The Power Of Giving Alms

Lk. 11:37-41

Time and again, Jesus would be mentioned by the Gospel authors as having access to the minds and hearts of people around Him. In the Gospel, He criticized the pharisees for being externally clean but were internally impure. He cited the plunder and evil they had done beneath their perfect fulfillment of external rituals. For Jesus, the external acts should be connected with the internal disposition. Words are not enough. Actions make it better. But intentions make it perfect and effective.

Jesus, who is always interested in helping people get out of their predicament, advised the pharisees. He told them to give alms and they will be cleaned. What about giving alms? Giving alms had been a very old way of doing acts of charity. During Ash Wednesday, the Gospel reading is about the three acts to be done by every Christian throughout Lent; praying, fasting, and giving alms (charity). This Gospel alone gives us an idea of how important is alms giving. It does not only invite generosity but also encourages sacrifice on the part of the giver. But more importantly, it addresses the need of a poor neighbor. It responds to the call of God to be a neighbor to your neighbor. What happens is that the act benefits the receiver physically and hopefully the gesture leads him to the appreciation of his neighbor's goodness and ultimately to God's everlasting love. But alas, according to the Lord Jesus, it benefits also the receiver not only in the satisfaction of having helped a neighbor in need but being given the grace of salvation!

Cardinal Rosales' "Pondo ng Pinoy" stresses this. "Ano mang magaling, kahit maliit, basta't malimit, patungong langit!" (Anything that is good, no matter how little, if done habitually, leads to eternal life!). It is based on the Gospel of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man, all his earth life, never gave Lazarus anything in spite of him always at his gate waiting for a little mercy. The dog did better by licking his wounds! As the story goes; Lazarus died and went to heaven. The rich man also died but went to hell. The point of the parable of Jesus is that Lazarus went to heaven because he endured and accepted his situation. He did not do anything evil in order to free himself from his poverty. It was not his poverty but his faithfulness that brought him to the bosom of Abraham. On the other hand, the rich man met his fate not because he was rich but because he was lacking in generosity. Had he given Lazarus a piece of bread even the size of a crumb, out of his goodness, he would have merited heaven. But he did not. Jesus had shown here that giving alms, no matter how small, if done sincerely, may lead one to heaven. In the case of the Pharisees, Jesus told them that it would be enough to make them clean!

The beauty of the teaching of Jesus is the fact that everyone is capable of generosity. Everyone is capable of giving alms. We can quote from the Plenary Council of the Philippines document which states, " Nobody is so poor that he can not give. Nobody is so rich that he will not be in need!" If giving alms leads to salvation, then everyone can be saved.