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God's Abundance
January 17-18, 2004
Admonitio by Alice Hinkel
When life is “wanting” and there does not seem to be enough, we are invited to look for abundance. For God's response to scarcity is always abundance. With God there is always enough.
When we think of Iraq I suspect that many of us picture a barren, forsaken, desolate, dangerous and chaotic desert—a place of scarcity. Yet it is in this very country that Haida and Toukham discovered an abundance of love and joy. The December 26 th edition of the Cleveland Plain Dealer of last year featured a story about this man and woman who are residents of the only leper colony in the Middle East. The reporter noted that their courtship developed slowly at first, with Toukham only occasionally working up the courage to take Haida's fingerless fists into his own leathery hands as a gesture of affection. As UN sanctions after the 1991 Persian Gulf War tightened their hold on Iraq, Haida and Tukum acknowledged their love for each other and ultimately married. They currently live with many scarcities: a lack of physical attractiveness, very little security or safety, no electricity, and often insufficient amounts of food and water. Yet love and joy abound.
God's response to scarcity is always abundance, a practice that the human family is called to imitate. For abundance is always meant to be shared, and never just the possession of a few. Haida and Toukham share the story of their love and their ability to see beyond external appearances and material limitations into each other's hearts, giving encouragement to their small colony and to us, who are thousands of miles away.
In turn, the human family is called to share from our material abundance, to provide for the basic needs of people like Haida and Toukham. A generous God calls for generosity from all who would be disciples.
Listen for the transformation of desolation into delight, scarcity into abundance, as the first reading is proclaimed. In the second reading Paul speaks of a variety of gifts, great in number. Then, in John's gospel, we will be invited to a wedding feast, where it seems as though the party is about to end early, for the wine has run out. But wait—having had the scarcity drawn to his attention, Jesus performs his first miracle of abundance. Truly, our God is lavish.
Homily by Fr. George Smiga
As Alice mentioned in her admonitio before the readings, the gospel shows us that abundance can occur in the midst of scarcity. In the midst of the wedding, the wine runs out. But because Jesus is there, not only is there wine, but a better wine than there was before.
The gospel is challenging us to believe that if we consciously claim the presence of Christ in our lives, we can have abundance, even where scarcity exists. To illustrate this challenge, I would like to offer you three examples of scarcity that are often perceived in our society: scarcity of meaning, scarcity of clergy, scarcity of security.
Gregg Easterbrook has written a new book entitled: “The Paradox of Progress: How Things Are Getting Better and People Are Feeling Worse”. In this book Easterbrook presents extensive data showing that we are better off today than any previous generation. We live longer and better, the average American has twice the buying power that it did in 1960, our air is cleaner, our roads are safer, and on and on. And yet every survey shows that the average American is less happy than 50 years ago. There seems to be a disconnect between prosperity and happiness. Like the old saying goes, “what good is money, it can't buy you happiness,” or as Henny Youngman's parody: “what good is happiness, it can't buy you money”. Progress and happiness do not necessarily connect with each other.
If there is scarcity of meaning in our society, our faith can make a difference. If we claim the presence of Christ, we accept our status as daughters and sons of God. We can engage in the kind of service that gives us satisfaction and build relationships that give us joy. Meaning is not found necessarily in prosperity, but faith can deepen our lives, and we can have happiness even in a society that is looking for meaning.
Scarcity of clergy. There are fewer and fewer priests in our church. Right now there are 350 active priests in the diocese of Cleveland. Our projection is that by the year 2030 there will be 49 active priests. That will radically shift our understanding of what church is. And yet, if we are to claim Christ's promise to us to be with us, if we are to claim the scriptural truth that we are the church, we can begin a discussion and re-imagine what church life might become. We can begin to draw upon the gifts of all the baptized. A new church can emerge. Instead of scarcity of priests, we can have abundance of life.
Scarcity of security. Since 9/11 we are all very conscious of our vulnerability. Despite increased efforts in controlling immigration and travel, we know that we remain vulnerable. That fear can paralyze us. But again, the presence of our faith can make a difference. For the foundation of faith is trust, the recognition that we are not in control, that so many parts of our life are in God's hands. So while we admit the real presence of danger, we can at the same time trust that God will care for us. Even in danger we can choose to live.
Scarcity of meaning, scarcity of clergy, scarcity of security: three real scarcities that can change if we claim Christ's presence among us. We can see things differently with the eyes of faith. If two lepers can find abundance of love in war torn Iraq, abundance can be found in desolate places. When we accept Christ, there is wine, there is abundance, there is enough.
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