Today Paul cuts right through our own self-preoccupation, our vain efforts to be masters of our lives when he asks, “What do you possess that you have not received?”
Humbling words that remind us of both our need and God’s prodigal giving. Just how much we have been given by God and by others! Our life, our faith, the many gifts and graces that make our life livable. Such a realization should help loosen our grip and raise our hands in praise and thanksgiving.
St. Francis famously said that the only thing that we can truly call our own is our sin. But happily for us, we need not live possessing or being possessed by sin. The Lord of all frees our hearts, leaving us open and ready to be filled with good things.
Let us open our hands and our hearts to him.