18th September 2005 – 25th Sunday A

S: Good morning, today we’re on about Generosity and how the generosity of God might be different to how we see generosity.

B: When we think of generosity it is usually in terms of how we might give of our time or money.

S: Yeah, and its usually thought of in terms of deserving cases, but the one person whose generosity we do not have to deserve is that of God’s. God is generous to all of us, no matter who we are.

B: Our word of life for today is taken from Matthew’s gospel “Why be envious when I am generous?”

S: These lines come at the end of the very last story told by Jesus on Earth, where the landowner goes out and hires people for the day to work in his vineyard. He agrees on a set wage. Now, during the day he employs others, some after lunch and more in the evening with just an hour to go. The trouble comes at the end when everyone gets the same wages...

B: Could you imagine that happening today - you’d have employees up in arms and out on strike. I mean, this gospel story is really at odds with what we expect today - and why - because we expect to be rewarded for the work we do - if that story took place in our time we’d probably have called a lightening strike and let the rest of the grapes rot.

S: Our ways are certainly not the ways of God. Do you remember Brenda, the song by Frank Sinatra, “I did it my way”?

B: I do!!

S: Well we’re often very proud of doing things our own way and sometimes, we may even hear people singing that line from the song - but what happens when God sings it?

B: It can certainly seem like he does things his own way and I guess it comes from the heart when he sees that the worker who came late needs to feed their family just as much as the one who was there all day.

S: But we can be generous in many different ways and one of them might be with our smile...Listen to Brenda smile as she reads the following reflection.

B: A smile costs nothing, but creates much.
It happens in a flash, but the memory of it lasts forever.
It cannot be bought, begged, borrowed or stolen;
but it is something that is of no earthly good to anyone
until it is given away.
So, if you meet someone who is too weary to give you a smile, leave one of yours, For no one needs a smile quite as much as the one who has none left to give.

S: You’ve been listening to Just a thought with Seamus Madigan

B: and Brenda Cribbin. We can be contacted through the Limerick Diocesan Offices at 66 O’ Connell Street or by e-mail on smadigan@limerickdiocese.org. If you would like your own copy of this reflection you can download it by clicking on limerickdiocese.org

S: We look forward to your company again next week, so in the meantime - take care…..

S& B: Byeeeeee……

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