The gospel for Monday, the first week of Lent, gives us the standard by which we must face on Judgement Day;
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom … I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink … naked and you clothed me…” or "... depart from me for you failed to do ..."
Now before we think we deserve to be rewarded because of our generosity by sharing from the possessions we believe we rightfully own, let us revisit this idea of "our ownership".
In Psalm 24:1, we read; “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in
it, the world, and all who live in it.” Is it not that we are only stewards, given responsibility over all that exists, not owners of it?
The following is a meditation on this given by the the Church Father, Saint Gregory of Nazianzen.
Let us
show each other God’s generosity
Recognize to whom you owe the fact that you exist, that you
breathe, that you understand, that you are wise, and, above all, that you know
God and hope for the kingdom of heaven and the vision of glory, now darkly as
in a mirror but then with greater fullness and purity. You have been made a son
of God, co-heir with Christ. Where did you get all this, and from whom?
Let me turn to what is of less importance: the visible world
around us. What benefactor has enabled you to look out upon the beauty of the
sky, the sun in its course, the circle of the moon, the countless number of
stars, with the harmony and order that are theirs, like the music of a harp?
Who has blessed you with rain, with the art of husbandry, with different kinds
of food, with the arts, with houses, with laws, with states, with a life of
humanity and culture, with friendship and the easy familiarity of kinship?
Who has given you dominion over animals, those that are tame and
those that provide you with food? Who has made you lord and master of
everything on earth? In short, who has endowed you with all that makes man
superior to all other living creatures?
Is it not God who asks you now in your turn to show yourself
generous above all other creatures and for the sake of all other creatures?
Because we have received from him so many wonderful gifts, will we not be
ashamed to refuse him this one thing only, our generosity? Though he is God and
Lord he is not afraid to be known as our Father. Shall we for our part
repudiate those who are our kith and kin?
Brethren and friends, let us never allow ourselves to misuse what
has been given us by God’s gift. If we do, we shall hear Saint Peter say: Be
ashamed of yourselves for holding on to what belongs to someone else. Resolve
to imitate God’s justice, and no one will be poor. Let us not labor to heap up
and hoard riches while others remain in need. If we do, the prophet Amos will
speak out against us with sharp and threatening words: Come now, you that say:
When will the new moon be over, so that we may start selling? When will the
sabbath be over, so that we may start opening our treasures?
Let us put into practice the supreme and primary law of God. He sends down rain on just and sinful alike, and causes the sun to rise on all without distinction. To all earth’s creatures he has given the broad earth, the springs, the rivers and the forests. He has given the air to the birds, and the waters to those who live in the water. He has given abundantly to all the basic needs of life, not as a private possession, not restricted by law, not divided by boundaries, but as common to all, amply and in rich measure. His gifts are not deficient in any way, because he wanted to give equality of blessing to equality of worth, and to show the abundance of his generosity.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment