Generosity of Sprit
I belong to the Emu Park Art Society, a small cooperative of artists who run a gallery in the township. How do we survive? By working together and manning the Gallery ourselves. Also, we offer workshops on our various skills to the wider public at relatively low cost. Currently, we rent the premises from the family of the founder for a very low rent. They have been generous but now we have to move on. The local Council is building a new Gallery, funded by the Queensland Government – which really means the people of Queensland. If you asked a hard-headed business person to rate the chances of our society surviving, they would put them at close to zero. But we have, for many years. How? By pooling our gifts and talents. We survive, indeed flourish because we share.
And this is what we are made for. In this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus speaks about life within God – life between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. None of them ‘possess’ anything for themselves. Rather, all they have, they share. One could say that the essence of God is to give in love. We have an understanding of this because we know that is how good families operate, even if we sometimes fall short of the ideal. We also see it when school communities rally around families in need.
In this Sunday’s Gospel, the word ‘mine’ is repeatedly used- not as a way of saying ‘I hold this for myself’ but rather as, ‘I am a conduit for passing this on.’ We also appreciate what a person with a generous spirit is like: open, vibrant and a sense of freedom. We want to be like that. In this coming week, think of one gift or talent you have and work out a way to give it away, in joy and generosity.
Loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, your life is one of giving in love. In this coming week, may we reflect your life and love in our generosity to each other. We aks this in Jesus’ name confident that you will hear us.
Sr Kym Harris osb