Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Luke 18:9-14
The Rev. Sara Fischer

Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us, and we are called by your name.

I heard a great story last weekend. A guy gets into a conversation with God. He says, “God, is it true that in your eyes a million years is the same as a single second?” God answers yes, a million years is like a twinkling of an eye. The guy says “So, does that mean that for you, a million dollars is like a penny?” God answers yes—you understand! So the guy, who thinks he’s really clever, says “May I have a penny?’ God answers “Sure…just a second.”

We can never really know God’s perspective first-hand. But over and over again in the gospels, Jesus lifts a curtain onto what I call the God’s-eye-view. Today’s gospel is one of those stories that gives us hints about our relationship to God, from God’s perspective. Last week, we heard about persistence in prayer. This week, Jesus continues the theme of prayer, and teaches about humility in prayer.

We belong to God. This is what Jesus wants us to understand, and he teaches us this through the story contrasting those who trust in their own righteousness with those who rely upon God. The Pharisee is not a bad man; far from it. Pharisees were very well-educated, theologically-trained, spiritually disciplined people. The Pharisees did not oppose Jesus because they were hateful people. They opposed Jesus because, like a lot of faithful Episcopalians—no one here, of course—the Pharisees saw their highest calling to be to make sure that nothing changed, ever.

The Pharisee in today’s gospel was faithful to the letter of the law, and he tells us so. He fasts twice a week, and gives a tenth of his income. I expect that’s more fasting and more giving than many of us do.

The Pharisee describes what we might call necessary but not sufficient elements of being in right relationship with God. The other guy in the story—the tax collector—is the one who understands that his whole self, all that he has and all that he is, belongs to God.

This whole-self relationship is the relationship into which God calls us. Tithing is an entry point for giving our whole selves to God.

This morning I want to share a bit of my own experience with tithing. I started tithing ten percent of my income to the church about 19 years ago. Before then, I gave what I could, whatever was left over at the end of the month. I heard people talk about giving proportionally and so I looked at what I was giving. It was less than one percent of my income. I despaired of ever getting to a tithe. I was at a church potluck at someone’s house and a small group of us were sitting around the fireplace talking about stewardship and I confided in someone that I wanted to tithe but that I just couldn’t. I listed my reasons, all very good ones: I was going through a divorce, I worked for a non-profit organization, I still had a lot of student loans. Someone in the circle said “But Sara, don’t you trust that God is going to take care of you?” I was so humbled by her question, that I started tithing.

A year or so later I was struggling financially and I sat down with my parish priest and I said you know, I’m just not sure I can tithe. I’m single, I paid off my student loans but now I had a car loan, I’m trying to start a business.…” He said tithing is a lot like fasting. When you’re right in the middle of the first day, that’s not the time to talk yourself into or out of anything. I’ve never forgotten that.

Tithing means different things to different people. There are three essential parts to my tithing. First, my check to the church is the first check I write. No leftovers, but the first check. Second, it’s ten percent, to the church. Sometimes people tell me that they give some money to the church and some to Episcopal Relief and Development and some to the Cancer society and some to William Temple House. That’s wonderful, I usually reply.

I also add that if everyone gave ten percent of their income to the church, we would give a lot more away. I’d love for us all to share the joy of giving money to other organizations, from St. John’s, in the name of God.

The third rule about tithing for me is that I don’t argue with myself. My tithe is not open for discussion, even when the discussion is inside my own head. Especially when it’s inside my own head. If I need to get a new car or take a vacation or make a contribution to another organization or buy someone a birthday present, my tithe is not included in the juggling that goes on there.

There are many reasons not to tithe or to work toward the tithe. You’ve probably heard many of them yourself, or perhaps even said some of them to yourself.

Every week in our Eucharist we sing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” as we bring our gifts to the altar. This is a reminder that all of our blessings come from God. Our offering is a way of acknowledging that gift and connecting ourselves to this altar. Today we’ll take a few moments after the sermon to write out pledge cards, and then when we sing Praise God from whom all blessings flow, you’re all invited to bring your pledge cards to the altar.

What I want to leave you with on this pledge Sunday is not a challenge to tithe, or to raise your tithe, but an invitation to follow Jesus. The spirit of tithing is one of giving—giving up, giving in, giving out, giving back, giving forth. This self-giving is a spiritual discipline. It is the way we follow Jesus, who gave himself to God so completely.