Bottomless Love

“The LORD keeps faith forever,
    secures justice for the oppressed,
    gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets captives free.”

Psalm 146:7

Companies and restaurants often offer and promote “bottomless” products or services to draw customers. Bottomless brunch, unlimited breadsticks, all you can eat buffet, etc. Some may ask how do these restaurants not go bankrupt with these offers? In fact, I read in an article some time ago that one chain restaurant filed for bankruptcy because of this! They thought that the promotion would draw more customers with the hopes that they will order other items on the menu or invite others to come or come back more often, but their cost-benefit analysis seemed to have failed them. So in the end, their bottomless promotion did reach a bottom and it ran dry. We see a similar concern in the Old Testament when the Prophet Elijah visited the widow in Zarephath. The widow’s supply oil and flour were running dry and going empty; yet, Elijah asked for food.

If someone who is not a Christian reads this passage, they would think that Elijah is a selfish man who is abusing his authority to get food from a poor widow whom he knows is hurting. However, those with faith, know that God must be doing something greater in the background. To the faithless and ignorant eye, the widow’s supply of oil and flour is indeed dwindling and she and her son will soo starve to death, but to those with faith, we know that God’s Providence will come through. And it does. The seemingly empty jug of oil and jar of flour continued to feed the widow and her son until the day rain fell upon the land, just as the Lord promised. God’s word prevailed and Elijah’s encounter with the widow strengthened her, body and soul. The Lord stays true to His word.

In the Gospel we read about another widow who is struggling; however, even with the little that she has, she places her offering into the temple treasury. Jesus tells His disciples that this widow with her few coins gave more than any of the others because she gave from what little she had and not her surplus. It is not how much one gives that is important, but it is how one gives. As Christians we practice tithing or some form of gift giving. Traditionally, we are asked to give 10% of our income to the Church, in whatever form that may look like. However, in today’s world 10% can be a lot, especially for those who struggle to feed their families. So, does the Lord hold this against them? Of course not. The Lord does not need our offerings. We give because it ought to be the natural desire of our hearts — to give back to God for the many great things He has given to us. The rich gave from their seemingly bottomless surplus, but the widow gave from her all that she had, trusting that no matter how little she had, she ought to give to God because God has blessed her and will continue to. This is not to say that parents should use the money set aside for food for their families to instead put it in the collection basket. God never asks this of them. God will never ask parents to starve themselves or their children. The greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves. In loving their children and feeding them and giving to them what they need is and expression of loving God.

Unlike the empty promises of bottomless benefits of this world, God’s love and mercy is truly bottomless. Just as the jug of oil and jar of flour continued to provide for the widow in Zarephath, so too will God’s love and mercy continue to envelop us. When we are able to experience and receive this bottomless, boundless, and unconditional love and mercy and see how much God has blessed us, our natural response will be like that of the widow in the Gospel — to give to God and neighbor what little we have because God has loved us so much and we know that what little we give, God will in turn multiply and make overflow.

Knowing Christ, Knowing Us

“And he asked them,
‘But who do you say that I am?’

Peter said to him in reply,
‘You are the Christ.’”

Mark 8:29

Have you ever had that experience after talking with someone or having gotten to know someone for sometime, you learn something about yourself or saw something in yourself you could not or did not see before? That is the beauty of relationships. They are avenues that allow us to know others but also to know ourselves more deeply. We think we know ourselves until we encounter someone who challenges our way of thinking or mode of living. At those decisive moments we come to see ourselves in a more objective light, we come to see the truth about ourselves.

When Jesus asked what others said about Him, the disciples reported people thought He was Elijah or a prophet. Then Jesus asked them who they say that He is. Peter is the voice that we hear — “You are the Christ.” Peter speaks up first and he speaks on behalf of the others. Although this “primacy” of Peter is not explicitly described in Mark’s account, we see it clearly in Matthew’s. Peter spent three years with the Lord, day in and day out. He walked with Him, ate with Him, worshipped with Him, learned from Him, listened to Him, and spoke with Him. So, Peter had come to a deeper understanding and a more intimate knowledge of who Jesus was — not only was Jesus Peter’s Teacher, He was also His friend and brother. But Peter still did not fully understand Jesus.

