GO FOR BROKE

ECCLES 3:1-11; PS 144 Blessed be the Lord my God; Luke 9:18-22

"There is an appointed time for everything" according to our first reading.  There is a time for everything under the sun, a time to be born, time to die, a time to plant, a time to uproot, a time to kill, a time to heal, a time to tear down, a time to build, a time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, a time to dance…so on and so on.

What about being generous?  Is there time when generosity is out of favor?

In gratitude we are human; in generosity we are divine.  Generosity is the one virtue that can mirror itself to the end of time.

Because we are made in the image and likeness of God then we are made to be givers like unto God who gives everything.  To be a human person implies generosity.

Men impress us when they are generous.  Saints stands out among men because they too live generous lives, they hold nothing back.  They do not hoard nor are they stingy.

They go for broke every day.

Jesus is the one that said it is far more blessed to give than to receive.  That includes taking as well.

In the end the only thing we leave behind is what we have given away.

Cosmas and Damian, whose feast day is today understood this principle very well.

They were brothers.  They were twins.  Early on they learned to share.  They shared the womb with one another.  When they were introduced to Jesus, they quickly learned to share everything with everyone.

They were medical doctors and they performed their duties to bring health to the body, mind, and soul free of charge.  They were called the "penniless ones."

They made a point to share freely for they were given freely.  The words of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew was lived to its fulfillment, "freely you received, freely you give."

Generosity isn't a choice but rather a reality.  If we are to be truly authentic then we live generous lives for it is in living generously then we truly understand the foundation of life: all is gift and thus all is grace.


Eventually they were invited to give the lives they enjoyed completely.  They gave their flesh and blood in imitation of Jesus himself, laying down their life becoming what they already were, witnesses to the magnamous reality of Faith in the living God.

Cosmas and Damian pray of us.