giving to your pastor

⁶And let him who is being taught the Word discuss it with him who is teaching it to him, in every good way. ⁷Do not choose to wander astray. God is not to be ridiculed. ⁸For whatever a man will have sown, that also shall he reap. For whoever sows in his flesh, from the flesh he shall also reap corruption. But whoever sows in the Spirit, from the Spirit he shall reap eternal life. ⁹And so, let us not be deficient in doing good. For in due time, we shall reap without fail. ¹⁰Therefore, while we have time, we should do good works toward everyone, and most of all toward those who are of the household of the faith.

¹⁷Let priests who lead well be held worthy of twice the honor, especially those who labor in the Word and in doctrine.

¹⁴So, too, has the Lord ordained that those who announce the Gospel should live by the Gospel.

⁴¹Whoever receives a prophet, in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet. And whoever receives the just in the name of the just shall receive the reward of the just. ⁴²And whoever shall give, even to one of the least of these, a cup of cold water to drink, solely in the name of a disciple: Amen I say to you, he shall not lose his reward.”

¹¹If we have sown spiritual things in you, is it important if we harvest from your worldly things?

¹⁸For Scripture says: “You shall not muzzle an ox as it is treading out the grain,” and, “The worker is worthy of his pay.”

³⁰And the first-fruits of all the firstborn, and all the libations out of all that is offered, shall belong to the priests. And you shall give the first-fruits of your foods to the priest, so that he may return a blessing to your house.

⁷Remember your leaders, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith you imitate, by observing the goal of their way of life:

¹⁰Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and let there be food in my house. And test me about this, says the Lord, as to whether I will not open to you the floodgates of heaven, and pour out to you a blessing, all the way to abundance.

¹²Then he also said to the one who had invited him: “When you prepare a lunch or dinner, do not choose to call your friends, or your brothers, or your relatives, or your wealthy neighbors, lest perhaps they might then invite you in return and repayment would made to you. ¹³But when you prepare a feast, call the poor, the disabled, the lame, and the blind. ¹⁴And you will be blessed because they do not have a way to repay you. So then, your recompense will be in the resurrection of the just.”

²⁵The soul that blesses shall be made fat. And whoever inebriates will likewise be inebriated himself.

¹It is a faithful saying: if a man desires the episcopate, he desires a good work. ²Therefore, it is necessary for a bishop to be beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, sober, prudent, gracious, chaste, hospitable, a teacher, ³not a drunkard, not combative but restrained, not quarrelsome, not covetous; ⁴but a man who leads his own house well, having children who are subordinate with all chastity. ⁵For if a man does not know how to lead his own house, how will he take care of the Church of God? ⁶He must not be a new convert, lest, being elated by pride, he may fall under the sentence of the devil.

¹And it happened afterwards that he was making a journey through the cities and towns, preaching and evangelizing the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, ²along with certain women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, who is called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had departed, ³and Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many other women, who were ministering to him from their resources.

¹Now a certain woman, from the wives of the prophets, cried out to Elisha, saying: “My husband, your servant, is dead. And you know that your servant was one who fears the Lord. And behold, a creditor has arrived, so that he may take away my two sons to serve him.” ²And Elisha said to her: “What do you want me to do for you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” And she responded, “I, your handmaid, do not have anything in my house, except a little oil, with which I may be anointed.” ³And he said to her: “Go, ask to borrow from all your neighbors empty vessels, more than a few. ⁴And enter and close your door. And when you are inside with your sons, pour from the oil into all those vessels. And when they are full, take them away.” ⁵And so, the woman went and closed the door upon herself and her sons. They were bringing her the vessels, and she was pouring into them. ⁶And when the vessels had been filled, she said to her son, “Bring me another a vessel.” And he responded, “I have none.” And there was oil remaining.

²⁴Some distribute their own goods, and they become wealthier. Others seize what is not their own, and they are always in need.

¹⁷It is not that I am seeking a gift. Instead, I seek the fruit that abounds to your benefit.

³⁵I have revealed all things to you, because by laboring in this way, it is necessary to support the weak and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”