In the AC, as well as others, we tend (read: love) to recognize, thank, and praise donors. It encourages more competition donations, right? Parish newsletters enumerate donations at various levels; dioceses do this as well. Look around any parish and you will notice several plaques all over the sanctuaries (look on stained-glass windows, pews, paintings) and halls. They can be found on the altar table; and names are engraved even on chalices. Everybody knows what was given by whom (even if the person’s name is forgotten after a couple of generations, but never mind . . .).
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| Okay, this is obviously not an Armenian parish, but you get the picture. |
They have no reward in heaven. If you think I am being harsh, I am not—Christ is just telling it like it is.
“Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them; for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. “Thus, when you give alms, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by men. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Mt. 6:1ff.)
I think it comes down to a fundamental issue of faith. Do I really believe that I will be rewarded in heaven for what I have given during my life on earth? If I do, does it not follow that I would want to donate as anonymously as possible? Why, then, would I put my name on a wall, engrave it on a chalice, ... ? Even when the plate is passed, do I look at what the other person is putting in it (forget the fact that it is usally a dollar, regardless of the financial position of the parishioner)? Do I care if others see what we are putting in? I appreciate the practice of the Coptic Church (and perhaps others) that use a bag into which the people place their closed fist with whatever they are giving. Did the person to the right of me just put in a dollar or a wad of one hundred dollar bills?
I believe that the clergy have an obligation to explain this very simple concept to their people, since I think that many do not even know (read: have not read Mt. 6) of what they are robbing themselves.
Last word: we have no reward in heaven when we receive it on earth. When you give, the choice is yours: where do we want your reward to be?
