In her acceptance speech as a Nobel Laureate for Peace in 1979, Mother Teresa shared a story about kindness and love for her neighbor. One day, a gentleman came to their convent in Calcutta to tell them that a family of eight children had not eaten for a few days. The man asked the missionaries to do something for them. So, Mother Teresa took a big bowl of rice and went immediately to the house. She saw the children’s gloomy faces and shining eyes from sheer hunger.
The father immediately took the rice from his hand, divided it into two, and left the house. The father went to their next-door neighbor because they were also hungry.
Mother Teresa said that what surprised her the most was not that he gave them food but that in his suffering, in his hunger, he dared to share the little he had. He put so much love into his giving. He put joy and received joy in giving.
According to Fr. George Smiga, a spiritual writer, we receive joy from giving because when we give, we imitate the act of God! Think about it. God is the Ultimate Giver. All that exists in this world comes from God’s gracious and generous gift. Our lives, our relationships, our abilities, our houses, and our material treasures are the result of divine giving. So, if God is the ultimate giver, our role is to receive. We fully receive God’s grace when we know how to accept from God with thanksgiving and gratitude.
God offers us the opportunity to share of ourselves. For instance, as parents, we offer our time and patience to nurture our children. As children, we reciprocate our parent’s love by caring for them, especially when they are older. As Christians and citizens of our country, we can help those who have been devastated by calamities to get back to their lives and start anew.
When we give, we participate in God’s action of creating, saving, and loving others. Giving lifts us
higher. It brings us closer to God’s action. That is why giving is such a fulfilling and satisfying experience.
We can approach the message of today’s gospel based on this idea of faithful giving. James and John are disciples of Jesus, and they come to him to define their role in his mission. What they ask him is: We want to sit at your right and your left in your glory.
But note Jesus’ response: You will sit with me in glory. But I can offer you something more. If you drink this cup that I drink, if you serve the least among you, then the lives that you will change, the hope that you will revive, the joy that you will instill in others will overshadow whatever seats you receive in the kingdom.
James and John might not have fully recognized Jesus’ call to something greater. At that time, they did not understand that following Jesus meant giving of oneself.
The Gospel, then, calls us to value opportunities to give. We should not look upon the opportunity
to help as a burden. Mother Teresa says, “For love to be real, it must cost—it must hurt—it must empty us of self.”
However, to give with love allows us to participate in the power and the love that shapes creation, an opportunity to experience the joy and the beauty of God’s love.