THE PATH OF GIVING IS NOT A ONE-WAY STREET

GIVEN AT THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE POOR

1-6-2023 

People immediately recognized him. They scurried about the surrounding countryside and began to bring in the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.

Mark 6:53-56

A year or two ago, I was given an old photograph that was taken in September of 1950 of my mother sitting in a chair surrounded by the first five of us seven kids. My mother has a forced smile on her face. She is holding my baby sister in one hand and comforting another sister, who is crying her little heart out about something, with the other. The rest of us are leaning in toward her like she was a warm stove on a cold day even though it had to be a hot day since most of us were dressed in shorts and tee shirts. My mother has that tired, almost overwhelmed, look on her face like a mother dog with one too many pups – with two more yet to go!

Today’s gospel reminded me of that old childhood photo. No sooner than Jesus’ boat had landed on the other side of the lake, he was surrounded by another crowd of needy people who had come to get something out of him. They came to get. They came with their insistent demands. To put it bluntly, they came to use him. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! Where were these crowds when Jesus needed something from them? When he needed comfort and support as he hung on the cross, they were not there!

Always taking and never giving is one of the shameful characteristics of human nature. It is not uncommon for many young people today to see their homes as being there to cater to their comfort and convenience. It is there that they eat and sleep and get things done for them. Unlike years ago, many today do not see it as a place where they ought to contribute.

There are those who simply use their friends and relatives. They see these people as existing to help them when they need help and to be forgotten when they cannot be made of use. Many never send a birthday card or even make a quick phone call to check on family members. The only time they are heard from is when they graduate and get married. It’s almost like getting a bill or a gift request. I experienced a similar dynamic when I was teaching those in the seminary who were about to be ordained. They would excitedly show me the invitations to their Ordinations and "First Masses." When I asked to see their “thank you cards,” many would give me a blank stare as if they had absolutely no idea what I was talking about! It is as if some of them believed that they were being ordained “to be served, rather than to serve!”

There are those who use the Church. They want the Church to baptize their babies, marry their young adults and bury their dead. They seem to believe that the Church exists to serve them, but they have no duty whatsoever towards it. They are the ones who are the first to whine that “church is boring,” but they show up late, never sing, never answer the prayers, put a wrinkled one-dollar bill in the collection, never sign up for a ministry and leave early. In their minds, it is up to others to “make it interesting” and “be there” for them when they need it!

There are those who use God. Their only prayers are requests, or even demands, if they are in a crisis. Someone put it this way. “In American hotels there is a boy called the “bell-hop.” The hotel guest rings the bell and the “bell-hop” appears; he will fetch anything the guest wishes on demand. Some people think God is some kind of universal “bell-hop” only to be summoned when something is needed.

If we were to be honest with ourselves, we all do this to some extent. We need to stop sometime and examine our consciences on this one matter. How much of our prayer is about offering worship, praise and thanksgiving compared to how much of our prayer is about requests for some need that we have?