14th Week of Ordinary Time, Thursday, 7-10-25, Year C
Readings: 1st Reading: Gen 44:18-21, 23b-29,45:1-5; Psalm 105:16-21; Gospel Mt 10:7-15
Theme: Give Without Cost
At Baptism, we were given the Holy Spirit to strengthen us, faith to believe in God and His saving grace, the forgiveness of our sins, and adoption as His sons and daughters so we can share in the inheritance of God’s Kingdom. Without cost. we have received; without cost, we are to give.
It is hard to give something away without expecting something in return. We give away our car to charity and get a tax deduction. We donate money and get our name on a plaque. We do a good deed and get a “thank you” in return. We always seem to want something in return for what we give. But what if we did not get anything in return? How would we feel if we gave away our car and received nothing return, donated money and remained anonymous, or did a good deed and did not get a “thank you” in return? Would we feel disappointed, maybe harbor some resentment or even get angry?
It is human to give and receive. It is divine to just give. To give our time, talent, and treasure to those who need it most and then walk away with no expectation or an IOU chip in our back pocket, is divine. Yet, even Jesus recognizes that the “laborer deserves his keep.” Our giving must be tempered with that of surviving and living for God. If we give everything away without any return, then we, ourselves will be lost, and that is not God’s intent. What we need to do is understand the measured meaning of giving and receiving and what our true motives are behind our actions.
If we only give in order to satisfy some desire for ourselves, then our giving is transactional. But, if we give out of love for another with no expectations of any kind, then that is divine.
Joseph gives his love to his brothers with no regard to how they treated him in the past. He even recognizes that it was God’s will that he was sold into Egypt in order to save lives and bring the news of the one living God to all people. There was no expectation of a return on his gift of love to his brothers, even though they felt unworthy of that love.
Jesus’s entire life, from birth to the cross, was a gift without return. He gave His life and demanded nothing for our salvation except for our love of Him, which is His “keep.”
When our gift is done out of love, support, and respect for another without the slightest hint of a need for a return, then our gift is one of true love; in other words, divine. If we receive an unexpected return, such as a “thank you,” or card in acknowledgement of our gift, then we should be gracious and accept it as our “keep.” For that returned gift to us is their expression of love for our actions, and can be divine for us.
Love and be loved, if not by the person you gave to, then by God Himself, knowing we are following His Son, Jesus. That is our “keep.”
Saint James Catholic Church 