When is Generous Too Generous?

02-14-2016Weekly ReflectionFr. Brian Jazdzewski

Having been born in March of 1973, my life becomes what it is according to God’s master plan. Part of His plan is the formation I’ve received, whether directly or indirectly, from my family, my education, my experiences and a whole lot of other things which continue to make me who I am. Now that we have embarked on the observance of Lent, I continue to remember, as a cradle Catholic, the time-tested disciplines of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. And, I remember each year, including the present one, praying about and pondering the choices I’ll make to have a good observance of Lent in preparation of the Easter season.

The questions remain; can I do enough prayer, fasting and almsgiving? Or, can my Lenten disciplines ever be enough for God? Or, can I be generous enough during Lent so God’s blessings come upon me during the Easter season, and more importantly, in the life ever after? At the core of the response to these questions, and questions like them, is the question of generosity. So, consider this reflection from my childhood experience.

There were winters of my childhood which seem to have been more extreme than the current winter. During some of those winters, a regular occurrence in the late evenings was a telephone call from one of my aunts whose car wouldn’t start and they phoned my father to request a jump start. We lived in town and were the most convenient for my relatives who lived in the outskirts. Usually at this point in the evening my father had been relaxing from a day on the assembly line at the factory and was likely to be fiddling around in our cold basement with some tinker project. And, since I was looking for ways to evade homework, I willingly accompanied my dad in our cold car to meet an aunt in a large empty parking lot where it was dark, windy and COLD. As I grew older, I no longer watched my dad from inside our car, I looked under the hood with him as he attached the cables and hoped the dead vehicle would turn over a new life. He was careful to complete the pre-start ritual in pre-fuel injection days... pump it once or twice and turn the key. More often than not, the other vehicle did. Oddly enough, looking back, my dad would refuse any offers of gas money for his troubles, he was just happy helping a relative return to their warm homes and families.

There seems to be some correlation to my life experience and some people I’ve known that generosity like this is inspiring. My dad showed an overwhelming sense to give and not count the cost. In fact, I believe, that if he had calls like that six days in a row, he would have gone through the same routine six days in a row (and may have donated the batteries to prevent future calls). Generosity like that is part of the lifestyle of some of my other relatives, too. That’s how I grew up, that’s how I learned to respond to needs when requested. So, when Lent comes around, I really wrestle with what type of generosity God is asking of me. If my earthly father could give like that, and he models my heavenly Father, God seems to never be outdone in generosity. I hope, that as these Lenten days unfold, you too, will look deeper into your storehouse and discover just how much more generous you can be. Whether its our prayer, fasting or almsgiving, our God promises to never be outdone in generosity. He gives back in abundance, and that’s a good investment.

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