I want repayment!

Reflection

When I call a party, there’s a natural part of me that hopes I’ll get a present or two or three.  I’m not proud of that attitude.  I know I should be more selfless, but there’s a define part of me that likes to receive things in repayment for what I’ve done.

In today’s gospel, Jesus challenges me to remember that he’s not like my stinginess.  He’s magnanimous.  He doesn’t work on a 50/50 rate of return but more like a 90/10 plan.

This call to a change of thinking is difficult.  Along with the awareness that giving is always more satisfying than receiving, I’m helped in my fears by God’s promise of eternal life if I pattern my life on the giving plan.

Scripture

Luke
Chapter: 14

¹²Then Jesus said to the man who had invited him:

When you give a dinner or a banquet, don't invite your friends and family and relatives and rich neighbors. If you do, they will invite you in return, and you will be paid back.   ¹³When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.   ¹⁴They cannot pay you back. But God will bless you and reward you when his people rise from death.

Prayer

Lord, help me to see the bigger picture that you offer.  Help me to be more concerned with the needs of others, especially the forgotten and hurting.  This gift of reaching out will enable to find the gift of true happiness.  Amen.