Give So To Receive

Give So To Receive 

May 29, 2012

Tuesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time

 

by Beth DeCristofaro

Jesus said, "Amen, I say to you,
there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters
or mother or father or children or lands
for my sake and for the sake of the Gospel
who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age:
houses and brothers and sisters
and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.  (Matthew 10:29-30)

Piety

Lord, grant that I may see you more clearly in the outcasts of this world, love you more dearly in the poor and the rejected, and follow you more nearly by responding to the needs of your deprived sisters and brothers.  (sacredspace.ie)

Study

Years ago, right after college, I spent a year as a volunteer teacher at Santa Barbara elementary school in Dededo, Guam.  It was a year of self discovery as a Catholic young adult and as a person in new surroundings.  It was not a case of giving up everything because I had rent provided, roommates from the states and very generous parishioners that made sure their young teachers stayed out of trouble and had enough food to eat!  At that time it was figuring out what it meant to follow Christ, as I was able.

Who do I know who has truly given up everything to follow Christ?  Not many.  How about you?  The lures of a consumer world distract. And the need to provide for family - or to survive if you are poor - dictate that we must be active in worldly business.  For most of us it calls for constant awareness of priorities and our inner gyroscope.  Are we following the Christ of love or are we striking out on our own?   

We don't need to wait for the age to come for our promised rewards.  In the silence of our own being, the joy of Christ's presence tells us where we stand rooted.  

Action

Jesus said that the poor would always be with us.  In this reading he affirms giving up all to follow the Word.  He also clearly gave the poor and oppressed into our safekeeping.  As we monitor our internal gyroscope, what does God's presence tell us?  Do we form community with those different from ourselves or stay in a comfort zone of our own making?