A while back as I was walking into church on an afternoon to say my prayers I was greeted by a couple coming out of the church. I stopped and said hello. They then handed me an envelope and asked me to accept this gift of thanksgiving for the parish. I thanked them and asked two simple questions, “What were they thankful for? How could I pray for them?” They both looked at each other and then the husband said that today they were finally debt free. I congratulated them but he continue to share about how early in their marriage they had made many wrong and foolish choices with borrowing and spending and how this had caused great stress on the family to the point of almost destroying their relationship. When I asked what had changed they simply said, “They chose each other over money, objects and lifestyle.” At that point they were both crying in joy and we said a quick prayer and I shared a blessing of thanksgiving over them as a couple.
The gift I received that day was not the gift of the envelope (it contained one hundred dollars) but the gift of witnessing to a love that is greater than the desires, lusts and greed of the world. In choosing to seek a relationship of love over and above the worldly desires is a great example of Christian virtue. I have been thinking and praying about this young couple for several weeks remembering their short but powerful story because it is important to us to understand how the grace and blessing of God is necessary in all parts of our lives…including our money. Too many times we have been told to keep our faith lives separated from the things of the world when it is only our faith in a loving and gracious God which allows us to live at peace in the world.
The trouble with money can often consume us in a very difficult and destructive way.
Bert Ghezzi in his book “Getting Free: How to Overcome Persistent Personal Problems” where he talks about surrendering our problems to the Holy Spirit. He writes, “We sometimes have difficulty surrendering a problem to the power and authority of the Holy Spirit because we don’t understand how to do it very well. We don’t have much experience in yielding areas of our life to Him.” (p 69) He reminds us of three important steps: first we cannot do it by ourselves. Second we need to trust God and allow Jesus into the problem. And third we must have resolve to carry our cross and work through the difficulties.
What does this look like for us on a practical level, especially when it comes to money and how it effects our life each and every day of our lives? Just as Jesus sends out his disciples two by two, we are called to share the burdens of our brothers and sisters, to seek and support one another in the ministry of life. If we look at the couple above they could have not done their journey of coming to financial peace if they did not chose to act together as a team choosing to love and honor each other too seek the better and the goodness for the other in the best of hope and love.
Trust in Jesus, in a loving God, in the Holy Spirit seems impossible but when we confront the cross together we see the face of Jesus in the other then our trust in God becomes a tangible act. We choose to sacrifice out of love and know we are giving our of blessing and letting go of our selfish needs. We touch the face of God in choosing trust in the blessing God sends to us in the other in my life.
Resolve is hard. Just look at the many failures in dieting, exercise and other resolutions that fall away so quickly as we make them…but when we walk with another, allow God’s grace to fill us, then our resolve becomes courageous love that is able to conquer all things. The couple above allowed their resolve to be strengthened by the other knowing the other was with them in choosing to give rather than to take in their relationship.
Let us all offer a time of prayer and gratitude to the blessings that surround us and seek to be servants of God’s love and healing the hurts and growing in hope in serving God and one another.
God bless
Fr. Mark