What does generous mean?

I read a story about a conversation between a mother and her 7-year-old daughter. They were watching television when one of the characters described another character as being generous.

The little girl turned to her mother and asked, "What does generous mean?"

The mother thought for a moment, trying to use words her daughter might understand, and replied, "Generous means putting others first, being unselfish, such as letting your little brother go down the slide first or letting him play with one of your toys."

There was a pause and then her daughter replied, "Mommy, I am not that kind of a person."

The root word of generous is grace. Grace can mean "unmerited favor and God's unconditional love for us." Grace encompasses an action by God on our behalf that stimulates us to act towards another in a similar way.

At Old High Middle School the fifth-grade classes are assigned homework of making a poster with the pictures of any relative that served in the armed forces. If possible, the students interview that relative and write about his or her service experience. The posters are displayed around the school.

I borrowed this idea and asked the congregation at St. Thomas in Springdale to bring pictures of men and women that were in the armed forces. On Veterans Day, Sunday, Nov. 11, we displayed the pictures, tried to guess the name of those men and women in their uniforms (we were all so young), told their stories and said prayers for all that had served our country and for those on active duty. We also prayed for those families that were at home while those they loved were away. We thanked all of them for their service. Thanking our veterans and active-duty service men and women is an important holy habit.

Master Eckhart was a 14th century German mystic. He wrote, "If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough."

I believe that once a person can say thank you, that has its genesis from the heart, it can grow and become a holy habit. Holy habits can, in turn, grow in the heart of the receiver. What may once have been something you just say without thought or feeling can become something you believe and will want to do again.

I took advantage of early voting. After I had voted, I felt a great relief but I was worn out. That's my body's signal to me to turn off the television and get outdoors. That night, I read a reflection about a conversation between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The conclusion was, "Jesus, you need to go back to the human beings and give everyone a ticket for speeding through life. There are far too many wrecks and lives being needlessly lost physically, mentally and spiritually." I got a ticket.

This season of Advent, we will read the Biblical stories of Mary and Joseph and their separate visits from the Angel. They listened and both replied, "Let it be." They were generous.

PS. After my last article was published, I received several thoughtful notes. I replied to all of them except one. That individual took polite issue with what I wrote. He opened the door for additional dialogue. I wrote a response, but I wanted to sleep on it. The next morning when I was ready to send my reply, it was gone and so was the email address. Sir, please send me another email so I can answer you. You took the time to email me and I need to honor your response.

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Ken Parks is the former rector of St. Theodore's Episcopal Church in Bella Vista. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Religion on 12/12/2018