The tithe, of course, means “ten percent.” These days, we reflect on questions such as “Is that before or after taxes?’ and “Does my tithe have to go into the church’s offering plate?” and “What if I have other debts to pay?”
In the time of Deuteronomy, God’s people measured life’s flow by crops and animals (Deuteronomy 14:23). In a festive community gathering, they would share their tithe and all would feast and enjoy life as a gift from God. Sometimes, it was too far to take the tithe offering (for example, to Jerusalem), so faithful ones were to turn the grain/grapes/herds into money, and share that money (Deuteronomy 14:25). Buy whatever that money will purchase and enjoy (“rejoicing together”).
The text takes us beyond our own personal celebration. There are those who have nothing. They are to be given a share of the tithe (Deuteronomy 14:27, 29). Those who have such needs include the “resident alien,” or in today’s terminology, “immigrants.”
May I give a word of personal testimony? On January 30, 1960, I got married. On February 15, 1960, Toni and I recognized that bills came due. It was time to write checks to others. We owed for credit card purchase of gas for the Fiat. We owed rent on our apartment. We had college debts that needed to be paid. You get the picture.
So, we decided together. The first check of our marruied life was written to Westside Methodist Church in Hopatcong, New Jersey. Last week, ten years after Toni’s death, I pulled out the checkbook for the monthly ritual. Gas. Mortgage. Electricity. Cell phone. You get the picture. The first check I wrote was to Bethany United Methodist Church, in Durham, North Carolina. The only thing that has changed over the years has been the name of the church: Westside, Grace, Pine Valley, Oleander, Highland, Mebane, Trinity, Edenton Street, Duke Chapel, Bethany. I mention this not to pat myself on my spiritual back. I mention it to give testimony to the faithfulness of God in all circumstances. Deuteronomy 14:29 promises a blessing from God in response to the tithe. I testify to the truth of that.
What Someone Else Has Said: Bishop Robert Schnase (Five Practices of Faithful Congregations, Abingdon Press) has written: “Tithing sealed and confirmed their sense of belonging to the church. They made the church’s mission part of their own and prayed for the people, the ministries, and the outreach of the church with renewed passion.”
Prayer: As you prepare this lesson, let your prayer begin: “Lord, it is all Yours...”
