February 2001
Has it ever happened to you to receive a gift from a friend and to feel the need to repay the kindness? And you do it not so much to pay a debt, but only of a truly grateful love? Yes, of course.
If this is so for you, you can just imagine how it is for God, God who is Love. He always reciprocates every gift that we give to our neighbor in his name. Authentic Christians have this experience very often. And it's a surprise each time. One never gets used to God's creativity. I could give you a thousand, then thousand examples. I could write a book on this, and you would see the truth of that image: “a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap,” which describes the abundance with which God reciprocates, his magnanimity.
This episode is from the early days of the Movement: night had already fallen over Rome. In a basement apartment the small group of young women who wanted to live the Gospel were saying good-night. Just then the door-bell rang. Who could it be at this hour? The man at the door was panic-stricken and desperate: the next day he and his family would be evicted from his house because he hadn't paid the rent. The young women looked at one another and in full agreement they opened the little drawer where they had put together what was left of their salaries. They gave everything to that man without second thoughts. That night they went to bed happy. Someone else would have looked after them.
But it wasn't daybreak yet when the telephone rang. “I'll be right there; I'm taking a cab,” said the voice of the same man.
Surprised by his choice of transportation, the young women waited for him to arrive. When they saw his face they understood that something had changed. “Last night, as soon as I got home, I found a sum of money which I have unexpectedly inherited. My heart told me to give half of it to you.” The sum was exactly twice as much as they had generously given.
«Give, and gifts will be given to you: a good measure, packed together, shaken down and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.»
Have you ever had a similar experience? If you have not, remember that the gift must be given without any personal interest, without any hope of receiving something in return and to anyone who asks.
Try it. And do it not in order to see the results, but out of love for God.
You will tell me: but I don't have anything to give.
It's not true. If we want, we have real treasures to give: our free time, our heart, our smile, our advice, our knowledge, our peace, our words, to convince those who have to give to those who do not have….
Again, you will tell me: but I don't have anyone to give to. Look around you: what about that sick man in the hospital, that widow who is always alone, that friend who is so discouraged because he didn't do well in school, that person terribly concerned about being out of work, your little brother who needs help, that friend in prison, that new person on the job with her insecurity: Christ is waiting for you in them.
Begin to act in a new way, as a Christian. The whole Gospel points towards this lifestyle which is one of great openness. Give up placing your security in earthly possessions and rely on God. In this way you will express your faith in him, a faith which is going to be confirmed before long by the gift that you will receive in return.
Logically, God doesn't act in this way in order to make you rich or to make us rich. He does it so that others, many others, in seeing the small miracles brought about by our giving, will want to do the same.
He does this because the more we have, the more we can give. As true administrators of his goods – we can share everything with those around us, so that it can be said as it was of the early community of Jerusalem: “… nor was there anyone needy among them” (Acts 4:34). Don't you think that in doing so you work at giving an authentic soul to the revolution that our society and the world is calling for?
“Give, and gifts will be given to you.” Undoubtedly, Jesus meant, first of all, the reward we will have in heaven, but what happens on this earth is already prelude and guarantee of what we will have in heaven.
Chiara Lubich
[:it]Discorso di Chiara Lubich agli indù e membri di altre religioni a Coimbatore
[:it]Conferito a Chiara Lubich il premio Difensore della Pace 2001
CHIARA LUBICH IN INDIA
Chiara Lubich, using the most powerful human force of love and a strong faith in the unity of all humankind as espoused in the teachings of Jesus Christ, you have been chosen to play a tireless role in sowing the seeds of peace and love among all peoples. Starting during the dark days of the Second World War in Italy and thereafter all over the world, in the last six decades you have worked ceaselessly to help people discover love for and understanding of each other. This has allowed you to continuously strengthen the fragile framework of peace on which much of world’s prosperity, health, culture and spirituality is developing. In particular, you have built the lay Christian Movement of Focolare serving the people of the world through prayer and action and in promoting better dialogue, tolerance and purposeful cooperation among people of various religions. Importantly the empathy that you and the Focolare movement enjoy with young people and the deep understanding of evolving changes in this world displayed by yourself have ensured that the message of Jesus Christ stays relevant, fresh and healing in solving contemporary issues. In honour of your achievements, the peace loving people from the ancient country of India and in particular the Sarvodaya Movement and Shanti Ashram, present you with the eighth Defender of peace Award on the fifth day of January, two thousand and one. Shanti Ashram Sarvodaya Movement Minoti Aram, President Dr. N. Markandan, President
January 2001
These words of Scripture are being proposed for the reflection of Christians during the week of prayer for Christian unity, which is being celebrated this month in many nations.
