20170620
BE PERFECT IN GIVING
Readings
at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: Green.
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First reading
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2 Corinthians 8:1-9 ©
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Now here, brothers, is the news of the grace of God which was
given in the churches in Macedonia; and of how, throughout great trials by
suffering, their constant cheerfulness and their intense poverty have
overflowed in a wealth of generosity. I can swear that they gave not only as
much as they could afford, but far more, and quite spontaneously, begging and
begging us for the favour of sharing in this service to the saints and, what
was quite unexpected, they offered their own selves first to God and, under
God, to us.
Because of
this, we have asked Titus, since he has already made a beginning, to bring this
work of mercy to the same point of success among you. You always have the most
of everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for
any cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to
put the most into this work of mercy too. It is not an order that I am giving
you; I am just testing the genuineness of your love against the keenness of
others. Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was rich, but he became
poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his poverty.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 145(146):2,5-9 ©
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My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will praise the Lord all my days,
make music to my God while I live.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who alone made heaven and earth,
the seas and all they contain.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is he who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to those who are oppressed.
It is he who gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who sets prisoners free.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who protects the stranger
and upholds the widow and orphan.
My soul, give praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
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Gospel Acclamation
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2Co5:19
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Alleluia, alleluia!
God in Christ was reconciling the world to himself,
and he has entrusted to us the news that they are reconciled.
Alleluia!
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Or
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Jn13:34
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Alleluia, alleluia!
I give you a new commandment:
love one another just as I have loved you,
says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:43-48 ©
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Jesus said to his disciples: ‘You have learnt how it was said: You
must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say this to you:
love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be
sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well
as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if you
love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax
collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your
brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do
they not? You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is
perfect.’
BE PERFECT IN GIVING
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ 2 Cor 8:1-9; Ps 145:2,5-9; Mt 5:43-48 ]
In the first
reading, we read of Paul’s passionate appeal to the Corinthians to help the
Mother Church in Jerusalem which was going through very difficult times especially
financially. The Mother Church was poor and in need of financial
assistance. They would have failed in their duty if they did not support the
Mother Church that gave birth to the local churches. Indeed, it is only
right that all churches are called to help the Mother Church. Today, this
is still being done. The local Church remits money to the Mother Church
in Rome. The parishes continue to support the archdiocese in her
activities both financially and in activities. Besides supporting
the Mother Church, local churches have a duty to help sister churches that are
also in need.
What is the
basis for giving generously to churches that are in need? Firstly, Paul
underscored the importance of gratitude to God’s generosity. Paul reminded the
Corinthians of their blessings. He said, “You always have the most of
everything – of faith, of eloquence, of understanding, of keenness for any
cause, and the biggest share of our affection – so we expect you to put
the most into this work of mercy too.” Indeed, the Corinthians had
received much from God. They had all the blessings of both material and
spiritual wealth. They should not be selfish and be concerned with just
their own community.
Consequently,
those who have been blessed more should give more. This is the basic
principle of giving. Everything we have comes from God; our talents, our health, our
resources, our career, our business and our friends. The responsorial
psalm reiterates this truth. “He is happy who is helped by Jacob’s God,
whose hope is in the Lord his God, who alone made heaven and earth, the seas
and all they contain. It is he who keeps faith forever, who is just to
those who are oppressed. It is he who gives bread to the hungry, the Lord, who
sets prisoners free. It is the Lord who gives sight to the blind, who raises up
those who are bowed down, the Lord, who protects the stranger and upholds the
widow and orphan.” So most of what we have were given, even before we can
cooperate with the gifts that God has blessed us with. Whilst we might
have worked hard to be where we are today, without the prior gifts of health
and opportunities, we would never have made it to where we are today.
Since God has blessed us, we have a responsibility to bless others with what we
have received.
