God as Giver, Given and Giving

July 30, 2006 -- 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time

By Bishop Robert Morneau

	Bishop Robert Morneau
	Questions for reflection: 1. How has your understanding of God grown over the past five years? 2. Do the terms Giver, Given, and Giving makes sense to you? 3. In what sense is stewardship an expression of discipleship?

One of the most important and difficult questions in the realm of religion has to do with how we understand the mystery of God. When our image of God is ill-formed, our spiritual lives become distorted and confused. And given the fact that our minds are so limited and our images so inadequate, we must be cautious in claiming too much as to our understanding and naming the nature of God.

Though aware of our radical finitude, we can say something about the infinity of God. In his excellent study of the Trinity, Altogether Gift, Michael Downey uses the categories of Giver, Given, and Giving to describe various aspects about how God is revealed in Jesus. I believe these terms to be most helpful: God our Father is the ultimate Giver; Jesus, our Redeemer and Friend, is the one who has been Given to us, given unto death for our salvation; and, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of eternal Giving.

All of us, made to the image and likeness of God, are called to emulate our Triune God. We hear in today's scripture the vocation of giving. Elisha says: "Give it to the people to eat." Give the barley loaves to the hundred people to eat. And, lo and behold, there were leftovers. Again in the Gospel the identical situation of hunger is present. What to do? So Jesus takes the five barely loaves and two fish and, after blessing them, has the disciples distribute the food to the five thousand plus. And, lo and behold, there were leftovers - twelve wicker baskets full.

Here we are in an economy of abundance, not an economy of scarcity. God the Giver creates more than enough for everyone. But human history is a record of unequal distribution. The few have a surplus while the many are in want. Those who do God's will become channels of God's gifts, passing on and sharing with others what has been given to them. They live a life of stewardship.

St. Paul was one who understood God as Giver, Given, and Giving. He is clear in instructing us that God is one and Father of all, this Father who gives us life and grace. For Paul, Jesus is Lord, the Given one, who is the source of our faith through baptism. And the Spirit of the Father and of the Son is the Spirit of Giving. And the gifts? A partial list presents such blessings as humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity, peace, and hope. As good stewards we are to receive and nurture these gifts and then share them with everyone we meet.

Our understanding of God must grow day by day, year by year. Listen to the struggle that St. Augustine has when he writes in his Confessions, "The idea I had of You was falsehood and not truth, a fiction of my own littleness, not the solid ground of Your beatitude." We do well to heed this insight of William James: "The simple point is that our conception of God is tied to the mental climate that characterizes our culture. God supports our values and reinforces our ideals, and if He did not, He is altered or abandoned."

In the opening prayer of today's liturgy we ask God to truly make us His people, living out our theology (our understanding of God): "Help us to cherish the gifts that surround us, to share Your blessings with our brothers and sisters, and to experience the joy of life in Your presence."

(Bp. Morneau is the auxiliary bishop of the Green Bay Diocese and pastor of Resurrection Parish in Allouez.)