By Fr. Marcel Uzoigwe, CSSp
(2 Kings 4:8-11, 14-16a; Romans 6:3-4, 8-11; Matthew 10:37-42)
Dear friends in Christ,
We often presume that others are the beneficiaries of whatever we are generous with, whereas we are actually the ones who reap from our acts of generosity. It is interesting to know that our acts of generosity serve to supply what we lack, and everyone lacks something in life, either materially or spiritually. The facts that “it is in giving that we receive” (St. Francis) and “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts. 20:35) are clearly highlighted in the readings of today. They also portray love as the driving force of generosity.
The first reading presents the wealthy but childless Shunammite couple. What makes this couple exceptional is the ability to feel the sufferings of others, shown in the initiative they took to alleviate the suffering of Elisha. They provided bed and board for Elisha each time he came across. The process was set in motion by the woman, and her husband must be a good and generous man to be open to her suggestion to furnish a little room for Elisha in their house so that he could always have a place to rest during his journey. Their generosity was matched and surpassed by God who granted them a son according to the words of Elisha: “This time next year you will be fondling a baby son” (2 Kings 4:16).
Hospitality is a form of generosity, and it is one of the greatest virtues in the Bible. The ancients believed that each person should be welcomed as though one were welcoming God himself. The virtue of hospitality is encountering the presence of God in others, usually in those whom we least expect. This reminds us of a similar story found in the eighteenth chapter of the book of Genesis, where the old man Abraham and his aged wife Sarah welcomed and entertained three strangers. But they never knew that the travelers were actually God’s messengers. And in a year, Abraham and Sarah had a baby boy whom they named Isaac. Many a time we miss to welcome God who visits us in a way we never expected Him to.
For those who know how to listen, like the Shunammite couple, they hear the voice of God inviting them to take action. Despite the attendant dangers in doing good for others—peoples incomprehension—they trust that God sees their hearts and good intentions. Such people get surprised by God. The Shunammite couple couldn’t buy a child, in spite of their wealth; but they received a gift of a son, through the prayers of the prophet. Note that when God called Elisha, he cooked his farm animals and fed his workers with the meat—his whole wealth and source of livelihood disappeared in a single day (1 Kings 19:19-21). He too was generous with his material possession, but even more in dedicating his life to God’s service with the attendant material poverty and dependency that go with it.
The gospel deals with excessive attachments which restrict our generosity and freedom to do God’s work accordingly; something that St. Ignatius of Loyola would call ‘inordinate affection’. To demonstrate to us that charity or generosity with our gifts to others is not easy, three classes of excuses we usually give for refusing to be generous are presented to us: responsibilities to our parents, children and preservation of our wealth. Against these excuses, Jesus warns that “whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38). By demanding that we prioritize his call to serve above every other human consideration or family ties, Jesus affirms the very principle of love as the driving force for generosity which looks beyond the individual to see God in human persons. Thus, when we are generous to a person, it is actually to God that we are generous. We see this also in the statement of Jesus concerning the last judgement, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” ( Mathew 25:40).
What goes on in our minds when we see people in difficulty or suffering? Do we simply get angry and place the blame on institutions and governments for wrong policies or do we think their situation calls us to take action? Bad policies do lead to people suffering, but it is not just the anger against institutions and governments that matter; rather, our ability to be generous towards them.
Generosity does not require a great deal of wealth, for anyone to feel dispensed from it; a cup of water to a thirsty person suffices as generosity: “And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple – amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). Everyone is rich enough to share something, no matter how little, with others. It is sin – especially greed and lack of faith – that prevents us from sharing with others. The solution to this sin, given in the second reading, reminds us that our sinful nature died with Christ in baptism. We must therefore consider ourselves dead to sin and alive with God in Jesus Christ (Romans 6:11). If we are still stingy and unfeeling towards people who suffer, our claim to Christianity is questionable. We must be supportive to anyone who needs what we can offer.
Generosity goes beyond material giving. The very source and origin of generosity is God himself. He made us freely in his own image and likeness and generously gave us the entire creation to manage (Gen. 2:26). After the fall of Adam and Eve that brought us death, God’s generosity gave us salvation. Thus generosity is an expression of the person of God which is love itself (1 John 4:8). In John 3:16 we read, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. It is God’s gift of His Son that enables us to be generous like Him. We can then offer our time, attention, services, resources cheerfully without grudging. It also enables us to see something good in everyone, feel their pains and seek to help them in ways we can. The greatest form of generosity is to lead the sinner and those going astray to salvation, and to be part of the salvation ministry which is the very reason Jesus emphasized on generosity given to prophets, apostles, disciples and ‘the little ones’.
Let us realize that whatever we posses in terms of time, talent and treasure as well as spiritual gifts, are freely bestowed on us by God for the purpose of serving our good and that of our neighbour, knowing that whatever good we do to others, we are ultimately doing it to God.