Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus instructs us to invite the poor, crippled, blind and lame when we have a banquet. As I thought about this passage, this message seems so far from my real life experiences. I find it difficult in the midst of busy schedules to gather with family, friends and neighbors, so how am I to put into practice what Jesus is suggesting. I think that there is a broader meaning to this teaching. It seems that Jesus is calling us to be generous with our hospitality, compassion, charity, and healing with all people- not just those who are able to reciprocate our giving. Jesus is calling us to give without expectation to all those that we meet, so we can imitate His giving and love.
In the gospel story, Jesus has been invited to the home of a Pharisee for dinner. Jesus tells his host that when you invite people to your home for a meal “do not invite your friends, or your brothers or sisters, or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.” (Luke 14: 12) I suspect that Jesus is sharing this with the Pharisee, since Jesus feels that even He had been invited because the Pharisee was hoping or expecting some kind of favor or repayment from Jesus. Jesus goes on to say that if you have a banquet to invite “the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind” (Luke 14:13) since they cannot return the favor or “pay back” the gift. So does this mean that Jesus wants us to ignore our family and friends and only give to those who cannot repay us? I believe that Jesus is calling us to a change in attitude in how we approach what we do. Instead of always considering our actions based upon the results (whether that be praise or some kind of repayment), we should give freely and generously without being focused on what we will get in return. When we act in the way Jesus calls us to live, our motives will be not based on how we will benefit from what we do, but our behavior will be based on love and imitating God in how we love. If we are able to live in this way, then Jesus says we will be “repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:14) To have these “pure” motives as we live our lives is impossible because of our humanity and sinfulness. It is only with the grace of God that we can begin to work towards this goal. Through prayer we can ask God to change our thoughts, attitudes, and actions, so we can begin to be generous in our giving without expecting anything in return.
Putting this practice of giving without expectations into practice requires a change in how we view the world and how we view others. In many ways, it is our pride and sense of wanting to be better that makes it difficult to give without returns. One of the first things we must realize is that we are all the same in God’s eyes. We are all poor, crippled, lame and blind, and we all are in great need of His healing and forgiveness. In our first reading, St. Paul reminds us that we all our sinners. “God delivered all to disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all.” (Rom 11:32) God treats us as equals because we are all equal and all in need of His grace. He does not give us His mercy because He hopes and or expects some repayment. What could God possibly want or need from us to make Him complete? Jesus is the prime example of giving without expectation. His life, death and resurrection showed the ultimate gift of love, and He offered this without any thought or worry about what He was going to get out of the experience. He also offers the gift of salvation to all people. He just doesn’t come to bring the Good News to His family and friends- He shares it with all people. Jesus provides the example for how we are called to live, and He also offers His grace to help us work towards putting this into action in our daily lives. This is a slow process which requires daily reflection as we think about what we do and why we are doing the various activities in our life. As we become more aware of the equality of all people and our call to give, we can be more generous with our time, our gifts and our talents and share what we have without wanting or expecting something in return.
As I look in my own life, I try to see if there are ways that I can live out this call. One of the ways I feel called to give is of my time. I teach religious education to the 7th and 8th grade students at our parish. Sometimes I become frustrated and wonder if what I am doing is really making a difference. At those times, it is clear that I am expecting some “fruits” from the time and energy that I give. This is where Jesus is calling me to a change of heart. I need to be generous with the time and energy without expecting anything in return. I know that these young people are not likely to “repay” me for my time, but I need to step back and trust that the everything that I do for these young people, should be given generously without expecting or desiring some kind of positive feedback or acknowledgment that what I do is making a difference. I should give because of my desire to give and be like Christ in my generosity. If I truly trust God and His plans for me I should be assured that He is blessing these situations in the best possible way. I am sure that if I took this same attitude with everything that I do- giving generously without expecting anything in return- I would experience much more joy and peace in my life. Inevitably, when I focus on others and not on me and what I can gain, I find greater joy and contentment. When I take away the expectations of giving, I free myself to be more Christ-like and therefore a better disciple.
“Heavenly Father, you give us everything we have. You gave us your Son, Jesus, to bring us salvation. You give without expectation in great love and mercy. With the help of your Holy Spirit, help us to change our minds and our hearts that we can also become generous with all that we have without expecting any payment in return. May our lives of love and service be a sign to the world of your presence, and may all we do give you glory. We pray this through Christ our LORD. AMEN”
- Marylynn Herchline