Homily (Reflection) for the Twenty-Second
Sunday of the Year (C) (01st September, 2019) on the Gospel
Sir 3:17-20.28-29;
Ps 67:4-7.10-11. (R. cf. v.11);Heb 12:18-19.22-24;
Lk 14:1.7-14.
Topic: Motive behind generosity.
Not long ago I attended a wedding well
attended by the cream of the society. Many judged it as one of the best in the
recent past because of the calibre of people that graced the occasion.
Similarly, in the Jewish culture “four categories of people could be invited to
a meal, friends, relatives, brothers, and other rich people”.[1]
Yet Jesus charged us, “... when you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite
your friends or your brothers or relations or rich neighbours, in case they may
invite you in return, and you would be repaid”. Jesus advised that “the poor,
the crippled, the lame, and the blind” whom even the bible excludes from coming
near the Lord should make the list, cf. Lev
21:18. Their only qualification is that “they cannot repay;” meaning that
they do not constitute any obstacle to eternal reward, cf. Lk 6:35.
After reading today’s gospel a good number of times, one of
the questions that came to my mind is how would that wedding ceremony have been
judged if it was not attended by the people I have described earlier but by the
poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind? This sounds funny?
However, it is a caution for us to remember always that “our
citizenship is in heaven” (Phil 3:20)
where “the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces, and the disgrace
of his people he will take away from all the earth … (Is 25:8; cf. Rev 7:17; 21:4). As a result, no one should work just
for earthly rewards lest he/she looses the main reward from God, cf. Matt 6:2, 5, 16. This can be likened to
Jesus’ warning in Saint John’s gospel, “Do not work for food that perishes, but
for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you”
(Jn 6:27).
It is in acting contrary to the ways of the world that
guarantees that one “will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous”.
Rhetorically, Jesus asked, “What gain ... is it for anyone to win the whole
world and forfeit his life?” (Mk 8:36,
TNJB), cf. Matt 16:26; Lk 9:25. Christians are to act like
Christ (Jn 13:12-15) which is
contrary to the world’s cf. Matt
20:25-26. If one prefers to be rewarded in the world to come he or she must
work towards that. In summary “Jesus says we should help those who cannot repay
us or give us anything in return, so that we may receive our reward in heaven”.[2]
Barclay pointed out four different motives that are normally
behind every generosity – sense of duty, self-interest, feeling of superior,
and lastly because one cannot help it.[3]
It is this last one that Jesus wants us to have. Christians are to be generous
out of love of God and their neighbours. We should always remember that all our
deeds – good ones as well as evil ones follow us wherever we go, cf. Rev 14:13, Matt 25:34-36, 41-43.
Bible Reading: Matt 6:1-21. 19:16-30; 1Pt
1:3-12; Rev 21:1-8.
Thought for today: Look underneath your actions.
Let us pray: Lord
God, help me to work not for this present life but for the world to come – Amen.
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