Thursday of the 18th week in ordinary time year A
2 Cor. 9: 6b-10 John 12: 24-26
Theme: An invitation to generosity
Today the church celebrates the feast of St. Lawrence, Deacon, and Martyr of the church. He was a Deacon in Rome and had great love for both the church and the poor. He was martyred during the time of the persecution of the church. He courageously surrendered his life to his persecutors and remained resolute until the end. He emptied himself because of his faith in God and joyfully served the poor and less privileged. In the life of St. Lawrence, we see true generosity that reiterates the 1st reading of today from St. Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians. It reminds us of the fact that God loves a cheerful giver. This is an invitation to all of us who are followers of Christ, to be selfless and reach out in love to the less privileged and the most abandoned in our society. He can be counted among those who hate their life in this world to keep it for eternity, as presented to us in the gospel reading of today.
God himself have shown us what it means to be selfless and generous in different ways in our lives. The Lord is simply encouraging us today to emulate him in his generosity. Remember that no matter what we decide to do right now, we cannot outdo God in generosity. He has done so much for us and will not stop doing, he is encouraging us to emulate him and also extend the same generosity to all those who encounter us. We have so many people around us who need our help in different ways. Our generosity goes beyond money, it may be some of your time that is needed, it may be for you to show that you care, it may be to share your gifts and talents with someone else and so forth.
One thing that is very clear is that we are all capable of sharing something we have with someone else, to add value to their life. Never think you have nothing to give to someone else, you have a lot to share with others. Sometimes we have things to share that money cannot buy. There is nobody created by God that is empty and have nothing to give to someone else. The saint whose feast we celebrate today gave his time, care and love to the poor who encountered him and he gave them joy and hope to look towards a better future. As you go out today, just spread love and show somebody you care. May God bless you as you do this in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. Peace be with you.