Tuesday of the
Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
(II Corinthians 8:1-9; Matthew 5:43-48)
In order to promote charitable giving among his peers
Microsoft’s founder Bill Gates started a list of the biggest donors every
year. He thought that if people liked to
see their names among the year’s biggest earners, they might also want to be
named the biggest philanthropists. St.
Paul uses a similar scheme to raise money from the Corinthian Christians in
today’s first reading.
Paul first mentions the example of the people of
Macedonia, the province to the north of the Greek isles. He says that although they are of modest
means, they begged for the opportunity to support the poor in Jerusalem. The implication is manifest. The far better off Christians in Corinth
should be even more willing to donate to the cause. Evidently the Corinthians delivered as Paul
will take a considerable sum of money to Jerusalem when he finally goes.
We often feel uncomfortable about giving because we do
not know exactly what the money will be used for. We don’t mind it going to buy food for the
hungry but feel unsure about giving it to beggars on street corners who are apt
to buy whiskey or marijuana. It seems
best to contribute to organizations that have a record of assisting the
poor. The important consideration is
that we don’t just have the intention of helping the poor but actually do so
with regularity.
