King Cyrus of Persia was a magnanimous guy. He did something very special for the children of Israel, even though he was not one and had no duty to do so. What did he do? Read about it in today’s first reading from Ezra 1.
The last line of today’s Gospel reading from Luke 8 can seem confusing. Jesus says, “To anyone who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” What is Jesus taking about? Many preachers say this is about faith, but that makes no sense. After all, Jesus talked about having faith like a mustard seed. Why would He take away from someone who has even a little faith?
This is about responding to the gift of faith. It is a warning against being lukewarm, or minimizing faith. Just add the phrase “a response to faith” and it all makes sense. Like this: To anyone who has a response to faith, more will be given, and from the one who has not a response to faith, even what he seems to have will be taken away.” We must accept the gift of faith offered to us, and respond accordingly.
Father, we thank you for the gift of faith. May we always respond enthusiastically and let our light shine to all! Amen.
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