The Economy of Giving

The Economy of Giving

Pro Tanto Quid Retribuamus - In return for so much, what shall we give back?

These noble words taken from psalm 116, v.12 emblazon the official stationery of my home city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. And, like so many rich sentiments taken from other languages, something is lost in the translation and something gained through poetic license or free interpretation. Perhaps this is a kind of proof that in the very act of giving, the giver receives, and upon receiving, both giver and receiver are mutually enriched in the economy of giving.

In any case, I had cause to think of these noble words recently when I celebrated “Lughnasa”, the Celtic feast of the harvest by “gathering” in a few close friends who fill my stores with all I need to sustain me through the winters of my life. And like the farmer who looks at the fallow field, I ponder what next to plant and what yield it might bring - or even if now is the time right for planting at all? Should I wait another year? In the economy of giving, there is an art and science of knowing what to do that work in tandem. The noble heart ponders the question while sound judgment and prudence recognize the right moment to act (kyros time) and the good work begins anew.

The farmer doesn’t linger long admiring his empty field or the full barn. He picks the day to get back to doing what is his to do – to cultivate and raise the next crop. The time for pondering is over, the time for work has begun.

In hopes of being like the good steward of the harvest drawn, I find myself looking around and through my abundant stores, furrow my brow and wonder if I have done enough to secure and protect what I have labored long and hard for. Will there be enough for me and mine? Should I have done more or consumed less? Such is the heavy burden of richness and good fortune!

But in the final analysis, there are only two things I must do before I rest this day: The first is to Give Thanks to God for so much I have already received and the second is to put my hand to the plough, for it is my labor that answers the noble question -in return for so much, what shall I give back?

Rev. Dermot Rodgers has returned from sabbatical renewed and refreshed for God’s work in the American Catholic Church, Diocese of California.