GIVE AS YOU RECEIVE

Thursday of the14th Week in Ordinary Time
Mt 10:7-15

Taking the demands of discipleship very seriously, a man prays to the Lord each day saying, “Lord, please help me to give.” However, the more he prays for generosity everyday, the more difficult for him to give everyday. This saddens him very much.

One day, an angel appears to the man while he prays. The angel asks him, “Why are you sad?” The man answers the angel, “Tell me, when the Lord told His disciples to give, did He mean they should give and give and give and give and give and give?”

The angel smiles at the man and says, “Good heavens! No. When the Lord told His disciples to give, He meant that they should give only as much as they receive.”

In the First Reading today, the prophet Hosea reminds God’s People how God loves them very dearly. He is a Father to them. The same love is extended to us, for we are God’s People too. Because we are loved, love is expected from us. Jesus, the Son of God, commands us to love one another as much as He loves us. When asked if love can be commanded, Pope Benedict XVI replied, “Love can be commanded because it has first been given.” The Lord commands us to give love to others because He has given us love first. He commands us to give much love because much love He continues giving us each day.

Following the same logic, Jesus tells the apostles in the Gospel today, “You received without charge, give without charge.” The Twelve are instructed to give because they first received. Not only that! They are ordered to give freely because freely they have been given. The apostles, therefore, are to become, as it were, conduits of the Lord’s favor upon others as they heal, preach, restore, and spread the blessing of God’s Kingdom here on earth.

The same instruction is given us because we, too, have been given. We are to be channels of God’s graces even as we strive to be God’s graces ourselves. Give only as much as we receive. But, how much does the Lord really gives us? “Too much” is not an accurate answer.