Today in the Spirit: Proper 24A
Over the last three Sundays in Year A, we have meditated in worship on three consecutive parables Jesus delivered to the religious leaders in Jerusalem, each designed to demonstrate their condemnation before God as unbelievers. In response, the religious leaders, uniting across Jewish party lines, will seek to trap Jesus in his words in order that they might find grounds for his execution. In this cycle, the church assigns two of their three attempts in Sunday worship over the next two weeks.
The assigned Gospel reading at Proper 24A is Matthew 22:15-22, the account of the Pharisees and the Herodians joining to ask Jesus whether it is right to pay taxes to Caesar. Though Mark and Luke also record this narrative, this is the only Sunday in the three-year lectionary cycle when we contemplate this dialogue in worship. In response, our Lord gives the memorable reply: “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” (21).
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If ever we were looking in the lectionary for a collection of Stewardship Sunday texts, this would be the place. The church’s choice of a supplemental OT reading this week is Malachi 3:6-12, in which by the mouth of the prophet YHWH challenges the second-temple community of Israelites to stop cheating God and “test” him with faithful tithing (crops): “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need” (10).
The appointed Psalm 96, a song of praise, picks up on the theme of giving as part of our worship: “Ascribe unto the LORD the honor due unto his Name; bring offerings and come into his courts” (8). We may imagine ourselves reciting this psalm in worship as those who have taken the Lord’s “test” on tithing in Malachi and found our God true to his word in providing abundantly for our needs.
Beginning with Proper 24A, we move to a five-week series of assigned NT readings from Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10, we hear Paul’s opening words of praise to God and his commendation of this group of saints, who have become a model church in their region. He writes: “For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything” (8). That said, in the coming weeks we will see that Paul addresses a few concerns about the Thessalonians’ faith in the letter.
Unlike most others in the BCP 2019, this proper’s appointed collect is a contemporary composition from the mid-twentieth century. It is a brief, quick-hitting prayer with no traditional description of God at the beginning, but rather an immediate plea to “set us free…from the bondage of our sins.” References to the character of God, his love, “goodness,” and “mercy,” are built into the petition.
The Collect
Set us free, loving Father, from the bondage of our sins, and in your goodness and mercy give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Bring the Full Tithe into the Storehouse (Malachi 3:6-12)
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.
Malachi 3:6-12
YHWH’s challenge to “put me to the test” (10) regarding tithing will prompt the worshiper to hear Jesus’ words, “render…to God the things that are God’s” (Mt. 22:21), with added conviction. It should be noted that most of what we know about the practice of tithing comes from passages in the Pentateuch (the first five OT books) which provide laws in anticipation of the people of Israel in the desert making their home in the promised land and establishing “the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there,” the temple in the Holy City (see Leviticus 27:30-32, Deuteronomy 14:22-27). The Hebrew word for “tithe” (ma’aser) refers not merely to the tenth as an amount but to the devotional act of setting the offering aside for God.
In devotional application, as with many worship concepts introduced in the OT, we need to decide for ourselves how literal we want to be in seeking to obey the command. Does our “tithe” mean ten percent? For some it will—and if so, good. For others, the discernment of our “tithe” may be different, maybe giving more than ten percent. For some tithing will be entirely to the local church; for others, no. (To my congregation I teach that you make your “tithes” to the local church and offerings elsewhere). While the OT teaching is by law, NT teaching on giving money is by conscience. Individuals on their own (and married couples together) need to discern what their giving to the church should be and then do it faithfully and with “cheerfulness” (2 Cor. 8:7) and confidence that there is abundant provision from the Lord in keeping the command to give for the gospel.
Today, Holy Spirit, we hear Malachi’s words and accept the challenge to present our whole “tithe” to you, whatever that may be, under your good guidance as believers.
Ascribe to the LORD… Bring an Offering (Psalm 96)
1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; *
Psalm 96 (New Coverdale Psalter, BCP 2019)
sing unto the LORD, all the whole earth.
2 Sing unto the Lord and praise his Name; *
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his honor to the nations, *
and his wonders to all peoples.
4 For the LORD is great, and highly to be praised; *
he is more to be feared than all gods.
5 As for all the gods of the nations, they are but idols; *
but it is the LORD who made the heavens.
6 Glory and majesty are before him; *
power and honor are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe unto the LORD, O you families of the peoples, *
ascribe unto the LORD worship and power.
8 Ascribe unto the LORD the honor due unto his Name; *
bring offerings and come into his courts.
9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; *
let the whole earth stand in awe of him.
10 Tell it out among the nations, “The LORD is King; *
it is he who has made the world so firm that it cannot be moved; he shall judge the peoples righteously.”
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; *
let the sea make a noise, and all that is therein.
