Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do you consider yourself to be a be a generous person? And why? Is it because you easily give money to those who need it, or because you easily forgive others, or because you volunteer considerable amount of your time to social organizations, or because you use your natural talents to help others?
Generosity is a big word. It includes a huge range of attitudes. Moreover, one may be generous in one area and be very tight-fisted in another. For example, one may donate wealth easily but be very stingy with compliments or encouraging others. One may donate time but be very jealous of other people’s accomplishments. Let me return to my original question. Do you consider yourself to be a generous person?
I would like to approach today’s scripture reading from the perspective of generosity, more specifically, the generosity of God. Here are my three practical implications for Christian living.
More Generous Than We Can Ever Imagine
In the first reading we see God’s generosity in the story of Eldad and Medad. They were two of the seventy elders who assisted Moses as the people of Israel travelled from Egypt to the Promised Land. Eldad and Medad, along with all the elders were instructed to gather at the tent of meeting (the tabernacle) to receive the power of God’s Spirit. For some reason, Eldad and Medad stayed behind in the camp. Despite this, when the Spirit of God came upon the elders, Eldad and Medad also received God’s Spirit and began to prophesy. Joshua complained to Moses about this. We see God’s generosity at play here when Moses says, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets!” (Nm 11:29).
We have a similar story in the gospel reading. When the disciples complained to Jesus that someone not among them was driving out demons in his name, Jesus replied, "Do not prevent him. For whoever is not against us is for us. (Mk 9:40).
Together, these two stories tell us that God is far more generous than we can ever imagine. These stories are only pointers. God’s generosity is immeasurable. Creation is an act of God’s generosity. The very breath we just took is an act of God’s generosity. Most of all, we see God’s generosity in Jesus. The cross is the greatest symbol of God’s generous love. As a practical implication, let consider two things: First, are we generous toward God? How much time do we set aside for God? Is my worship a generous act or an obligation? Second, is my generosity toward God the source of my generous life-style?
God's Universal Generosity
The two stories we have in today’s first reading and the gospel reading are not only instances of God’s generosity, but also examples the universality of God’s generosity. How often and how easy it is for us to think that God is generous only towards us; that God is generous with us Christians and Catholics? But what about the rest?
Even though the universality of God’s generosity today’s readings is in reference to the people of Israel, the gospels are emphatic that Christ came to redeem all of creation. They way in which the universality of God’s saving love got translated into the Church’s official teaching took time. It was not until the II Vatican Council that the Church put God’s saving power beyond Catholicism in doctrinal statements. In its document Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions, the Church says, “The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. While she uncompromisingly believes that Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), she finds a way to balance God’s generosity with an acceptance of God’s universal saving power.
The implication here is that our generosity mirrors the generosity of God. In our understanding and relationship with people of other religions, cultures, and peoples, we need to be generous like God is generous.
Reflecting the Generosity of God
In my third point, I would like to focus on today’s second reading from James. James’ focus is on wealth and riches. He writes: “Come now, you rich, weep and wail over your impending miseries. Your wealth has rotted away, your clothes have become moth-eaten, your gold and silver have corroded, and that corrosion will be a testimony against you” (Js 5:1-3). Scripture scholars tell us that James was writing to two groups of people in the society of his time: the merchants and the landowners. James held them accountable on two accounts. First, that they operate in society without any reference to God or God’s will. Second, that in a world of limited resources the amassing or wealth was making the less and less available for the rest of society.
The best way for me to interpret this passage is to think that James is asking the wealthy to imitate the generosity of God. James’ message continues to be relevant today, especially as the economic disparity between the rich and the poor continues to grow. As James suggests, the consequences of not imitating the generosity of God are stringent.
But let us look beyond wealth and riches. Let us get back to my original question: Are you and generous people? And why? This week, let us examine not only our relationship with wealth, but also our relationships, our time, our attitudes, our work and our leisure. May our lives reflect the generosity of God.
Every Eucharist is a celebration of the generosity of God. What we bring before God is a little bread and a little wine. But what God gives us in return is God’s life, presence and salvation. Now God asks us to go and do the same. Amen.
- Fr. Satish Joseph