After Peter confesses that Jesus is the Christ, Jesus speaks of His impending passion. Peter did not like it and he made it known. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. Rebuke Him? What was Peter thinking? Peter was probably grieved at the fact that Jesus would undergo such humiliation and rejection. But as Jesus reminded him, he was thinking as humans think and not as God thinks. Peter has yet to understand that life knowing Jesus transcends the mundane. Peter did not yet understand that what was most important is the will of God and that preservation of one’s personal life was not. Yes, of course it is necessary to want to live and keep ourselves alive, but it must be put in the proper context and order. Hence, Jesus then told them the conditions of discipleship — you must deny yourself, carry your cross, and follow Him. Through this encounter, Peter came to understand so much not only about Jesus but also himself. He thought he understood Jesus, but he had only scratched the surface. He thought he knew himself, but came to see himself through the lens of humility and saw that he still had a lot he did not know about the life of a follower of Christ and his own commitment to that life. In coming to know Christ, Peter came to know himself.

Do we know Jesus? Or are we content with simply knowing about Him and following Him at a distance, only when it is convenient or beneficial? Do we really know ourselves or have we simply been living as the person we want others to see? If we come to know who Jesus is, we will slowly come to know who we are ourselves because it is in His image and likeness that we were created. Who else would know us better than the One who created us? Let us spend some time with Him today asking Him, “Who are You, Lord? Who am I?” and “Who are you calling me to be?”

Watch this week’s reflection below.

Called to be Simple

“Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity.”

Ephesians 5:15-16a

If someone describes you as “simple” or calls you “simple” or “simpleton,” what is the first thing that comes to mind? Perhaps you would get upset because there’s an undertone of people regarding you as inferior or “slow” or unintelligent. However, Lady Wisdom as quoted in Proverbs, seems to give those who are simple a shout out, encouraging them to go to her. This reminds me of the Beatitudes, when Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; blessed are the meek.” Simple need not be a bad label, but rather a reminder; a reminder of our call to be humble, to seek first the Kingdom, and to forsake the worldly ambitious pursuits that will one day crumble into ruins.

We are called to forsake foolishness and to embrace wisdom. Foolishness is not exactly inferior academic prowess or unintelligence, but rather pursuit of things that we know will lead us away from God. Foolish things are those things we hold on to or spend our daily lives pursuing that promises pleasure or success in the eyes of the world. This is not to say pleasure and success are evil. There is a time and place for that, but we must learn how to prioritize. Seek first the Kingdom. We must also not seek success or pleasure that is ungodly or unholy and whatever that is not from God we must avoid and remove from our lives. How do we know if something is unholy or not from God? The litmus test is whether it leads us to God or away from God. Does it give us a sense of peace or joy? Peace and joy is not the same as pleasure. Things that are from God endures and perdures even in the midst of trials and challenges. True joy and true peace remains in our hearts even when everything around us is seemingly bad or hopeless. Peace in the midst of storms tells us that Jesus is in the boat with us. Joy in the midst of sorrow tells us that our hope is in Jesus who has defeated sin and death. Those who are simple has peace and joy in their hearts because they know to whom they belong and for whom they live.

Brothers and sisters, we are called to be simple, to believe that God is faithful and that He truly provides, and that if we seek first the Kingdom everything else will fall in place and all that we need will be given to us when we need it and when we are ready to receive it. The simple are those who embrace the cross, and those who truly live as St. Paul said to the Galatians, “It is Christ who lives in me,” allow the Word of God to take flesh in their lives so that all that they do and say reflects the joy of the Gospel, the love of Christ, and the mercy of God. May we strive to cast off the foolishness that occupies our minds and hearts and allow the wisdom of God to reign in our hearts.