Ecclesiasticus 35:1-12 / Mark 10:28-31
When it comes to giving, many profound things can be said about it.
For example, "No one has ever become poor by giving" (Anne Frank); "Happiness doesn't result from what we get but from what we give" (Ben Carson); "We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give" (?) and many more profound reflections.
Even the 1st reading has something to say about giving: Honour the Lord with generosity, do not stint the first fruits you bring. Add a smiling face to all your gifts, and be cheerful as you dedicate your tithes.
That's where we get statements like "be a cheerful giver", whether giving to God or giving to others.
So it seems that even in giving, we are urged to be cheerful and to be generous, and to encourage us further, we are told that we will be rewarded, and the 1st reading would even say that the Lord will reward a cheerful and generous giver seven times over.
So giving can be challenging enough to our human tendency, because we are more likely to be calculative and to look for what we can gain from what we give.
Even in the gospel, Peter asked Jesus what is there for him and the rest who have left everything to follow Jesus.
Yes, the act of cheerful and generous giving can be difficult.
Yet, the 1st reading reminds us to give to the Most High as He has given to us, generously as our means can afford.
May we come to see what the Lord God has given to us. And may we also come to see that the purpose of our life is to give it away, cheerfully and generously.