St.
Bernard
Fr.
Philip Neri Powell, OP
St.
Dominic Church, NOLA
Are
you envious of God's generosity to others? Our Lord blesses all of us with
certain gifts that He then nurtures in order to move us closer to
Him. His love in us is perfected as we use His gifts to serve others.
So long as we are using our gifts to serve others, His love is being
perfected in us. The constant temptation, of course, is to covet the
gifts of others, to envy their blessings and pine for the gifts we do
not have. As I lust after your gifts, I ignore my own and God’s
love is not being perfected in me. Envy is one of the easiest means
the Devil has for distracting us away from our charitable duties. Not
only do we serve his ends by failing to serve one another, we fret
away in envy, allowing the seed of our Lord’s love in us wither
from inattention. For the Devil, it’s a two-fer, two sins for the
price of one.
By
nature, God is diffusive Goodness; that is, what God is is Goodness
in limitless abundance, diffused without diminishment across His
creation. We are attracted to His perfection so that our imperfect
nature might be made whole. That it is even possible for us to be
made whole in His perfection is His gift of Himself to us. This gift
of human nature perfected in the divine was made flesh in Christ
Jesus. Think of it this way: Jesus is who we will be if we accept the
gift of his sacrifice for us; Jesus is who we were made to be if we
use our gifts in the same way that Jesus gave (gifted) his life for
us—willing, sacrificially. The Cross of Calvary and the Empty Tomb
of Easter are the fulfilled promises of a generous Father who knows
no limits to His abundance. God is not generous; His is Generosity
per se. Being generous is not what God does; it is Who He Is.
So,
what does it mean then to ask, “Are you envious of our Lord’s
generosity?” This question is a direct challenge to and a rebuke of
the stinginess of spirit exemplified in the whiny workers who
complain to the landowner about the pay they receive for a day’s
work. Why do the latecomers receive the same pay when they have not
done as much work? What’s the real complaint here? We’ve worker
longer, so we deserve more pay. The landowner’s response is just:
“My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for
the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go.” This parable is
usually read as a rebuke to the Jews who complain that they have done
the work of following the Law and now the Messiah pops up and offers
the Lord’s mercy to any and all regardless of whether or not the
latecomers have fulfilled even one obligation under the Law. The
landowner (God) justifies his generosity, “What if I wish to give
this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with
my own money?” As members of the Body of Christ, are we ready to
say to the Lord, “No, you may not do as you wish with your gift of
salvation. We’re earned ours; they haven’t.”
If
this sentiment rises in our hearts even for a moment, we need to ask
again, “Are we envious of the Lord’s generosity?” Now, does
this mean that everyone will make it to heaven? No, it doesn’t. It
means that the possibility of salvation is universal. No one is
excluded from the invitation to become a member of the Body. If our
Lord reached into the freed will of every person and compelled
acceptance of this invitation, then we would not be free. What has
been made absolutely clear to us is that the Body of Christ was
raised from the tomb on the third day; resurrected and ascended, he
sits at the Father’s right hand. Also made perfectly clear to us is
that the Body of Christ, the Church, will be raised on the last day;
resurrected and ascended, she will sit at the foot of the throne in
heaven.
Our
Lord has every right to be jealous of our love. We tend to wander now
and again, and His jealousy reminds us not that He is petty, but that
His love is necessary for our eternal lives. Though God is jealous of
our love for Him, we cannot be jealous of His love for us. By nature,
our God is Love and His love, that is, God Himself, is diffusive. How
do we hoard God? How do we “stock up” on God and ration His love
for His creatures? We don’t! And if we try, we will fail, and we
will fail with dire consequences. Are you envious of God's generosity
to others? If so, then you are wallowing in a bit of dangerous irony
b/c His generosity is what saves you. We must be diffusive of the
Love that saves us, or we must get out His way. . .
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