Word to the Wise
Thursday, September 10, 2020 - Thursday in the 23th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Cor 8:1b-7, 11-13 and Luke 6:27-38]"Be merciful, just as also your Father is merciful. Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give and gifts will be given to you; good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you." [Luke]
The "Sermon on the Plain" in the Gospel According to Luke tends to be overshadowed by the "Sermon on the Mount" in the Gospel According to Matthew, but it is equally an expression of Jesus' teachings as presented by the evangelist Luke. One image that has always stood out to me is the one of the "good measure, packed down, and overflowing." The experience of making room in a container for the amount we want to put in it easily comes to mind. Is the container full? How full is full? Is there more room? Clearly it is a matter of degrees of generosity. Jesus promises that generosity to one's neighbor will be rewarded over and above ordinary expectations.
There is a risk of exploitation from demanding neighbors who take advantage of the generous spirit. And some generous spirits do fail to exercise prudence in responding, even when there is no demand. These are matters of discernment. I can recall the stories of students returning from mission trips to very poverty-stricken areas in the USA and abroad. They would visit the very humble homes of poor people and find themselves treated literally to the last food in the house! The biblical story of the widow of Zarephath and Elijah comes to mind {1 Kings 17:7-16].
We can ask ourselves in the light of the image from the gospel just how generous we are when responding to a need. How much is in our "measure?" AMEN