Glory be to Jesus Christ!
In our reading today Our Lord tells His disciples that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child won’t enter it. Why children? What’s so special about children?
Children are completely dependent on their parents. They cannot work, pay back debts, construct webs of social influence, establish partnerships or grow businesses. They make no money. In fact, they are radically dependent.
This is the image our Lord gives us for the kingdom and our need to understand how much we must rely on Him. Without becoming like children, we will not be citizens of the heavenly kingdom. Do we want our way (do you hear Frank Sinatra’s song in the background…?) or the Lord’s way? Our kingdom, or His?
How do we topple this false god of “false control” in our lives? Through almsgiving. Give away the thing which leads you to believe that you have control over your own life and give it to someone who is in need. How much should you give? CS Lewis, a man who gave the income he made from his books to the poor wrote:
“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.” – Mere Christianity
And what better example of this do we have than St. Matthew the former tax collector, whose day we commemorate today. Levi (Matthew) had the world on a string, but he realized it paled in comparison to the riches offered him by the Lord. He gave it all up to become one of the twelve, to become poor by worldly standards but exceedingly rich in the Kingdom.
Our St. Philip’s Fast is a wonderful time to come closer to Our Lord through almsgiving. Sit down today and figure out how you can increase your giving. Remember, the cost of discipleship is everything- your whole life- but our Lord promises us not the world, but eternity. He is more than worth it!
Holy Apostle Matthew, pray to God for us!
