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In giving we receive
Fr Pat Collins C.M., from Ireland, who is currently on a sabbatical in the USA, reflects on the principle of reciprocity in the scriptures and its link to salvation.
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"Faith and good works" Since then I have often pondered on the meaning and implications of those words of Jesus. It occurred to me that they help to reconcile the Protestant and the Catholic notions of justification. The former emphasizes the importance of faith alone, whereas the latter highlights the necessity of good works. As you may be aware, in 1999 the Vatican published a Joint Declaration On the Doctrine of Justification, by the Lutheran World Federation and the Catholic Church. Since then, the World Methodist Council has officially accepted and endorsed the statement. In par. 15 it says: "Together we confess: By grace alone, through faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works." It seems to me that this sentence incorporates our Lord's principle of reciprocity. Let's look at the first part: "By grace alone, through faith in Christ's saving work and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit." It asserts that although, in terms of strict justice, we deserve God's judgment and condemnation on account of our sins, when we look trustingly into Christ's merciful eyes, expecting only mercy, we receive only mercy through the cleansing power of his Holy Spirit. It is a glorious truth, the very essence of the Good News. The second half of the sentence goes on to say that the Holy Spirit "renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works". Those good works are the expression of the grace of justification which has already been received, but not a means of earning it. In other words, having received gratuitously from God, we have to give in like manner to other people. That notion is implicit in Lk 6:36: "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." What is implied here, is the fact that, while God's unmerited mercy is always available to us, we can only experience its liberating presence as long as we are willing to be merciful to those who have injured and wronged us. So instead of judging or condemning them, as they might deserve in terms of strict justice, we should refrain from doing so while offering the wrongdoers the unmerited gift of our mercy. "Be for others what God is for you" The principle of reciprocity which is evident in the foundational experience of justification, is equally important in every other aspect of the Christian life. For example when we pray, our deepest desire is not only to grow in knowledge of who Jesus is, but also to deepen our relationship with him. But we will only continue to have that intimate and heartfelt awareness of the Lord if we are willing to generously express it in practical ways in our everyday lives. Implicit, therefore, in every religious experience is the maxim, "be for others what God is for you." If you have found God to be compassionate; be compassionate. If you have found God to be patient, kind, faithful, understanding, benevolent or generous, then, be patient, kind, faithful, understanding, benevolent or generous in your dealings with others. As scripture says: "Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake" Deut 15:10. "The new evangelisation" I also think that this principle of reciprocity is vital where evangelisation is concerned. If we want to maintain and increase the fire of faith which we received from previous generations, we will only be able to do so by igniting the faith of others by means of effective evangelisation. Otherwise the flames of belief will grow weaker and eventually die, as they seem to have done in the hearts of millions of people across the continent of Europe. Aware of this, Pope John Paul wrote in par. 3 of Redemptoris Missio: "I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church's energies to a new evangelisation…No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church, can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all People." Elsewhere in the same encyclical he observed, "Faith is strengthened when it is given to others" (par 2). I'm convinced that, as more and more of us become actively engaged in the New Evangelisation, not only will our efforts be a source of blessing to those who come to faith in Christ, our own faith will be affirmed and increased as a result. "Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours." It is a striking fact that in the Holy Land, the Jordan river flows in at one end of the Sea of Galilee and outwards at the other. As a result it teems with life. The same river flows in at one end of the Dead Sea, but fails to flow out at the other end. As a result it is lifeless! In the light of this observation, you might want to think about these questions. Are you a consumer of spiritual experiences, a person who is more inclined to receive blessings from the Lord, than to pass them on to others? Has your prayer group become inward looking? Does it move beyond its comfort zone by doing things for others e.g. by running Life in the Spirit Seminars, organizing regional days of renewal, or taking action for justice? What about your parish? In the words of Cardinal Dulles is it "excessively preoccupied by inner-church issues," or is it outward looking as a result of such things as evangelisation, adult education or interchurch cooperation? Surely C. S. Lewis was correct when he observed: "Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours."
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About
two years ago I was walking along the street near my home when suddenly
some words of Jesus drifted into my mind, "give and it will be
given to you….for the measure you give is the measure you will
get back" Lk 6:38. While I was quite familiar with those verses,
on that graced occasion it was as if God had spoken them directly to
me, from heaven. The Holy Spirit seemed to unveil their importance in
such a way that they have come to assume a central role in my spiritual
life ever since. Paradoxically, for some time after that moment of illumination
I felt both energized and frustrated. Energized because I had come to
appreciate what was a key religious principle, frustrated, because I
couldn't fully grasp or express what I already knew in an intuitive
way.