Not just a tenth

‘How terrible for you Pharisees! You give to God a tenth of the seasoning herbs, such as mint and rue and all the other herbs, but you neglect justice and love for God. These you should practise, without neglecting the others.’ (verse 42)

Read Luke 11:37-52

If you know your Strine, you know that ‘Emma Chisit’ means ‘How much is it?’ We use the expression regularly, because we regularly need to know how much something costs. We need to know so that we can decide whether we are prepared to pay the price.

The Pharisees thought they knew exactly how much they had to pay to please God: a tenth. So they made sure they gave their tenth (tithe) on everything, right down to the cooking herbs they used.

They thought they knew, but Jesus told them in no uncertain terms that they had it wrong. Not only were they loading a huge burden on people but they were also missing the central issue. They weren’t acting out of love for God and care for people.

So Jesus asks us, too, to understand that God doesn’t want just a tenth of us but all of us. In Jesus, God has given himself totally for us. In the same way, God invites us to respond wholeheartedly to his saving love and to give ourselves unstintingly in serving others.

Gracious God, show us again the greatness of your love, and so move us to a full-on love for you and others. Amen.

by John Vitale, in ‘Guidance for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2002)

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