Q&A 141
Q. What about almsgiving?
A. Well more than simply giving money and giving money to the poor or for charitable causes, Jesus was more excited with giving what we need.
Q. In the sense that...
A. In the sense that what really moved our Lord from the Gospel narratives is not those who gave from what they had in excess, from what they didn't need, from their surplus. Our Lord was moved by those who gave from what they themselves already needed for themselves. You remember that incident St. Mark narrates at the treasury of the Temple where an old woman came up and put in her two copper coins...
Q. Of course! And Jesus called up His apostles like "Guys! Guys! Come! You've got to see this!"
A. Hehe! Something like that... Our Lord was impressed and moved by that lady's offering because the rest put in from their abundance and she from the little she had (Mk 12:44).
And to my mind this is a long-standing trait of God Himself: He is a jealous lover (Ex 20:12). He doesn't share. He wants all of us all the time, with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind and with all our strength (Deut 6:3, Mk 12:30). He wants all our eggs in His basket (ref. Q&A46). Like in that beautiful Sacrament of Marriage, God too wants us "for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in good times and in bad times, in sickness and in health..." God doesn't want leftovers not even leftovers from such exalted and noble things as family: "He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me..." (Mt 10:37).
Q. And what does almsgiving have to do with all of this?
A. Almsgiving does three things. First it teaches us the lesson above: God will not take second place!
Q. He can't fit in second place.
A. Exactly!
Q. Second thing almsgiving does is?
A. It empties us. A salt shaker filled with sand cannot then be filled with salt: you first have to get the sand out. So too with our hearts: we first have to get all the other stuff out so that there is space for God. And material possessions tend to have an uncanny way to lodge themselves and take up space in our hearts. This is why Christ preached most about detachment.
So this Lent, empty yourself, your working desk, drawers, wardrobe, store, your phone, your laptop of things and apps; most certainly those you don't need/use, but also those that another may need more than you.
Q. And what's the last thing almsgiving does?
A. By it, we become God's instruments. Through it we become "His angel to others". Through it, God provides for the poor, the forgotten, the outcast, the sick.
St. Mother Teresa would say two striking things: that no one is so poor that they don't have anything to give and that poverty is not made by God, it is created by you and me when we don't share what we have.
Cheers!
14th March 2017