Fr. Sudarmanto, SX
32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
God loves a cheerful giver; Christian giving is born out of unconditional love and cheerfulness. Giving for the sake of giving or to boost your name or to gather fame and recognition is not Christian and such a giving does not beget the required result in the presence of God.
The widow in today’s gospel gave everything she had without holding anything back for her. As the scripture says, the amount she put in was insignificant but that caught the attention of Jesus, who immediately gave her credit for it, saying that the poor widow had contributed much more than the Pharisees and others who contributed bigger sums. It is not how much one gives that matters but how one gives. Christian giving is total and self-sacrificing.
Mother Theresa told a story how one day she was walking down the street when a beggar came up to her and said, “Mother, everybody is giving to you, I also want to give to you. Today, for the whole day, I got only 30 cents. I want to give it to you.” We have to give what will cost us something. This is not just giving what extra we have got, but what we need for our survival. That kind of giving hurts. But this is love in action. When the gift is needed by the giver as by the receiver, that is true giving. Then our gift becomes a sacrifice pleasing to God.
Giving until it hurts is a matter of the heart. It cannot be done by people who have not experienced God and his generosity in their lives. What motivated the poor widow to give all that she had and holding back nothing for her, is born out of her own faith that God will protect and give her all that she needed in her life. True faith in the Lord enables us to empty ourselves and surrender to God and leaves us totally dependent on the providence of God.
We are called to rely on the generosity of God and like the widow trust in his providence. What we have or possess is never enough to satisfy our human inclinations and desires. So we need to surrender ourselves to the richness of God’s mercy and he in turn will allow us to participate in his abundance. Let us pray that we may learn to let go of ourselves and give all that we have. May the Lord allow us to participate in his generosity and self-sacrificing love.
32nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
God loves a cheerful giver; Christian giving is born out of unconditional love and cheerfulness. Giving for the sake of giving or to boost your name or to gather fame and recognition is not Christian and such a giving does not beget the required result in the presence of God.
The widow in today’s gospel gave everything she had without holding anything back for her. As the scripture says, the amount she put in was insignificant but that caught the attention of Jesus, who immediately gave her credit for it, saying that the poor widow had contributed much more than the Pharisees and others who contributed bigger sums. It is not how much one gives that matters but how one gives. Christian giving is total and self-sacrificing.
Mother Theresa told a story how one day she was walking down the street when a beggar came up to her and said, “Mother, everybody is giving to you, I also want to give to you. Today, for the whole day, I got only 30 cents. I want to give it to you.” We have to give what will cost us something. This is not just giving what extra we have got, but what we need for our survival. That kind of giving hurts. But this is love in action. When the gift is needed by the giver as by the receiver, that is true giving. Then our gift becomes a sacrifice pleasing to God.
Giving until it hurts is a matter of the heart. It cannot be done by people who have not experienced God and his generosity in their lives. What motivated the poor widow to give all that she had and holding back nothing for her, is born out of her own faith that God will protect and give her all that she needed in her life. True faith in the Lord enables us to empty ourselves and surrender to God and leaves us totally dependent on the providence of God.
We are called to rely on the generosity of God and like the widow trust in his providence. What we have or possess is never enough to satisfy our human inclinations and desires. So we need to surrender ourselves to the richness of God’s mercy and he in turn will allow us to participate in his abundance. Let us pray that we may learn to let go of ourselves and give all that we have. May the Lord allow us to participate in his generosity and self-sacrificing love.