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A
Teaching for Our Sake
June
12, 2005 Homily
Fr.
George Smiga
One
of the problems that many of us have in following the teachings
of Jesus is that we see those teachings as a series of obligations,
as a list of commands against which we are asked to measure
our discipleship. Some of us might even see them as a set
of hurdles over which we are asked to jump in order to demonstrate
our love for God. Now, as disciples we are clearly obliged
to follow the teachings of Jesus. But to understand them as
some kind of test or burden that we are asked to bear is to
approach them in an exactly wrong direction.
Consider
the teaching of Jesus that comes at the end of today's Gospel.
Jesus says, “The gift you have received, give as a gift.”
Our inclination is to approach this teaching as an obligation.
“Yes,” we say, “I should be more giving. I should be more
generous. If I were more generous, I would more clearly show
that I am a follower of Christ.” Now this is true. But, approaching
the teaching as a simple command, overlooks another benefit
of the teaching. Jesus' teaching that we be generous is not
commanded for God's sake or even simply for our neighbor's
sake. Jesus gives us this teaching for our sake, for our benefit.
When Jesus asks us to be generous, He is not giving us an
obligation to be met, but a secret to be lived. The secret
is this: when we are generous, we are happy. This teaching
of generosity leads us to a deeper life.
Carl
Menninger was one of the founders of modern psychotherapy,
and he spent his life work diagnosing various mental illnesses.
Menninger recounts a therapy session with a very wealthy client
who was beset with depression and fear. In the course of that
session, the doctor asked the client, “What do you plan to
do with all your money?” “I don't know,” said the client,
“probably just worry about it, worry about keeping it, worry
about making more of it.” So, Menninger asked, “Tell me this,
is this worrying about your money giving you pleasure?” “No,”
the man sighed, “not at all. It is only making me more fearful
and depressed—yet, the thought of giving up any of my money
terrifies me.” It was out of this encounter that Menninger
devised one of the central principles of his philosophy: generous
people are seldom mentally ill—generous people tend to be
healthy people.
Jesus'
teaching on generosity is not simply a command given for our
neighbor's sake. It is for our sake because it introduces
us to a way of living that increases our freedom and increases
our joy. When there is something good in our lives, our natural
inclination is to hold onto that good thing, to keep it safe.
Jesus is telling us that if we wish to be happy, we should
be generous, we should give what we have away.
This
teaching of Jesus emphasizes that many of the most valuable
things in our life are not things that we have earned or paid
for. Have we earned our health? Have we paid for our family
and friends? Have we created our sense of humor, our ability
to understand, our sense of compassion? No, all of these things
are free gifts, things that we have received without any kind
of payment. Jesus says that if we want to be happy we need
to find a way of giving those gifts back. “You have received
without payment, give without payment.”
So
what the gospel challenges us to do is to identify what are
the gifts that I have been given and then to find a way of
giving that gift to someone else. Perhaps you have developed
professional skills in medicine, law, or business. What are
you doing to see that that skill not only benefits you and
your family, but others who need it? Perhaps you are a person
that is able to listen, to connect with other people. What
can you do to use that gift not only to build your own relationships,
but to deepen the lives of others? Perhaps you are someone
who can work with your hands, to build something useful. Are
you passing that skill on? Perhaps you are a creative person,
a person who can imagine ideas and possibilities that others
cannot see. How do you use that creativity to bring beauty
and hope into the world?
The
gifts of God are given in abundance. There is not one person
here today who has not received a gift. All of us have received
something from God without any cost or payment. The Gospel
today invites us to identify what is the gift we have received
and then to listen to the teaching of Jesus. “The gift you
have received, give as a gift.” That teaching is not an obligation.
Jesus is not placing some burden upon us. Jesus is showing
us the way to happiness, the way to life.
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