Believers Can't Be Bought

Moses spoke to the people, saying:
“The priest shall receive the basket from you
and shall set it in front of the altar of the LORD, your God.
Then you shall declare before the Lord, your God,
‘My father was a wandering Aramean
who went down to Egypt with a small household
and lived there as an alien.
But there he became a nation
great, strong, and numerous.
When the Egyptians maltreated and oppressed us,
imposing hard labor upon us,
we cried to the LORD, the God of our fathers,
and he heard our cry
and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression.
He brought us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and outstretched arm,
with terrifying power, with signs and wonders;
and bringing us into this country,
he gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
 
Therefore, I have now brought you the firstfruits
of the products of the soil
which you, O LORD, have given me.’ (Deuteronomy 26: 4-10)

People are always curious, why do Catholics not give tithes?  Tithe giving very predominantly done in other Christian denominations. (Tithe is the giving one tenth of produce or earnings to the Lord). Where does this practice originate?
 
The tithe can be traced back to when our ancestors in faith (the Israelites) were about to enter the promised land of Canaan. Moses, who did not enter the promised land himself, prepares his people by making them aware of a big temptation (a big no no) . The Canaanites are worshippers of the nature religions, ‘do not ever be tempted to remove your eyes and heart away from Yahweh (and want to be like the others) . Let nothing try to buy you off from God. Moses institutes a presentation prayer and action: bring all first fruits of their produce to God first. This perpetual action of worship will remind the generosity of God, what God has done must never be forgotten. It is from him that all good things come. Let no believer can’t be bought. It is God or nothing else.
 
Attention believer/ Christian to the things that attempt to buy us off!!! The temptation to avoid or ignore God is fatal. And so, watch that which attempts to manipulate us to keep our attention off of God.

What is it in your life here and now that makes you entitled in that you might despise God’s goodness? Maybe you think that you are self-sufficient? or that you are ‘self-made’? What takes most of your attention, heart, soul and very effort today?
 
Jesus came into the world just like us. He is fully divine, but fully human. As he begins his mission, he is driven to the desert and after forty days and nights he is hungry; ‘fresh meat’ for temptation.
 
Temptation one:
 
“If you are the Son of God,
command this stone to become bread.”
 
The temptation here is to ‘self-serve’. Take care of you, your immediate needs, who cares about ‘the other’ of your mission. Jesus refuses. ( A believer can’t be bought). He answers :  “It is written, One does not live on bread alone.”
 
Temptation two:

Then he took him up and showed him
all the kingdoms of the world in a single instant.
The devil said to him,
“I shall give to you all this power and glory;
for it has been handed over to me,
and I may give it to whomever I wish.
All this will be yours, if you worship me.”

 
They say ‘power corrupts’.  The power that the tempter exhibits is instant and shocking. The evil one is of the supernatural world. If Jesus worships him, he will give him all the political power. (Think about how this kind of power gives access to many things?? The ‘worship’ it attracts?) . Jesus rejects this too:
 
“It is written
        You shall worship the Lord, your God,
                        and him alone shall you serve.”
 
The last temptation:

Then he led him to Jerusalem,
made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written:
            He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,
 and:
            With their hands they will support you,
            lest you dash your foot against a stone.”

 
Do something spectacular! Dazzle, show off even for a bit! God will take care of you, you know.  
 
Jesus answers:
 
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
 
Even in the temple/church, the tempter can be. He can attempt to manipulate the believer from within. The tempter fully knows that if he gets into one’s heart, it is finished. Jesus says no.
 
The point of the reading this first Sunday of lent is: Believers can’t be bought! Let nothing manipulate us to avoid or remove God from our hearts and society. When this happens , things fall apart!.
 
Parents resist the temptation to starve your family of the Gospel. Society does have a lot of ‘stone turned into bread’, but we know it brings more hunger and restlessness.
 
If you are in business, let business not be just business, but show your faith in business. The clergy and priest cannot give into the temptation to water down the gospel to fit certain categories. Be on the lookout for secular cultures kickbacks that seem to get us covered (we are living well and doing nothing wrong to anybody? The new idol of self-sufficiency! This is an enormous temptation. Let nothing but you off!
 
Everything about the Eucharist reminds us that Christ didn’t give in to the temptation of being bought off. He remained faithful even to the point of his death. He overcomes the temptation of death and provides a gateway to life and victory. When we imitate his lifestyle, we proclaim to the world that the believer can’t be bought.
 

-Fr. Anthony Mpagi