February 20: Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Posted by Campus Ministry on Sunday, February 20, 2022 at 3:26 PM PST
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In some of my earliest childhood memories, I remember spending my Sunday mornings at Mass with my mother. Halfway throughout the Mass, she would take a small donation envelope out of her purse and hand it to me. Although I wasn’t exactly sure why we were giving our money away, I always knew exactly what to do with it: grab the basket when it comes my way, put the envelope in, and send it backwards to the people in the pews behind me. It was a relatively simple task, but I recall feeling a sense of significance, excitement, and curiosity. She told me, “It’s important to give to God because he has always provided for us. He will always provide for us.”
I didn’t quite understand it then. Couldn’t we have used the money for something else? Bought food, or gone on a vacation? I didn’t see what we were getting from it.
In today’s readings, we are reminded to love our enemies, to love others unconditionally, even when it seems to be impossible, and to give selflessly without expectation of return. On instinct, it seems to be paradoxical in nature. Why would I want to give up parts of myself that I’ve earned, even for people and situations where it doesn’t seem deserving? If I’ve worked so hard for what I have, shouldn’t I be able to enjoy the fruits of my labor?
Of course, God is not telling us that we don’t deserve to take pleasure in our efforts. Instead, I believe that this is a pointed remark and a provocation to introspect and to look within ourselves, and then to look outwardly towards others. This is an invitation to discover how we can serve others. Not just “deserving” people. Not just people who have “earned it.” We cannot make that judgment. We are to discover how we can serve ALL people.
What is God asking of us? How can I serve others? What credit is that to me? How can I wholeheartedly serve all people, and challenge the biases I hold which prevent me from doing so? How can I embrace this vulnerability?
“A good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
I didn’t know it then, but my mother taught me this same fundamental principle.
~ Taylor-Ann Miyashiro, Class of 2022, B.S. Electrical Engineering