This, perhaps, is the highest and most complete description that Jesus gives of him-self in the Gospels, a description which sums up his mission and his identity. And he ad-dresses it to us so that we may find the surest and only way to the Father. In fact, this verse concludes with the words: no one comes to the Father but through me”.
With these words of his Jesus reveals to us who he truly is, and who he is for every man and woman in this world.
«I am the way, and the truth, and the life».
In what way does Jesus reveal himself as the truth? He does so by bearing witness to it with his life and teaching.
“The reason I was born, the reason why I came into the world, is to testify to the truth” (Lk 3:4). The truth, which Jesus attributes to himself, signifies his person, his word, his work.
We live according to the truth, we are truth in the measure in which we are word of Jesus. But if Jesus is the way in the sense that he is the truth, he is also the way because he is life for us. “I came that they might have life and have it to the full” (Mt 18:20). By nourishing ourselves with him, who became bread in the Eucharist, and also with his word, Christ will grow in us.
On our part, we must communicate this life within us, lest it would die, by using the one and only means that Jesus taught us: that of giving it as a gift to our neighbours.
«I am the way, and the truth, and the life».
“Make ready the way of the Lord” (Mt 18:19), John the Baptist cried out in the desert of Judea, re-echoing the prophet Isaiah. Here, then, is the one who presents himself as the Lord-the Way, God who became man so that, through his humanity, we could go to the Father.
But which way did Jesus take?
The Son of God, who is Love, came on earth out of love. He lived out of love, spreading love, giving the gift of love, bringing the law of love, and he died out of love. Then he rose up and ascended to heaven, fulfilling his plan of love. We can say that the way Jesus took has just one name: love. And in order to follow him, we too must walk along this way: the way of love.
But the love that Jesus lived and brought is a special, unique kind of love. It is not philantrophy, or simply solidarity and kindness; nor is it only friendship or affection; and neither is it only non-violence. It is something extraordinary, divine: it is the same love that burns in God. Jesus gave us a flame of that infinite fire, a ray of that immense sun: divine love, which is lit up in our hearts through Baptism and through our faith, a faith nourished by the other sacraments. This divine love is a gift of God which, however, demands that we do our part, that we correspond.
We must make this love bear fruit. How? By loving. We are not fully Christians if we do not assure this contribution of ours. By loving we will follow Jesus, the Way, and like Him, we too will be the way to the Father for many brothers and sisters.
We Christians will be more credible if we live together this commandment of love that Jesus gave us.
Although there is not yet full unity among us, followers of Jesus, we can bear witness to mutual love through our life. Doing this gives us the possibility of seeing one of Jesus' promises come true: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst” .
We Christians can already enjoy this gift of the presence of Jesus, for example be-tween a Catholic and an Anglican, between an Orthodox and a Methodist, between a Walden-sian and an Armenian. Jesus in the midst of his people! In this way, he himself will tell those who do not yet know him: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life”.
During this month we realize even more that the unity of Christians is first of all a grace and therefore we need to ask for this gift. Let us count on our praying together because Jesus said: “If two of you join your voices on earth to pray for anything whatever, it shall be granted you by my Father in heaven”.
Chiara Lubich