Gospel Reflection 2020/2021

Stinginess and wastefulness.

Stinginess and wastefulness are two different extremes. A stingy person grabs, hoards and refuses to let go of his possessions. A wasteful person, on the other hand, does not conserve, reserve, or save, he spends unnecessarily. A stingy person lives not in the present but in the future. A wasteful person lives in the present but loses sight of the future.

Reflecting on ‘stinginess’ and ‘wastefulness’, it will be good to question ourselves: What do I give to God? How generous am I to God? How much am I willing to give to God?

God is not a grabber. He is the Giver.

God does not command or demand from us – for there is no compulsion and coercion in love. St Paul [2 Co 9: 7] reminds us that, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

In the First Reading [1 Kg 17: 10-16], the poor widow, during the widespread impoverishment and famine, offered Prophet Elijah a little scone and water from her meal – the last bits and pieces that she had for herself and her son. Because of her total generosity, God sustained her and her son through ‘the jar of meal that would not be spent and the jug of oil that would not be emptied until He sent rain again on the face of the earth’.

At every Eucharist (Eucharist means ‘thanksgiving’), we offer to God the lowly bread and wine. And God, in His infinite love and abundant mercy, transform our bread and wine into the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ – to nourish our body, mind and soul. Whenever we offer our lowly selves to God, He will shape us, change us and transform us to be more and more like Him. When we give to God our best, God will always give us His best.

God is not a beggar.

God does not beg for our mercy; he does not need our pity. Everything belongs to Him, given to us. The Psalmist [Ps 94 (95)] exclaims that, “In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are His. To Him belongs the sea, for He made it, and the dry land shaped by His hands.”

In the Gospel reading [Mk 12: 38-40] of the 32^nd Sunday in the Ordinary Time, Jesus warns us not to parade our good works and good deeds to gain publicity, recognition and admiration. How often we use God as a ‘stepping stone’ to build the ‘Tower of Babel’ [Gn 11: 1–9] in honour of our own selves? Our giving to God becomes meaningless because it is for self-glorification – and the more severe will be the sentence we receive [Mk 12: 40].

‘Wasting’ on God.

Giving to God is not limited to financial wealth or material resources. Our gifts to God can also be our physical strength and brain energy; our abilities and capabilities; our gifts and talents; and even our time and our life.

How much are we willing to ‘waste’ on God? Do we give to God from our excess? Or do we give to God our all and our best?

Though ‘wastefulness’ has such a negative connotation, yet paradoxically, nothing is actually wasted when we ‘waste’ on God. A person who ‘wastes’ on God lives in the present for the future.

God’s grace builds on nature and perfects nature. Our time spent with God and for God is never wasted. Our physical strength and brain energy are quickly renewed, refreshed and regenerated when we serve God and His people. Our abilities and capabilities increase, our gifts and talents grow, whenever we use them for the greater glory of God. We are built when we offer ourselves to build up the Body of Christ. Our lives are enriched and fulfilled when we align ourselves to God’s will.

Heart-felt gratitude and generosity from the heart.

Gratitude inspires generosity. We can only be truly and genuinely generous to God insofar as we are grateful. Our God is a ‘wasteful’, ‘prodigal’, lavish, extravagant, generous, bountiful and magnanimous God who loves to give His all and His best to us. When we deeply realize and experience this reality of God’s immense generosity, we will never be stingy towards God. Instead, we will be willing to ‘waste’ everything on God.

Let our fervent prayer be:

“Lord Jesus Christ, teach me gratitude so that I can be generous to You.”