When I was growing up and times were tight, my parents dug up a section of the backyard and planted a garden. We grew carrots, green and yellow beans, radishes, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, all to help feed the family and cut down on the cost of groceries. One year, we also bought a package of corn seeds, and it was my job to plant them. Now, I’m quite fond of sweetcorn, so this was a task I could get behind. I planted as many rows as that packet of seeds would fill, and I waited. When the plants started to sprout, I was sent out to thin and weed them.
As I look back, the basic problem with this arrangement was I was a corn eater, not a corn farmer. I was just a kid, probably not even a teenager yet, and I had no idea if that was a little corn plant or a weed. When I got done with that task, those rows were pretty sparse. As the summer went on and the plants grew, we ended up with just 15 cornstalks, thanks to me and my lack of weeding expertise. I think we then ended up with maybe a dozen ears of corn total. I can’t even remember if it was good corn or not. The basic components of successful corn sowing and reaping just weren’t there.
The basic components of our faith, however, are pretty straightforward: prayer, fasting and almsgiving. Those are the things we try to do more fervently during Lent, and those are the things we then try to carry forward into the rest of the year. And we do so out of love. What is prayer but our conversation with our God? What is fasting but our attempt to remove those things that get in the way of our relationship with God? And what is almsgiving (the righteous deed Jesus points out in Matthew’s Gospel today) but our attempt to love and serve others because of our love for God?
Thus, Jesus’ teaching also seems pretty straightforward: We know what we’re supposed to do, but we definitely need to watch out for how and why we’re doing it. None of it is for show. None of it is to gain us the praise or admiration of others. All of it is for God. But the beautiful promise is that when we do it all for God, the Father will repay us. He will, as Paul tells the Corinthians, increase our harvest of righteousness. And, as the psalmist tells us, He is gracious and merciful and just. Pray, fast, and give alms, but do it all for God and with God and through God. And the Father’s generosity to us shall endure forever. Talk about reaping bountifully!
Cuando era niño y los tiempos eran difíciles, mis padres excavaron una sección del pasto atrás de la casa y plantaron un jardín. Cultivamos zanahorias, ejotes verdes y amarillas, rábanos, lechuga, tomates y pepinos, todo para ayudar a alimentar a la familia y reducir el costo de los alimentos. Un año, también compramos un paquete de semillas de maíz y era mi trabajo plantarlas. Ahora bien, me gusta mucho el maíz dulce, así que era una tarea que podía realizar con ganas. Planté todas las hileras que podía con ese paquete de semillas y esperé. Cuando las plantas empezaron a brotar, me enviaron a entresacarlas y desmalezarlas.
Al pensarlo, me di cuenta que el problema básico con este arreglo era que yo era un comedor de maíz, no un agricultor de maíz. Era tan solo un niño, ni siquiera había llegado a la adolescencia todavía, y no tenía idea de si eso era una pequeña planta de maíz o una mala hierba. Cuando terminé con la tarea, las hileras estaban bastante dispersas. A medida que avanzaba el verano y las plantas crecían, terminamos con solo 15 tallos de maíz, gracias a mí y a mi falta de experiencia en desmalezar. Creo que terminamos con tal vez una docena de mazorcas de maíz en total. Ni siquiera recuerdo si sabía bien el maíz o no. Los componentes básicos de una siembra y cosecha de maíz exitosa simplemente no estaban allí.
Sin embargo, los componentes básicos de nuestra fe son bastante sencillos: orar, ayunar y dar limosna. Esas son las cosas que tratamos de hacer con más fervor durante la Cuaresma, y son las cosas que luego tratamos de llevar a cabo durante el resto del año. Y lo hacemos por amor. ¿Qué es la oración sino conversar con nuestro Dios? ¿Qué es el ayuno sino intentar eliminar las cosas que estorban nuestra relación con Dios? ¿Y qué es la limosna (la acción justa que Jesús señala en el Evangelio de Mateo de hoy) sino intentar amar y servir a los demás debido a nuestro amor a Dios?
Así que, la enseñanza de Jesús también parece bastante sencilla: sabemos lo que debemos hacer, pero definitivamente debemos tener cuidado de cómo y por qué lo hacemos. Nada de esto es para presumir. Nada de esto es para ganarnos la alabanza o la admiración de los demás. Todo es para Dios. Pero la hermosa promesa es que cuando lo hacemos todo para Dios, el Padre nos recompensará. Él, como dice Pablo a los corintios, aumentará nuestra cosecha de justicia. Y, como nos dice el salmista, Él es justo, clemente y compasivo. Oren, ayunen y den limosna, pero háganlo todo para Dios, con Dios y por medio de Dios. Y la generosidad del Padre hacia nosotros perdurará para siempre. ¡Eso sí que es cosechar abundantemente!
Mike Karpus is a regular guy. He grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, graduated from Michigan State University and works as an editor. He is married to a Catholic school principal, raised two daughters who became Catholic school teachers at points in their careers, and now relishes his two grandchildren, including the older one who is fascinated with learning about his faith. He also has served on a Catholic school board, a pastoral council and a parish stewardship committee. He currently is a lector at Mass, a Knight of Columbus, Adult Faith Formation Committee member and a board member of the local Habitat for Humanity organization. But mostly he’s a regular guy.
Feature Image Credit: Ralphs_Fotos, pixabay.com/photos/corn-corn-on-the-cob-vegetables-3560744/
The views and opinions expressed in the Inspiration Daily blog are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Diocesan, the Diocesan staff, or other contributors to this blog.
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