On these times of calamities, we have more
opportunities to witness the outpouring of solidarity by the amount of pledges
and donations coming from all the ends of the earth to aid the communities
victimized by disasters. Donations to the tune of millions of pesos and dollars
simply awe and relieve us all at the same time.
We easily measure generosity by how much we
are awed by the amount or volume of what is given. We readily express our
deepest and sincerest gratitude to people who share a large portion of their fortune
to charitable projects or to relief and rehabilitation programs.
However, it seems to me the gospel proposes
another way, a radical one, of measuring generosity. It is not by the awesome amount
of what is given but by the meagerness of what is left of the giver. True
generosity is measured by the willingness of the giver to share even that which
he/she needs. A truly generous person is one who gives even if little or
nothing is left for him/her. The widow in today’s gospel (Mk 12: 38-44) for
instance, by putting in two small coins, gives more than all the other
contributors to the temple treasury. Jesus explains: “For they have all contributed
from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she
had, her whole livelihood” (v. 44). Jesus had given in this manner too. His was
a total self-giving. Nothing was left when he gave his life, not even his
seamless tunic!
Generosity, again, is truly measured by
what is left when one gives.
When one gives a million pesos to the
needy, for after all he has more millions in the bank, he has simply shared
from his surplus. Or maybe even just succeeded in legally pulling off tax
avoidance. For St. Basil, one of the
influential Fathers of the Church, this scenario is not yet generosity. This is
yet a fulfillment of an obligation, a rightful response to the demand of
justice. St. Basil once wrote: “The bread
you keep belongs to the hungry; that coat which you preserve in your wardrobe,
to the naked; those shoes which are rotting in your possessions, to the
shoeless; that gold which you have hidden in the ground to the needy.” So,
to give them is to return them to the rightful owner—the needy. When the
wealthy give out of their surplus, it may just be a fulfillment of justice. It
is not yet charity, nor generosity. True generosity, more than a demand of
justice, is an act of love. It is giving out of what is truly your share, i.e.,
out of what you yourself need.
In all these, it is much easier to
understand Jesus’ teaching on the blessedness of the poor. The poor is always in such occasions as to
give from his needs for he has nothing to spare almost all the time. Hence, the
poor has the facility to be truly generous. Almost always when he gives, he
puts in his needed share; oftentimes, even his very self. This is hard for the
wealthy, for he still has to come to terms with justice first.
This illustration might help: In a particular
parish, a wealthy politician somehow felt like being ‘generous.’ He donated
5,000 pesos to the catechetical program. When announced for acknowledgment, a
great applause was heard. A beaming parish priest was seen in the altar very
satisfied. Honorable Congressman is very generous. But not known to everyone ,
a poor mother of six, in a far-flung barrio, leaves her home each day to go to
the public school and spend her needed time catechizing children while at the
same time worrying at the back of her mind what to bring home later to feed her
family. All these she does as a volunteer. But her self-giving remains
unnoticed for it seems that her contribution is insignificant. Hence, there’s no
thundering applause for her.
In the light of today’s gospel that
volunteer catechist has put in so much more than what the politician has given
even if, let us say by heaven’s grace, he donates on a monthly basis!
This is not to discourage the rich from
giving. This is to challenge the haves to take seriously their obligation to
the have-nots without bragging about it, for there is really nothing to boast about.
But more to the point, this is about
empowering the ‘insignificant’ to believe in what they can still put in. The
little contribution they offer is actually an act of true generosity. Whatever
the poor gives, it is significant! The 25 centavos donation of the poor to the ‘Pundo ng Pinoy’ is significant. (In fact,
the fund is now feeding thousands of otherwise malnourished children all over
the country!) The labor counterpart of the poor in building houses through the ‘Gawad Kalinga’ program is tremendously
significant! The tithes or pledges and the active presence of the poor in the
church significantly strengthen the spirit of the BECs. The two small coins of
the widow, as Jesus pointed out, are significant.
Do I give little out of my abundance? Or do
I give abundantly out of the little I have? What is left when I give?
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