My dear friends, today I want to reflect on the place of offertory in Christian worship. There are many dimensions of the gifts we bring to God. Sometimes, we offer Masses and add stipends. At other times, we make donations to the Church. Also, during Sunday Masses, we give monetary gifts, and present the gifts of bread and wine to God, a gift that is consecrated to God for us to receive in the Eucharist. 

Ordinarily, gifts to God are gestures of thanksgiving to God. However, when we bring gifts in the context of sacrifice, it has a deeper meaning than thanksgiving. What happens is that God takes what we bring, blesses it and gives it back to us. What we receive from God is multiplied and perfected. So, it is the perfect version of what we offer that we receive. 

Hence, there are two elements Christianity brought to Christian offertory, especially in the context of Christian sacrifice. The first is that, starting with Christ, the emphasis is no longer on the material gifts you bring to God. The emphasis has shifted to the person who brings the gift. The gifts we bring only play a representative role, representing us. The primary gift we are called to bring is our very selves. Therefore, it is a contradiction in terms to find a Christian who brings a huge gift to God but who is not yet ready to offer himself or herself as a living sacrifice to God. 

The second element is the fact that what we receive from God in return for our gift is no longer just meant for us alone. It is meant for others as well. When Christ gave himself to us, he said ‘take this all of you; this is my body, given for you.’ He also said, ‘take this all of you; this is my blood shed for you.’ The last part of Jesus’ gift-declaration (‘for you’) is often forgotten. The gift is not for himself. It is for others. 

My dear friends, it is not just about material gifts. We give and receive in return a lot of spiritual gifts from God. We also receive the gift of the Eucharist. What do you do with them? Do you share them with the world or just hoard them?