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GIVING ALL THAT WE CAN
GIVE COUNTS IN THE END
26 NOVEMBER,
2018, Monday, 34th Week, Ordinary Time
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour:
Green.
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First reading
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Apocalypse 14:1-5 ©
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The redeemed has Christ and his Father's
name written on their foreheads
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In my vision I, John, saw Mount Zion, and
standing on it a Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand
people, all with his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. I
heard a sound coming out of the sky like the sound of the ocean or the roar of
thunder; it seemed to be the sound of harpists playing their harps. There in
front of the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four
animals and the elders, a hymn that could only be learnt by the hundred and
forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world; they follow the Lamb
wherever he goes; they have been redeemed from amongst men to be the
first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. They never allowed a lie to pass their
lips and no fault can be found in them.
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 23(24):1-6 ©
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Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy
place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless
things.
Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who
saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of
Jacob.
Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Rv2:10
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Even if you have to die, says the Lord,
keep faithful, and I will give you
the crown of life.
Alleluia!
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Or:
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Mt24:42,44
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Stay awake and stand ready,
because you do not know the hour
when the Son of Man is coming.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 21:1-4 ©
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The widow's mite
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As Jesus looked up, he saw rich people
putting their offerings into the treasury; then he happened to notice a
poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins, and he said, ‘I tell you
truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all
contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all
she had to live on.’
GIVING ALL THAT WE CAN GIVE COUNTS IN
THE END
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ Rev 14:1-5; Lk 21:1-4 ]
In the gospel, Jesus
observed a “poverty-stricken widow putting in two small coins” as her offering
into the temple treasury. It
is significant that Jesus had eyes not on the rich people giving money to the
Temple but the poor widow. This is because as the Lord said, “I tell you
truly, this poor widow has put in more than any of them; for these have all
contributed money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in all
she had to live on.”
By so doing, Jesus
taught us a great lesson about giving. It is not so much the amount we give that
will be noticed by God, nor is it a measure of our generosity. Rather, it
is what remains with us after we give. Hence, the rich who gave much did
not give much because they gave out of their abundance. After giving, they
still have much left for themselves. The poor widow gave little, only two
coins, but she gave the most since she gave out of her poverty and want.
She left nothing for herself. She could have kept one coin for herself to
pay for her expenses but she gave away all she had. So the measure of
giving is not the amount we give out but the amount we still have after
giving. When we give all that we could possibly give, it shows the
generosity of our hearts. Otherwise, when we give out of what we have extra, the
sacrifice is much less.
Giving, therefore, is a
sacrifice on our part. It
is to give part of ourselves to others, whether in kind, resources or
time. But this sacrifice we make must be voluntary and not out of
duty. There some who give but they do it merely out of duty.
Sometimes parents care for their children out of duty. Children look
after their elderly out of obligation. They give reluctantly.
Some give out of obligation and guilt. They see others as having less,
but they have so much. And so they give not because they care for others
but simply to soothe their conscience. St Paul makes it clear that the
Lord loves a cheerful giver. We give because we want to and not because
we are compelled by external factors or pressure.
The extent of the sacrifice
of love will make the giving more valuable. It is significant that God does not look
at the amount we give but the heart that gives. This is the greatness of
God’s love and justice. In the eyes of God, we are all equal in giving.
All of us can give; even a beggar can give. It does not matter how much
we give. It depends on the depth of the generosity of the heart. A
poor man can give even more than a rich man in God’s eyes. Hence, the quality
of giving is not only dependent on the sacrifice but the depth of love.
The widow gave out of love for God. Real giving must come from the
heart. Any gift given for display to gain attention and recognition, as
Jesus said, has already had its own reward. But a gift given in pure love
is counted in God’s eyes as a greater sacrifice and hence more praiseworthy.
Mother Teresa shared a
story about how a beggar gave her all he begged for the whole day. He said to her, “Mother Teresa,
everybody’s giving to you. Today, for the whole day, I got only twenty-nine paise
and I want to give it to you.” Initially Mother Teresa was hesitant to
take his money but she was afraid that she might hurt his feelings if she did
not receive his money. On the other hand, she was worried he would not
have any food that day since he gave all he collected. But when she
received the money from him, his face brimmed with joy, a joy that Mother
Teresa never saw before. Although it was such a small amount and she could get
nothing for it, but because he gave all, it was like he gave thousands. This
shows that even the poorest can give and giving brings joy to those who are
capable of giving. God does not want to deprive us of the joy of giving.
