great ordinary happenings

“You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”

Giving can have many motives, like the ones who give but they be sure the cameras are clicking, or the persons they want impressed are looking. The good heart of course doesn’t mind these but that deep inside, it is really his intention to help, never mind if no one knows about it. And this is the real giving which pleases the Lord God, and in fact the one which will get a reward from Him for the person. The above then is the kind of giving meant here, to the exclusion of the others. This is a broad topic which has been dealt with by others – very knowledgeable and learned – expansively, but I just touch on what has sunk deep into my being to the point of being convinced to practise it (oh, if not perfectly, at least I struggle on).

Our Loving Father in heaven has first showed us the example of loving, His giving of His only Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, He has not spared any for His love for us – what GREAT LOVE! If we really ponder it deeply, it is a crazy love, no human understanding can fathom it, as it was not even plain death that He allowed His dear Son to experience, but an ignominious death on the Cross – so excruciatingly painful aside from its being most humiliating! If one measures God’s love for us by what He gave, it is much, much more than priceless! We lack a word for this! With the example given by God Himself, we are called to love: “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind’ - this is the great and foremost commandment, and there is a second like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’. The whole Law and Prophets hang on these two commands.” (Mtt 22:37-40, Mrk 12:28-34).

Jesus showed His love for us by giving us His life. By His choice, His will was made subject to the will of the Father so that His sacrifice of love could be consummated, culminating on His death on the Cross.. What greater love than this? And He did it for us when we were still separate from him, when we were still unbelievers! Jesus’ obedience to the Father was His way of showing His love for Him. So we can conclude therefore that obedience is a way of showing our love, be it to God, to our parents, to any authority.

The commandment in focus is above all. However, there is also one thing I’ve discovered, out of reading and studying the Scriptures and from talks on it: the giving of tithes. I proclaim myself a Roman Catholic but though most of us don’t give much attention to this, many are now open to it, thanks to the Catholic Charismatic communities - they were the first Catholics to be vocal about it, and I bet the first ones to practise it.

From the Bible, one can ponder on Malachi Chapter 3 (verses 8-10): “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob Me.
“But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse—the whole nation of you—because you are robbing Me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

In the above verse, there is another command, and this is to “test” him, He is inviting us to try to practise what pleases Him - the giving of tithes. In our Roman Catholic way, this is voluntary, in fact others adhere to “modified tithing”, not necessarily or strictly ten percent but what one is willing to give regularly monthly. We really have to pray to God if this is what He wills. In our community, the ten percent is preached, but it is still voluntary. We are left to be touched by the Holy Spirit when it comes to the actual giving.

There are so many discussions and forums on whether this is continued to the New Covenant as this is found in the Old Testament. I don’t wish to involve myself in these. What I can say, no matter what the points raised are, is: It is one thing to subject one choice to reason, it’s another to have actually practised and experienced (the result of) this same choice. This cannot be negated by whatever many others present, no matter what. The experience weighs heavily. To each his option and free will, according to one’s conscience. May we listen to the small inner voice of God, as we ask Him in prayer what is really His will for this.

(Note: our parish is now drumming up for a cause, and for those who are heeding the call, this is an example of giving.)

Filed under: Gospel sharing, reflections