by Fred G. Garry - November 19, 2000
Texts: I Samuel 1 I love the Old Testament notion of
the tithe. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the life
and community of the Israelites. The Old Testament notion of
the "tithe" is the closest thing, I believe, to the
real intent and hope of God for the then young nation of Israel.
Now when I say tithe many of you of think of the modem notion,
giving ten percent of your earning to the church. This word "tithe"
is one few would consider beautiful today. In fact some would
say it is an unrealistic and even guilt-inspiring notion.
Yet what the Old Testament meant by tithe
and what we understand of it today are not the same. The Old
Testament had a beautiful notion of giving. Their notion of the
tithe was this: once a year a family would purchase and collect
a tenth of their produce. With these funds and goods they would
obtain and collect all the elements for an enormous feast.
They would then gather their family,
and most likely their friends, and they would travel to a house
of the lord; and for as long as the food lasted they would celebrate.
Somewhat close to the concept of potlatch,
where families in a tribe hold feasts and try to outdo one another
in giving, the Old Testament notion of giving focuses on gathering
for a celebration. This notion of the Old Testament tithe doesn't
get a lot of airplay from pulpits today. Perhaps some think the
concept is too radical; perhaps others believe such a notion
would lose sight of the bottom line needs of the church, also
known as the budget. Perhaps such a notion although beautiful
may seem frivolous and wasteful, and thus the preacher would
come across as lacking responsibility. I am not sure why this
part of tithing is never mentioned.
Yet in point of fact, this is what was
happening at Shiloh in our text today. A man named Elkanah gathered
up the tithe from his produce for the year, he gathered up his
family and most likely his friends, extended family, and probably
some obligatory relations and honored guests. He gathered up
all of these and he traveled to Shiloh. Coming to Shiloh there
were mostly likely items he waited to purchase like wine, special
spices for offerings, and one can only assume he bought items
that would have made for a celebration, also know as decorations.
Arriving at Shiloh he would have put
live stock into the barns of the priests, taken his goods and
special items to kitchens or rooms of preparation. After all
the steps were complete Elkanah and his family and friends, under
the direction of Eli the priest, would have made sacrifices to
God, said special prayers, and then the feasting would have begun.
(I should note here that whenever you see the word "sacrifice"
in the Old Testament you should insert the word "barbecue."
For the bulls, the lambs, the goats that were sacrificed where
not left or discarded; they were roasted and eaten. And when
you read of someone sacrificing many animals in the Old Testament
you should insert the word "feast" or "celebration."
If you have ever considered the Old Testament a dull book, this
will spice things up a bit.)
I believe the notion of the tithe described
in First Samuel as a great celebration is beautiful. I mean think
about it. You gather together all of your loved ones, and for
a week or so you celebrate and dance, feast and offer prayers
to God. This is also a great picture of the priesthood. Eli is
there to help in the celebration, to enable the prayers of thanksgiving.
I suppose he also bound people in marriage, said special prayers
for those who died during the year, and helped the families overcome
difficulties or hardships with the joy of worship and music.
There had to have been music.
These are beautiful pictures. In fact
I would say they are a kind of picture of the perfect life. The
tithe seems to be a kind of perfect moment, a moment meant to
inspire and encourage, to say in effect, "life can be celebration."
And this is true. Life can be celebration. As we approach Thanksgiving
and then Christmas you may be out there today believing, hoping,
trying to hold onto such a notion. This year when my family gets
together it is going to be perfect.
We are going to gather together and celebrate.
I know this is a stretch but I also feel that some of you may
be out there believing, hoping, and trying to hold onto the notion
that this year at your celebration maybe people will get along,
or no one will leave in a huff. Some of you maybe be so bold
as to hope that no one will get their feelings hurt, or dig up
the hatchet we all hoped would stay buried.
I mention this as a stretch because of
an experience. I don't know about your but family gatherings
can be stressful events. Dear Abby this week had a letter where
a family chose to decline all extended family invitations for
a year and not participate in any of the holiday gatherings.
Rather than call this action selfish or standoffish, Abby praised
the mother who wrote saying, "it is good to have your own
gatherings." Beneath the praise though was recognition that
family gatherings can be stressful, debilitating even.
I mention such a reality with care in
that the first time I made note of this from the pulpit, I simply
offered such issues as a truism: family gatherings are stressful.
After the service where I preached this sermon a congregate came
up to me and she was furious about the sermon. She started right
in, "I don't know what you mean. My family is not like that.
No one gets their feelings hurt at my family gatherings. And
none of my friends do either. My family gets together and we
all get along." And with that she walked past me with a
scowl that would dress down the fieriest sergeant major.
As she walked away I turned and found
the eyes of the elder who assisted me in worship who was standing
next to me in the reception line. His eyes were as big as saucers.
I gave a shrug as to say, Am I all wet? Have I been living
in a parallel universe of bad decorum? To this he said, "I
thought you were going easy. We all wear gloves at our gatherings,
boxing gloves." And then he said, "I have a feeling
she maybe the only one who gets along in her family and doesn't
know it."
The great thing about family gatherings,
like the gatherings for celebration at Shiloh, the great thing
is that they don't have to be perfect to be beautiful. When Elkanah
gathered his family to Shiloh it wasn't perfect. In fact it was
anything but perfect. There was a raging feud going on in his
family. Elkanah had two wives. Now it would be wrong if I insinuated
that that is enough said, as that would have a sexist undertone.
