One of the most difficult messages to get across in our materialistic culture is that of generosity. It seems as if the more we possess, the more we want to possess. But God calls us to a different way. In the summary of the law, Jesus tells us that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Mark 12:29-31). The essence of the love spoken of here is generosity, or as it is rendered in some Bible translations, liberality. The love with which we are to love is known as agape-the same self-giving, self-sacrificing love we receive from God. In this Scripture, God asks of us what is impossible in the natural: He commands us to love as He loves, unconditionally giving of our whole selves, sacrificing for others. He calls us, by His supernatural grace, to walk in supernatural generosity. As we participate in the liturgical year, as we remember and celebrate the phases of the life of Jesus, the generosity of God points the way in which to walk, and it challenges us to respond.
   We have come through the beautiful Christmas season, when true believers around the world celebrate the Incarnation, the Birth of Jesus the Christ who is fully God and fully man. What a wonder and mystery! God's gift to man is the gift of Himself.
   On January 6, we completed the twelve-day celebration of Christmas and began the celebration of Epiphany, the feast of the coming of the wise men, when Jesus, the son of God, the son of Mary, was revealed to the magi who had journeyed from distant lands. We remember their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh; however, the greatest act of generosity was not on the part of the wise men. True, they traveled far. True, the gifts they gave were of great value, but the greatest gift of all was not theirs to give. The greatest gift was God, who in beckoning them to the manger, was opening the door of His saving redemption to the entire Gentile world. The revelation of Christ to the wise men gives those of us who are not of Jewish lineage real reason for rejoicing, for Christ came first for the Jew, represented by the shepherds. Then, possibly as much as two years later, according to the Scriptures, He came to the Gentiles, symbolized by the magi. In His generosity, God had planned not just for the salvation of His chosen people, but of the whole world.
   After the season of Epiphany, we come to Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. During the forty days of Lent, many Christians around the world practice a tradition that has been observed for centuries-giving up something for Lent. The meaning behind this tradition is to offer to God something from our lives which has hindered our relationship with Him. The fullness of its meaning is to offer more and more of our entire selves to God, so as to be filled more fully with Him and His Holy Spirit. One of the Scriptures we read in Lent recounts Jesus' forty-day fast in the wilderness. Not only did He go without food, but He went without all comforts and privileges; He fasted for us. We can respond by generously going without for the love of Him when we are called to do so.
   At the end of the Lenten season, we enter Holy Week, also known as Passion Week, when we see the awesome self-giving love of Jesus in the final week of His earthly ministry. On the night of His betrayal, He gave to His apostles and to the Church the Holy Eucharist. That night when His suffering was imminent, He was concerned to instruct, to equip, and to console His apostles. Even from the cross Jesus gave; He gave His Body and Blood; He gave His life for the salvation of the world. As He hung dying, He entrusted His mother to the care of John, He assured the penitent thief of paradise, and He prayed for forgiveness for those who crucified Him. Amid His agonizing suffering, He was concerned with the needs of others. Following His example of generosity in the face of personal trials, we can seek to give to others even when we ourselves are in need.
   The birth, life, death, and resurrection of God's only-begotten Son Jesus Christ set before us the true example of giving-giving that goes far beyond the material and draws us into the supernatural realm of God. Here we discover that true love, and hence generosity, is manifest in how we give ourselves away, first to Christ, and then to our neighbors-which include not only those we like and deem worthy of our love and generosity, but those also whom we are not naturally attracted to and those whom we may even be so audacious to judge as being lesser. Yes, we are even called by God to love and to be generous to those whom we believe have wronged us. They may have, but in God's eyes that injustice may be of little, if any, consequence.
   One thing we need to remember about giving to God or to other people is this: whatever generosity we may exhibit, it is a reflection of the generosity of God. We can only give what we have received from Him. Through studying both the Old and New Testaments, we see how He has given, and as our hearts are filled with His love, we desire to do as He has done.
   When I speak of generosity, I am not merely speaking of sharing money or personal wealth. While that is important, what is of greater value is the life yielded to God and to His call. When I contemplate the concept of generosity, I think not so much of the wise men and their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but rather my mind takes me to the shores of the Sea of Galilee where simple, hardworking fishermen gave of their total livelihood, leaving family, friends, and business to follow the call of Jesus. Or I think of a sinner, a tax collector named Levi (Matthew), who at the call of Jesus walked away from everything to give himself to God and to His call. These ancient Christians had no deep knowledge of what would ultimately take place; they simply gave themselves to God.
   The initial response to God's call, the surrendering of our lives to Him, is the beginning-as Jesus' birth was the beginning. Once we have said yes to God's call on our lives, we must daily choose to give ourselves away, to be generous with our lives.
   Like love, generosity does not fully come into its own until it is challenged. To be truly generous is to give even when we don't want to, when we don't feel up to it, when we feel as though we don't have anything left to give. We all have our limits, though we may not be aware of the boundaries we have set up to protect our time or our peace of mind. It is easy to be generous when we give from our abundance, but it is difficult to be generous when the Lord asks us to give from our poverty.
   I encourage you to ask the Lord how He is asking you to be more generous. There are so many needs in the world. Each one of us needs to hear what the Lord is asking of us. God knows our weaknesses, but He desires us to tap into His supernatural grace so that we can give away more than we ever thought possible.
    One of my dear friends, Bishop Frank Costantino who has recently gone to be with the Lord, in describing how the Lord calls us, gave some wonderful insight into the generosity in which God desires us to walk:
   1. He calls us into the deep, over our head, beyond what we can humanly do without Him.
   2. He calls us out of our comfort zone. Your comfort and mine are often blocks to the will of God in our lives.
   3. He calls us to surrender more than we are comfortable surrendering. This could be material, financial, or familial; above all, I believe it is the surrender of self and, most especially, the gifts of time, life, control, and personal agenda or ambition.
   When God calls us for any reason, be it to give to a homeless soul, to be kind to an irritated cashier, or to give above our 10% tithe, we must be ready to respond to Him, to give our souls and bodies back to Him as a living sacrifice. True generosity is such a deep matter of heart that we are compelled to give of ourselves far beyond our natural inclinations, expecting nothing in return. This response of generosity is a mark of Christian love within us.
   As we approach Lent, let us do so with a generous heart toward God and others. May we open our hearts to receive Jesus and His love, that we may give it away.