Dear Saints,

I don’t know what it is about this time of the year, but I’ve been thinking again about stewardship - really tithing - recently. It’s something we need to talk about more often for a number of reasons, most important among them living on mission with Jesus.

So much of what’s lacking in our lives today, in my estimation, is a robust sense of purpose. Isn’t that what gets us out of bed in the morning? What keeps us going, in spite of the many challenges we face?

What I’d offer is that we’re meant to be living lives of eternal purpose. What do I mean by that? I mean that, here and now, we are meant to be about God’s work in the world. As humans, made to be God’s image bearers, we need to be about the work of bringing earth to heaven (as priests) and bringing heaven to earth (as kings). Both of these critical roles we play are expressions of generosity: they entail going beyond ourselves, and they are reflections of - and participation in - God’s own life of love.

Generosity in our priesthood takes flesh in our lives of prayer. As kings, we exercise generosity by giving ourselves over to God and his purposes with our time, talent, and treasure. Prayer is pouring ourselves out to God. Love is pouring ourselves out in service of him in every practical way.

So where does the tithe fit in?

The tithe is a dedicated offering to God that prioritizes him and his purposes in what we all consider the most practical way. Giving the first ten percent of what we make helps us to turn the corner in the way we view our lives. It’s too easy to think that my life is about me and what I want; the tithe makes flesh for me the fact that I live totally for God and his purposes.

As we go, I’ll try to spend more time encouraging your growth into the tithe and beyond. It’s a position of privilege for me to do so not simply because it’s a practice that I know will change your life for the better, but also because OLMC has its financial bases covered. I'm eager to see where the tithe will take us, as God makes us to be the most generous people the world has ever known.

In the Peace of Christ,

Father Daniel
δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