These words of Jesus are so important that the Gospel of Matthew reports them twice (Mt 13:12; 25:29). They clearly show that God’s economy is not ours. His calculations are always different from ours, as when He gives the same pay to the laborer who worked only one hour and to the one who worked all day (See Mt 20: 1-16).
Jesus says these words in answer to the disciples who had asked Him why He spoke openly to them whereas to others He spoke in parables, in a way that was more difficult to understand. Jesus gave His disciples the fullness of the truth, light, precisely because they were following Him, because He was everything for them. They had opened their hearts to Jesus, they were totally prepared to welcome Him, they already had Jesus. To them, Jesus gives Himself in all fullness.
To understand his way of acting, it might be helpful to recall a similar sentence reported in the Gospel of Luke: “Give and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap.” (Lk 6:38) These two sentences show that in the logic of Jesus, having (“to anyone who has, more will be given”) is equivalent to giving (“give and gifts will be given to you”).
I’m sure that you too have experienced this evangelical truth. When you helped a sick person, when you consoled someone who was sad, when you stayed closed to someone who felt alone, didn’t you sometimes feel a joy and peace without knowing where it came from? It’s the logic of love. The more we give, the more we are enriched.
So then we could express the Word of Life for this month in this way: to those who love, to those who live their lives loving others, God gives the capacity to love even more. He gives the fullness of love to the point of making them like Himself . And He is Love.

«To anyone who has, more will be given, and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.»

Yes, it is love that makes us be. We exist because we love. If we didn’t love, and all the times that we do not love, we are not, we do not exist. (“even what he has will be taken away”).
All we must do then is love, without sparing ourselves. Only in this way will God give himself to us and with him will come the fullness of his gifts.
Let us give concretely to those around us, certain that by giving to others we are giving to God. Let’s give always; let’s give a smile, understanding, forgiveness. Let’s listen, let’s give our intelligence, our availability; let’s give our time, our talents, our ideas, our activity; let’s give our experiences, our capabilities; let’s share our goods with others so that nothing accumulates and everything circulates. Our giving opens the hands of God who, in his providence, fills us superabundantly so that we can give again, and much, and receive more, and in this way meet the boundless needs of many.

«To anyone who has, more will be given, and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.»

The greatest gift that Jesus wants to give us is Himself. He wants to be present in us always: this is the fullness of life, the abundance with which He wants to fill us. Jesus gives Himself to His disciples when they follow Him united. This Word of Life reminds us, therefore, also of the communitarian dimension of our spirituality. We can read it in this way: those who live mutual love, those who live unity, will be given the presence of Jesus Himself in their midst.
And we will be given even more. Those who have, those who have lived their life loving others, thereby gaining the hundredfold in this life, will also be given, in addition, the reward: heaven. And they will be in abundance.
Those who do not have, those who will not have the hundredfold, because they did not live their life loving others, will not even enjoy the good and the goods (relatives, things) that they had on earth, because in hell there will be nothing but pain.
Let us love then. Let us love everyone. Let us love to the point that the other person returns our love and it becomes reciprocal: we will have the fullness of life.

Chiara Lubich

 

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