Tuesday, January 28, 2014

THE BEGGAR’S BOWL

THE BEGGAR'S BOWL


                                       A king used to travel in disguise to learn directly about the conditions of his countrymen. He was accompanied by a personal guard in disguise. They met three beggars seated by the side of a busy street. Seeing the two strangers, they raised their bowls and begged for alms. The king wanted to test them. He extended his hands to them and said, “We are in a poor, hungry and miserable state. Kindly give us something to sustain our life.”
                         One of the beggars did not respond to their request. He moved away in search of a wealthy donor. The second beggar gave a handful of rice from his bowl. But the third beggar felt pity and offered them his large bowl with its complete contents – all the grains and coins he could collect during the day.
                         The king received the two gifts and sent his guard to the treasurer of the palace with a written order to weigh the gifts and send through the guard, gold coins weighing as much as the two gifts. The guard returned with the gold coins which he happily presented to the second and third beggars.
                         The first beggar was very sorry for refusing a gift. The second beggar was sorry for limiting his gift. The third beggar was overjoyed to receive the unexpected treasure. The king appointed the kind and compassionate beggar as his personal assistant.
                            God wants our participation to perform a miracle in our life. That is a prerequisite for an answer to our prayers. Once, a large crowd of people was listening to the teachings of Jesus. He knew that they were hungry and wanted to feed them. He wanted their co-operation to do a miracle. The Apostles and other elders could not offer anything to Jesus. He asked, “How much bread have you got? Go and see” {Mark 6:38}. Then a small boy willingly offered to Jesus, the five loaves of bread and two fish, which he had brought with him from home, for his meal. Jesus gladly accepted the boy's humble offering, blessed it and multiplied it miraculously to feed the crowd of thousands {John 6: 1-14}.
                         Jesus taught that the two little copper coins offered by the poor widow with her full heart were more valuable than the lots of money offered by the rich men {Luke 21:1-4, Mark 12: 41-44}. Let us offer to Jesus the little things we have and the humble acts we do. He will gladly receive them and reward us.
                       “Give to others, and God will give to you. Indeed you will receive a full measure, a generous helping, poured into your hands-all that you can hold” {Luke 6: 38}.“…we must help the weak, remembering the words that the Lord Jesus himself said, “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving” {Acts 20: 35}.
                         St. Paul taught, “Each one should give, then, as he has decided, not with regret or out of a sense of duty; for God loves the one who gives gladly. And God is able to give you more than you need, so that you will always have all you need for yourselves and more than enough for every good cause” {2 Corinthians 9: 7, 8}. “He gives generously to the needy, and His kindness never fails” {Psalms 112: 9, 2 Corinthians 9: 9}. "Do not forget to do good and to help one another, because these are the sacrifices that please God” {Hebrews 13: 16}.



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© By: Prof. Dr. Babu Philip, Darsana Academy, Kottayam-686001, Kerala, India ( Former Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India), Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John, St. Antony's Public School, Anakkal, Kanjirappally and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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