Once upon a time, a brother and sister were given a chance to share a candy bar. Their mother said, “One of you gets to cut the candy bar in half and the other one gets to choose first between the two pieces.” Perhaps you can imagine the caution, the care, and the precision with which one of them cut that candy bar in two, being oh-so-careful that neither piece come out the slightest bit larger than the other! The one cutting the candy bar would surely think “I have to get my fair share and make sure that my sister (or brother) doesn’t get so much as a speck more than her (or his) fair share.” Unfortunately, selfish and petty experiences like this can shape our life-long notions of “fairness.”
And we easily carry our notion of “fairness” into other realms of life: school; work; family; friendships; politics; marriage …. Yet, as St. Paul wrote to the Philippians: “In compassion and mercy, do nothing out of selfishness, rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each of you looking out not for your own interests but for those of others.” God’s “fairness” in dealing with us is less an accounting of our deeds and more an affair of the heart.
Let’s be abundantly clear about this: God’s fairness is not self-protective, it doesn’t measure tit-for-tat, it is not jealous of what others have or might receive, and it is certainly not miserly. Rather, God’s “fairness” is self-emptying; it forgives our selfishness and offers us more than we deserve. God’s fairness is generous beyond any weight or measure.
God continues to give Himself to us, through His Son, especially in the Eucharist, as He is broken and poured out, divided and emptied for us in the gift of the bread and wine, which becomes His Body and Blood. God keeps nothing for Himself, but gives all for us. May the generous share of Christ’s love which is ours in the Sacraments, His Word, and in the life of the Church move us to be “more than fair” in loving one another. In fact, may we learn to love as we have been loved by Him!
