Generous Response to God's Generosity

Homily for Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

The first reading comes from the Book of Sirach, a piece of wisdom literature written by Jesus Ben Sira. The theme of this reading is present in just about all of the verses. Jesus Ben Sira is exhorting us to be generous. Generosity is held up as one of the great virtues.

Giving gifts is an activity in which we engage throughout the year. We receive gifts on our birthday, at Christmas, and at Easter, etc.. Other cultures give gifts at different times of the year. For instance, in Vietnam it is customary to give each child in the family a gift of two on New Year’s Day: perhaps two dollars or two pieces of fruit. In their culture it is the lunar new year that is celebrated. Our missionaries to Vietnam learned of this custom and oftentimes procured some two dollar bills from a bank while they were back in the U.S. They then took the bills with them as they returned to their mission and distributed to the children who came to celebrate the Eucharist that day. Most of them did not know that there was such a thing as a two dollar bill. I suspect that many Americans don’t know about this as well. Two dollar bills became fashionable at race tracks where a two dollar bet on a race was customary.

There is a trap, however, in the idea of generosity; for if the giver believes that God will return such generosity, they have missed the point entirely. God’s generosity is not dependent upon ours, nor should we be generous simply to look for a reward. God’s gifts to us are given unconditionally, no strings attached. This is how we are to be generous as well.

The Gospel reading from the Gospel of St. Mark attests to this principle and warns us that the first shall be last and the last shall be first. These words are used frequently in the Gospels, so frequently that they may go unnoticed. However, the truth behind these words is one of the most pervasive ideas in all of the Gospels. It is interesting to note that St. Mark adds “persecutions” as a way that God will reward us. His Gospel brings up the question of suffering more frequently than all of the other Gospels combined because St. Mark was writing for a community that was on the brink of experiencing the persecutions of Rome.

Today’s readings nudge us into remembering how much God loves us and how much God does for us every day. God sees how we respond and takes delight in and remembers when we do what is just and pleasing. God is with us always, generous and steadfast. With God’s help we can respond in kind, living in hope and with encouragement that eternal life awaits us beyond this present age.