Father Chris – THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY ORD TIME 2021 - Homily

​“God, Giver Of Life”

​Today’s lesson is clearly about ‘charity’, giving to others. We must not allow ourselves to become selfish, self-centred and self-promoting, but rather to engage in self-less generosity to the world around us, even to the point of self-sacrifice.
 
This self-sacrifice does not particularly need to have anything to do with money: think of those who give blood or donate a vital organ to those desperately in need.
 
Giving should be a regular part of daily life. Indeed, giving is a form of sharing. We share all kinds of things: parents share their experiences in life with their children; teachers share knowledge; coaches, techniques; managers, skills; medical professionals, healing; priests, sign-posts for peace and salvation. Clearly, we do not need to give to the point of hurting one’s own welfare, but it is our intent which matters. Mother Teresa once said, “God looks not at the size of the gift, but at the love which is given with it.” Giving should be second nature to living.
 
In 1964, Shel Silverstein, the famous children’s author, published an iconic children’s book about ‘giving’: “The Giving Tree”. By word of mouth alone, it surged in popularity. Various surveys reveal it is the 14th best children book ever written, while a recent online account claims it has won 3rd place.
 
It is a simple, and at the same time, profound story of the life-long, giving relationship between a tree and a boy whom it loves. The tree is extremely ‘giving’, but the boy is always ‘taking’. The boy grows into a teenager, a father, a middle-aged worker, and in the end a weak, dispossessed, sad and bitter old man. Over his whole life, he has made ‘demands’ and ‘requests’ of the tree who is always happy to satisfy the ‘boy’s’ desire. Endearingly, the tree always calls the boy a ‘boy’ even in his adulthood. Even after the boy sells the tree’s fruit to make money, shears off the tree’s limbs to build a house, cut its trunk down to build a boat to escape life, and then finds rest upon the tree’s stump (its final gift to the ‘boy’), the tree is still ‘happy’ with the boy, that it has made him happy in his final days.   
 
Ironically, the story has never been fully understood. It has been analyzed, and even criticized, as well as praised. Clearly, this is part of its compelling mystery.   
 
Different groups have developed various ideas of what the book is telling us:
-- Family groups say the tree and boy are in a parent-child learning relationship.
-- Psychologists believe the relationship between the boy and the tree is one of friendship, indicating what happens when one becomes to busy with the world and lets one’s critical relationships with others tragically disappear from one’s life.
-- Some critics believe the book was not written for children, but to be read as a satire of the misdirected, self-centred, existential life of adults.
-- Climate change enthusiasts believe the tree is Mother Nature and the boy is humanity, meant to give children a better understanding of the critical importance of our environment. In 2013, “Plain White T's”, created a music video, ‘The Giving Tree’, which reveals the failure of people to relate to each other generously, and the negative consequence of ‘taking’ with abandon from their environment.
-- Of course, Christians and Jews see it as an exemplary example of unconditional love and charity. Jews have even created a ‘Giving Tree Garden’ in Holon, Israel.   
 
The story clearly embraces all these interpretations. But as Christians, its true nature should be more obvious than we may think: the Tree is God, the Giver, and the boy is us, the Receiver. Then story makes deeper sense, teaching us clearly what true giving, true charity is and where it comes from, the Source whom we are called to emulate: God, the Father, who loves us even when we enjoy his blessings, take advantage of his ‘fruits’, abuse him in the pursuit of personal desires, break his ‘limbs’ to build our houses; abandoning him to pursue what we think is best. We often give nothing back, and yet return to God when the consequences of a selfish life are upon us. Yet, in the end, God still embraces us, his beloved people.  
 
In Apostle Peter’s 2nd Letter 3.9 he tells us: The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 8.35-39: Who will separate us from the love of Christ? I am convinced that neither death, nor life, will be able to separate us from the [giving] love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
 
Let us learn how to give from God, the Tree of Life, the greatest Giver; give to others and needy situations with true Christian charity. In this difficult time, give what we can of time and resources to keep each other going and our Church alive.    
    
– Rev Fr Christopher Tracey, Saint Joseph Parish, Saugeen Shores, Ontario