“Give to the Most High as he has given to you, generously, according to your means.”

Today’s readings have a few common themes: service, justice, and sacrifice. In today's readingsl, we are called to share our selves, our blessings, and our talents with God. I interpret this as God asking us to give our gifts to him through presenting them to our fellow brothers and sisters. Sometimes this is through little acts of service here and there, but there is always an underlying call to promote justice to get at the root cause of people’s suffering.

God calls us to promote justice in our communities which is a very hard thing to do. Most of the times, when people try to promote justice, they are met by very powerful resistance. It is easy to get discouraged when people tell us, “You won’t be able to change that. It’s always been that way. You may as well just not try...” But there is so much unnecessary suffering in the world that we can’t just sit back, relax, and turn a blind eye. Once we have an experience of human suffering, our hearts ache with passion and a desire to alleviate this suffering. We were built to feel compassion and empathy so that we feel drawn to affect change; to try to get closer to the Kingdom of God on earth. Once we have an experience, or feel that call to fight for justice, that’s when sacrifice comes in.

Just as Jesus showed by example, to die for another is the greatest sacrifice, the greatest act of love. Not everyone is called to die for another, but how much we sacrifice of ourselves, or of our lives, is something we all must discern. Some people are called to sacrifice money and power in order to promote love and justice, others are called to sacrifice a comfortable lifestyle, and others are called to be martyrs - to die so that others may live in a more peaceful world.

Through these readings, I believe God is calling us to give as much as we can, to do all we can do, and to serve our brothers and sisters by promoting justice in the world. We are all called to sacrifice—whether big or small—and once we make those sacrifices, and promote that love, God promises that we will be fulfilled, and we will be more fully human than ever before.