who do not have anything to eat, we would have done a corporal work of mercy!
Generosity should be our second nature. it may not be in material things alone. Making a sad person laugh because we share our gift of being able to crack funny jokes is as important as saying a sentence of prayer for someone who needs it. It is not the value of the sharing that counts, but the generosity behind it.
Let us be like the man from Baal-shalishah. Let us provide the offering either in material things, talents or gifts and leave God to do the miracle!
I have been thinking a great deal about my experience at Reconciliation this past Saturday. I felt an intense and unexplainable urge to go and confess my sins when I woke up that morning. I try to go every six weeks or so, but this was no routine visit to the priest for me. I needed to unburden myself of the numerous venial sins I had committed since I last participated in this Sacrament.
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