12 Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it; *
then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice before the LORD.
13 For he comes, for he comes to judge the earth, *
and with righteousness to judge the world, and the peoples with his truth.
This psalm is assigned at various times in the three-year cycle, including Christmas Day every year and World Mission Sunday (Year C). Among the songs of praise in the Psalter, this one is particularly unrelenting in keeping the worshiper’s eyes upward on the splendor of God’s majesty. It contains no lapses into lament over personal troubles or prayers for vengeance against enemies—just praise. Notice the commands in triad form: Sing to the LORD (1-2), “Ascribe to the LORD” (7-8), and “Let the” (11-12) used to keep the congregation looking Godward.
On a Sunday in which attention is paid to rendering “to God what is God’s” (Mt. 22:21) and bringing “the full tithe” (Mal. 3:10), this psalm makes the act of giving a due portion of our wealth to God a natural expression of worship: “Ascribe unto the LORD…bring offerings…O worship the LORD!” (8-9). With eyes up, there is simply no consideration of smaller matters like “I can’t afford this” or “There won’t be enough.” Outside the sanctuary, we may count the cost of our church giving, but in worship, when the bread and wine come forward, and the envelope goes in the plate, we lose ourselves in the transcendent praise this great psalm leads us to.
The goal, then, is to make every moment an offering of worship. Thus, Paul writes: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:1-2).
Today, Holy Spirit, trembling in worship before your heavenly throne and jubilant in the company of all creation singing your praises, we offer you our time, talent, and treasure without reservation.
Work of Faith (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)
Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. 2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, 3 remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. 6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
I Thessalonians 1:1-10
Paul came to the church in Thessalonica on his second missionary journey in around 50 AD. He stayed only about a month (see Acts 17:1-9), and it appears he sent this first letter only a few months after he left. We might wonder, then, what could Paul have in mind when he writes at the outset of their “work of faith” and “labor of love” (2) in the city? The church consisted of a few families, some Jewish, some Greek, under the leadership of a few green pastoral elders whom Paul may have hastily appointed before leaving the city. The group remained under the threat of persecution even after Paul left.
What Paul has in mind by their “work” (Gk. ergon: “activity”) and “labor” (Gk. kopos: “effort”) is almost certainly not large-scale evangelistic campaigns or grand social action projects, but Christian activity at the level of individual, family and small group interaction. It is good for the church to occasionally engage in big projects designed to reach large numbers of people. But we need to ask: is there also what Paul, in the Spirit, finds so compelling here, a depth of discipleship that comes from personal devotion to Jesus Christ “done in secret” (Mt. 6:6) and quiet service to the people immediately around us?
Oswald Chambers uses the phrase “of the Atonement” much like Paul uses “in our Lord Jesus Christ” in his letters:
The Atonement of Jesus has to work out in practical, unobtrusive ways in my life…Beware of the piety that denies the natural life, it is a fraud. Continually bring yourself to the bar of the Atonement–where is discernment of the Atonement in this thing, and in that?
Today, in the Spirit, let us look in ourselves and others for what Paul so appreciates in the lives of the saints in Thessalonica, everyday activities of faith and gestures of love among those with whom we live, work, and commune.
To God the Things That Are God’s (Matthew 22:15-22)
15 Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21 They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
Matthew 22:15-22
The focus on paying tithes and taxes in this group of readings (and certainly in my commentary on them so far) might lead one to believe that our Lord’s reference to “the things that are God’s” (20) in the Gospel reading is only about money. It is less about money and more about the heart. The Pharisees were good tithers (see Mt. 23:23), but they were greedy for wealth and lacked zeal for devotion to God and obedience to his commands. Hearing this reading from Matthew today might remind us of Jesus’ teaching on the mount: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:21).
Let me say a word to those of you who are already good tithers. Watch out that you do not catch yourself thinking, “Well, I give a healthy share, and that’s enough.” When we can write relatively bigger checks to the church, we can think we have simply paid our dues and have no further devotion to God. The fact is making a ten percent donation of our income to the church can become easy once we are in the routine. If we become self-satisfied with our tithes, we might, if we are not careful, fail to hear from God about giving something else, especially service to the church, its members, and its mission, that has nothing to do with money. What belongs to God for our offering is everything, not just a portion of our wealth. The question is: picking up the language of the collect, are you “set free from sin” so you can give generously of your time, your talents, and your treasure? Therein lies the “liberty of that abundant life” in Jesus Christ. There is “the treasure” (again, Mt. 6:21) where our hearts rightly belong.
Holy Spirit, bring into more focus Jesus’ own vision of us not merely as tithers, but as those whose hearts belong unreservedly to the Father God.
Today in the Spirit
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