After my Lenten confession, I happened to talked to the team moderator, as he was taking a breather from the confessional box. I asked him what resurrection means in our modern world where our sense of sin is diluted. We stand and defend some sins as ecclesiastical not divine, like Catholics who used unnatural methods of populating the earth, the sanctity of married state, and some more issues. He pondered and replied, “Man sinned because of the longing to be loved. Even carnal sin is originally based on that longing. Resurrection is simply the joy of rediscovering that we are loved by God. And when we do, it is not how sinful we are or how much we love God, but what matters is His greatest love of all.” A God who loves His creatures and creations without ifs and buts, is a marvel. Knowing His boundless love attracts us more unto Him thus reciprocating this love by caring and tending the needs of our fellow humans in many humanly possible ways.
I chanced to climb the steeply flight of steps to the assigned PPC office and found myself in the midst of used clothing spread over on almost half of the area in the second floor for the victims of those past calamities that hit our land. What caught my attention is the quality of those, and I pitied not the recipients but the people who gave those. There are soiled clothes, some have holes, some are leftovers of rats’ dinner, some are torn, and some are so crimpled. Some used clothes are considered over used and some are beyond using as clothing. The intention to give, I think, is not merely enough. One must put oneself in another man’s shoe to have empathy on their needs.
What is the theology of giving? We followed calendar for our giving, we assigned seasons to give, to be generous. The will of God is ARK, acts of random kindness. We must be kind to anyone, anytime, anywhere, and anyhow. To give quickly is to give twice. Give and receive a hundredfold back. The hand donates but it is the heart that truly gives. We are being told of those but we have to give because that is the essence of our existence. “It is in giving that we receive”, as Saint Francis quoted.
Spiritual resurrection involves a relinquishing of our former lives often filled with infractions of God’s law, especially the law of love. Easter means for every Christian a renewed life in the spirit of Jesus. Having put off the old self with its sinful ways, we live for God, and let divine love motivate all our words and actions. That is however not just the resolution of the moment, it will be a continual “onward and upward” to meet the demands of a life that is risen with Christ and live for God. There will be painstaking effects to avoid the former pitfalls, the occasion that invariably led us to sin. And to battle this, we must possess the Easter Spirit that we are loved by God, and eventually we have to reciprocate that love. Charity is the heart of creation and of our salvation.(RDD)
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