For this reason, we must
never compare what we do for society and Church. A pope or bishop, a president or a
prime minister, a CEO or big time businessman might be able to influence and
change society because of his or her office and position in life.
But that does not make them greater than the ordinary and common man who gave
his time and service to help the poor, to serve the country or Church. It is
not what we do that counts but how we do and how much we give of
ourselves. Alas society only sees the external contribution. We
honour the rich, the powerful and the influential when what they give is just
out of their abundance, whereas there are many poor and ordinary people who
make more sacrifices than the rich and powerful.
What we give might seem
insignificant in the eyes of the world. We cannot imagine how God will make use of
the little we give and transform them into something great. We remember
the story of the Multiplication of loaves. The little boy shared his five
loaves and two fish with the Lord. And lo and behold, the Lord made use
of his little gift to inspire the rest of the people to bring out of their
picnic baskets to share their food with those who did not have. And we
read that after feeding the five thousand, excluding women and children, they
collected twelve baskets of leftovers. (Cf Mk 6:30-44) So too the little we give
from our hearts will also inspire others to give as well. Looking at our
example, they too will have the courage and generosity to give.
We must avoid falling
into the temptation that because our giving is insignificant, it makes no
difference. Indeed,
this is how the devil discourages us from giving the little that we have.
We say to ourselves that the amount we give is so little and it would not add
much to what is needed in the world. There are so many people who are
hungry. Even if we give all we can give, the world’s hunger and poverty
will not be solved. But we should never allow such thoughts to discourage
us because if each does his little part, we can do much good for those who are
suffering from hunger, sickness and poverty. Surely the widow knew that
her two coins were insignificant towards the maintenance of the Temple, but we
must believe that whatever we do, small or big, will have an impact on those
whom we seek to help.
More importantly, giving
is not so much for the sake of others or for God but for ourselves. When we give from a heart of love and
generosity, we are sharing in the love of God. The one who gives shares in the
joy of God who gave all of Himself. God is love and His heart is one of
love and giving. Anyone who wants to share in the life of God must also
learn to give himself as generously as God gave Himself to us. He gave us
His only begotten Son and Christ gave Himself to us in His death on the cross
to teach us what ultimate giving entails. So the invitation to give is to
help us enter the joy of the heart of God who gives. Joy is the sign of the
presence of God. That is why “God loves a cheerful
giver.” True joy only comes through a life of giving.
Indeed, to the extent we
give, to that extent we share in the joy of God. We will not experience this indescribable
gift of the joy of Jesus if we do not share in His act of giving to others.
Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down,
shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you
give will be the measure you get back.” (Lk 6:38) For this reason, the more we
give our lives to others, the more we will live. “For those who want to
save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and
for the sake of the gospel, will save it. For what will it profit them to gain
the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return
for their life? The man who tries to find his life will lose it.” (Mk 8:35-37)
Generous giving
presupposes gratitude, faith and trust in God. We cannot give generously if we
do not trust that God will somehow provide us our needs. St Paul
wrote, “The point is this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and
he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has
made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful
giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that
you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every
good work. As it is written, ‘He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his
righteousness endures for ever.'” (2 Cor 9:6-9)
Only those who believe
that God is their security are willing to part with their wealth to others. But this trust can happen only if we
are grateful for what we have already received. If we lack gratitude for
what we have, it means that our trust is not in God but in ourselves, in our
savings, insurance policies and business and work. If we come to realize how
generous God has been to us all these years of our life, then we can continue
to live in trust that He will always provide for us. We are only stewards
of His blessings for us.
Jesus is our exemplar of
giving. Jesus was a
self-emptying person because He imitated His Father’s utter giving of
Himself. The Father gave Himself totally in His Son. “God so loved the
world that He gave his only Son.” (John 3:16) Christ in highlighting the
example of the widow in His last days on earth anticipated His total giving of
Himself and His life to His Father and to us all. Meditating on His
self-emptying love, we will find the strength and inspiration to love as He has
loved us.
We also have the shining
example of the 144,000 martyrs who followed Jesus to death. “There in front of the throne they were
singing a new hymn in the presence of the four animals and the elders, a hymn
that could only be learnt by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been
redeemed from the world; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they have been
redeemed from amongst men to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. They
never allowed a lie to pass their lips and no fault can be found in
them.” These were those who were redeemed by Christ and out of gratitude,
followed Him not just in life but in death. They gave their entire
life to the Lord.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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