An older man who collapsed on the street was brought to the nearby Hospital. The nurses found the address of a marine on a wrinkled paper in his wallet. Thinking that the marine was his son, the nurses called for him. When he arrived, the older man reached out his hands feebly. The marine took them and held them tenderly for the next four hours until the older man died. The marine then asked the nurses, "Who was he?" Stunned by his question, the nurses inquired, "Is he not your father?"
"No," said the marine, "but I saw he needed a son, so I stayed." The attitude of the marine reflects the call of today’s readings.
The first reading calls the Israelites to love God because He helps others, and he loves foreigners and gives them food and clothes. So we, too, are called to help orphans and widows and give them food and clothes.
Our disposition to love God and neighbor calls us to be cheerful givers, as Jesus demonstrates in today’s Gospel.
He responds to a demand of the law related to paying the Temple tax. Although he was not obligated to do so, He paid the tax, showing us that we should do good even when not obligated.
So, both passages provide us proper perspective and remind us of our disposition to love God and our neighbors. They challenge us to search our souls to determine our attitude and disposition in giving matters. In his book, Thanks be to God, Robert Rodenmayer describes three kinds of giving: grudge giving, duty giving, and thanksgiving. Grudge giving occurs when people hate to give and cheat on their giving. Duty giving occurs when people give because they ought to give rather than giving from the heart. Thanksgiving occurs when the giver is thankful and loves to give. So, in giving, such people fulfill the law of love.
When we love God, understand moral laws and obligations as guides to direct us to serve and give, they cease to be burdens imposed on us. Instead, they become the sweet demands of love that we freely fulfill. How can we fulfill the demands of love in our families and our work and faith communities? Perhaps, we need to be like the marine who stayed on because he saw the need to be a son to the older man.