But in this instance the problem, or feud, was between his wives.
We don't have all the complicated details,
the type of details a new family member would have been told
during the feast. But we do know this. Elkanah loved one wife
more than the other. He loved Hannah more. So during the feast
he offered her a double portion of meat. This was a symbolic
gesture to say, "you are my most cherished and honored guest."
The text says though that Elkanah's other wife Penninah was able
to provide him with sons and daughters.
And this is where the double portion
becomes not just an honor to Hannah, but a slight to Penninah.
I can hear her saying, "look at him giving her the honor,
when I give him all his children. What is she? She shouldn't
get the double portion."
It always starts with a slight doesn't?
Someone says something, someone gets something more. A parent's
favoritism is tolerated all year long, but then an offering of
an extra scoop of potatoes when those potatoes should have come
to you and the next six months are spent brooding and fuming.
In the bigger picture, it's only potatoes. Just as it was only
meat that Elkanah offered to Hannah, but it pushed her over the
edge. The text says Hannah wouldn't eat the meat and wept.
For those of you who have never experienced
such a moment in a family gathering take my remarks merely as
information for helping others. For at some point you may need
to console a neighbor or a friend who thought it would be not
be a problem if she baked the rolls instead of Aunt Gladys, or
that cousin Bernie was not called, or that mom's famous yams-
that only your brother eats anyway- were not made this year.
If this is close to your holiday gatherings, though, then maybe
you can take these remarks to heart. For there is great truth
to be had from the story of Hannah's refusal to eat the double
portion.
The story of Hannah and the double portion
and her subsequent prayer and birth of a child, the child called
Samuel, is great and true in two ways. The first is that this
story doesn't have to be here. We are reading from the first
chapter of First Samuel, the opening lines of the greatest
single work of the Old Testament. The story we read this morning
is the beginning of the history of the nation of Israel. The
people's history began with Genesis and ended with Judges, but
the nation's history begins with this story.
Now imagine if you will that a professor
at one of our esteemed universities sought to write the history
of our United States. Imagine if he began this history, not with
religious turmoil in England, or the adventures of the Western
explorers, but with the holiday meal of George Washington's parents.
Or what if the professor began the history with the love triangle
of one of the constitutional framers? Quite frankly he would
be laughed at by his colleagues and offered a position with the
Fox Network.
Yet that is exactly what the author of
First Samuel did. According to tradition the author is
Jeremiah. So when Jeremiah sat down to tell the history of the
nation of Israel, he began his account with the difficult marriage
relations of Elkanah, how one wife was his love, and the other
the mother of his children, and how family gatherings were really
tough. The beauty and truth of this choice, choosing such a story
to begin a history, is what it says about the God of Israel.
The God of Israel is not understood in battles and trade routes,
fortifications and political structures, nor are the people.
The story is a story of real life.
Truly if we were to recast the polygamy
aspect, the case of Elkanah is close to the situations that are
the stuff of life today, stuff that we face, stuff that makes
our family gatherings hard. How many of you have been at a Thanksgiving
or Christmas meal, when it should be easy, but it's not. In fact
it's anything but easy. Allowances are made, pride is swallowed,
lips are sealed, and sharp objects are limited to the kitchen
only. And even with all this, someone leaves early.
The great truth of Hannah and the double
portion being the beginning of Israel's history is that: our
history is real life, and our God is in the midst of this. I
take great comfort knowing that Christ is present at our family
meals; I also take great comfort knowing that God is patient
and hopefully somewhat amused by our family gatherings. Although
Kathy gets after me for this, I take great pleasure in seeing
the complexity of life unfold as dishes are passed, and I have
the bruises on my leg to prove it when she has compelled me to
keep quiet.
The second beauty or truth of this story
is the reminder: giving is easier than gathering. As we near
the end of our stewardship campaign and look ahead, I always
breathe a sigh of relief, no matter what the figure. Because
no matter what the figure, I know soon enough I can get back
to the real challenge of the church's life: gathering. Put this
in light of your family gatherings. Money is never really the
issue. No matter what, families across this country can gather
for a meal, they can give their time and money to do this. This
is not impossible. The giving is not difficult. The gathering
is the difficulty.
I have all confidence that Summit will
meet her financial obligations for the coming year and do well,
maybe 2001 win be our best year ever. Who knows? This is not
the real challenge. The real challenge is will we enjoy it? Will
we get along? Will we gather in the Holy Spirit or in the spirit
of destruction? This is a place where we celebrate the freedom
we have in Christ, where we worship the God who made us, where
we rejoice and weep together in the passages of life. It should
be easy, but sometimes it's not.
Hannah was given the double portion,
she should have been happy, but she wept and refused to eat.
It should have been easy, but it was not. When you gather with
family and friends this week, remember Hannah and her double
portion. There maybe someone in your midst who should be happy,
but they are not. Reach out, help out, and offer care. As you
gather, remember it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful.
But most of all as you live out this year at Summit, remember,
the real challenge is not the giving, it's the gathering. Pray
that God would make our gatherings true moments of celebration.
To that I will say, Amen.
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