“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)
In the Middle Eastern culture, it is common for buyers and sellers to haggle or barter over prices…in fact, it’s expected. Farmers would bring their grains, spread it on a mat on the ground so that customers could examine the grain and make an offer. Then the haggling began. When a price was set, the customer offers his container – usually a large bowl or pot – and the seller uses a scoop to fill the container.
However, in Jesus’ day grain was sold by volume not by weight. That’s why the verse above mentions that the grain was pressed down and shaken together. Thus, every sale entailed four stages: First, the seller fills the container to the top. Second, he presses the grain down and fills some more. Third, he shook the container so the grain will settle and then added more. Finally, he fills the container until it overflowed and was “caught” in the garments of the people.
Our Lord uses this common analogy in relation to our own method of giving. When you give, God gives back to you, yet He uses the same “measure” that you use. Therefore, if you are stingy, God will be stingy in return. But if you are truly generous and your charity abounds, so will God’s!
Fr. John
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