The Lord’s Logic of Multiplication

“I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” // Luke 19:26

I felt shocked walking into the grocery store near our family home. Nothing had changed in the store, but I was different. 

I was returning from a weeklong service trip with the parish youth group. We had gone across the border to Agua Prieta, Mexico. At fifteen, I soaked up the enthusiasm of the leaders and other members of the youth group. I marveled at how well they knew the people we stayed with, the children at the orphanages, and the people running the facilities. The testimony of their love for these people, each other, and God still brings a smile to my face, even as I think of those long days and hard work. I can still see some of the cherub-faced children who swarmed our vans when we came to deliver food and clothing. Amid such rugged poverty, people there lived with ready smiles, gratitude, and blessings. 

A spontaneous prayer arose from the core of my heart as I walked under those familiar fluorescent lights in the grocery store: Lord, help me to always praise You for what I have. My parents, Vietnamese refugees, often told us to thank God for what we have, and to be ready to be content with little. Mom reminded us that this is all we need: God, a bag of rice, a roof, and each other. Everything else is extra. 

But how often do I catch myself striving? How often do I grasp at more, even in relationship with God?

I’ve always been haunted by the words from the Gospel today, “[T]o everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away” (Luke 19:26). Our Lord teaches us the flipside of the Gospel logic of multiplication today. God can multiply and wants to do so abundantly, but we have to surrender. May we surrender generously.