Giving is
also a sign of our appreciation and gratitude to God. Paul wrote, “It is not an
order that I am giving you; I am just testing the genuineness of your love
against the keenness of others.” If we are truly grateful for what
we have received, then we will want to share it with others. This is the
test of gratitude and true love of God. We cannot claim that we are
deeply in love with God if we do not care for His larger family, His brothers
and sisters who are deprived of their needs. How can any member of the
family be living in plenty and in luxury when there are members within his
family who are in poverty? So if we love God and Christ’s Church, His
mystical body, then we must endeavor to support our sister churches,
particularly, the Mother Church.
Secondly,
Paul gave the wonderful example of the Christians in Macedonia. They were going
through great trials and sufferings themselves, yet they were constantly
cheerful and ironically, even in their “intense poverty have overflowed in a
wealth of generosity.” They did not wallow in self-pity. On the
contrary, because of their own sufferings and poverty, they could feel for the
Mother Church in Jerusalem even more. It is true that often the most generous
people are not the rich but the poor people. This is because unless you
have been poor, you will never fully understand the meaning of poverty and
deprivation. These are just concepts without experience. But those
of us who have been poor before tend to be more generous because we feel for
the poor. Now that we are better off, we feel the need to help them just
as we had been helped by God. No one should ever say that he or she is
too poor to help. This is because even if we are poor, there will be some
who are even poorer than us. That makes us richer than them!
But the
Christian churches in Macedonia were not only generous but they sincerely gave
from the heart. Paul wrote, “I can swear that they gave not only as much as
they could afford, but far more, and quite spontaneously, begging and begging
us for the favour of sharing in this service to the saints.” They
were giving not because they were compelled to give or even obliged, but simply
because they sympathized with the poor Mother Church in Jerusalem and they
truly wanted to send relief to their brothers and sisters in the faith.
It was considered a great privilege for them to participate in this work of
mercy. Such was the generosity and kindness of the Christians in
Macedonia.
But what was
the secret of the Macedonians’ generosity? Paul said, “What was quite
unexpected, they offered their own selves first to God and, under God, to us.” From them, we learn
another principle of giving. Before we give things or resources or time
to others, we must first offer ourselves to God. All giving ultimately is
giving to God. Once we are clear that we are giving to God in
thanksgiving and gratitude, and as a sacrifice of love, we will then decide
practically how much to give. When we give, the question should not
be, “how much should I give?” This is a secondary question. The
primary question is “have I given myself to God completely?” Only when we
have done so, may we then ask the secondary question, “how much should I give”
in the context of our limited resources and responsibility towards those under
our charge.
The exemplar
of all giving is Christ Himself. Paul said, “Remember how generous the Lord Jesus was: he was
rich, but he became poor for your sake, to make you rich out of his
poverty.” Christ emptied Himself of His divinity and became poor for our
sake. He came to identify Himself with us so that He could be the
compassionate high priest, one who has been with us in every way, including
temptation, except sin. (cf Heb 4:15)
“Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may
receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Heb 4:16)
Because Jesus had shared our sufferings, we can be sure that He would be most
compassionate towards us as well.
But we still
have not arrived at the heart and depth of giving. The greatest act of
giving is for-giving. We can give away material things and share our resources with
others. But it is very difficult to forgive our loved ones and those who
have hurt us badly. True giving is when we forgive our enemies and love
them. This is what Jesus asks of us in the gospel. “You have learnt how it
was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy. But I say to
you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ To bless
and love our enemies is the highest form of giving anyone can give. This
is why Jesus is the perfect example of giving. He came to give not only
of Himself through the Incarnation, His works of mercy, the miracles of healing
and exorcism. But He came to forgive us our sins and reconcile us with
His Father by His death on the cross, praying and justifying us by saying,
“Father, forgive them for they know not what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)
In so doing,
Jesus demonstrated the perfect love of His Father. “You must therefore
be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” His perfection in
giving is seen by the way He “causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as
good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.” Thus,
Jesus remarked, “If you love those who love you, what right have you to claim
any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if
you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything
exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not?” So if we
want to be known as sons of our Father in heaven, then we must perfect
ourselves in love through giving and forgiving.
Written by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Singapore © All Rights Reserved
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