season: a Time to give
Ecclesiastes 3 (KJV)
3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7 a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth? 10 I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it. 11 He hath made every thing beautiful in his time: also he hath set the world in their heart, so that no man can find out the work that God maketh from the beginning to the end. 12 I know that there is no good in them, but for a man to rejoice, and to do good in his life. 13 And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God. 14 I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him. 15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.
16 And moreover I saw under the sun the place of judgment, that wickedness was there; and the place of righteousness, that iniquity was there. 17 I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.
18 I said in mine heart concerning the estate of the sons of men, that God might manifest them, and that they might see that they themselves are beasts. 19 For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity. 20 All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again. 21 Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of the beast that goeth downward to the earth? 22 Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?
++++++++
Fall, Autumn, changing seasons, From warm, temperate To chilly, cold; at 7H a chill 35° at the moment; in the Church it's budget Time, tithing season, pledging season, stewardship season. In my Time as a parish priest I experienced the Church emphasizing the OT commandment to tithe as requiring Christians to tithe (i.e., give a tenth) to the Church. A tenth of what? a tenth of income, with arguments about whether it means a tenth of gross income, a tenth of net income (after taxes?); a tenth of disposable income, a tenth of discretionary income (they are not the same).
It was an absurd quibbling. At any event, the Christian idea of stewardship, giving, is learning to give generously and lovingly; and not simply to support the ministries of the Church, but to help those in need.
Every now and then, especially if it's local, I give to Donors Choose, a program to help teachers who are asking for help funding classroom projects; currently they have a nationwide program to raise money for food and snacks for the neediest cases. There are many local programs to help children in need, one I help is ASAP, After School Assistance Program, which I found out about in the obituary of a lifelong friend who was heavily committed to community service, and I help ASAP because of my deep respect for him, his integrity, his judgment and his priorities in life. https://www.facebook.com/p/After-School-Assistance-Program-ASAP-100064434322556/
Our own parish, HNEC, also has community service programs including Backpack, which weekly provides backpacks of food for children in need to take home Fridays with food for the weekend. And Laundry Love, that helps people in a laundromat with quarters for the laundry machines, and one's tithe or gift to the Church can be divided among various causes as well as helping fund parish administration, a fact that is missed in church tithing and stewardship campaigns.
My point being that if one is moved to tithe (give a tenth of something), or simply to give as the lovingkindness of sharing what one has with others, there are many worthy causes, in addition to the Church, and one's tithing can be spread across a range of needs, locally and across the nation and world.
+++++++++
As well as its popular and famous verses 1 - 8, the rest of Ecclesiastes chapter 3 also qualifies as Scripture, the Word of the Lord, and is filled with wisdom about life itself, Time, which is all we have.
RSF&PTL
T90
image: lifted from ASAP's Facebook page without asking permission; I'll take it down tomorrow or Thursday. their web page: https://asappanamacity.org/donate