November 11, 2018

32nd Sunday Ordinary Time B
1 Kings 17: 10-16; Hebrews 9: 24-28; Mark 12: 38-44
How do I find God when my life is cluttered with all sorts of non-essentials? How can I disassociate myself
from the material attractions of the world and from being absorbed in ‘things’ that distract me away from
God? As I look at my life I see that the Lord has blessed me more than abundantly. One of the hardest
things to do is to put my possessions and wants into perspective. It is a daily job for me. I continually have
to focus on the call to fast and sacrifice and to listen to the Spirit leading me. These are very difficult tasks.
Today’s readings help me with these tasks.
Down through the years I have had numerous evening discussions with high school and college students. I
am honored to hear their sharing of what has helped them in their lives. On a number of these occasions
students would share how they live, in a sense, a privileged life — they had very few cares. A number of
these students went on school ‘vacation trips’ helping the disadvantaged, the poor, and people in hopeless
situations. They always came back ‘refreshed’ in a sense but filled with gratitude and a firm desire to
continue to help. Some have shared how they love to read magazine articles or books about people who put
God and the service of others first. These show them it is about caring…and caring is about giving…and
giving is about getting outside of themselves and loving. These ‘sessions’ have always been an inspiration
in seeing these young people living what our faith is about.
In today’s readings we have before us two examples of widows who are involved in ‘total’ life giving
sacrifices about others and not about themselves. What is the ‘secret’ of the ‘total giving’ of themselves?
What can I learn? What is the Holy Spirit teaching me?
In the first reading from 1st Kings, Elijah has stopped the rains from falling to show the people that the God
of Israel is the One who takes care of the people. This drought will continue until King Ahab repents from
his idolatrous ways and turns back to God. The drought continued and the king did not budge. Conditions
had worsened so much that even the brook that Elijah was using ran dry. God sends Elijah to Zarephath
which was the city where Ahab’s queen, Jezebel was from. God has commanded a widow from there to
feed Elijah and the first thing the prophet asks for is some water. Even though it hasn’t rained for a long
time, this widow had a steady supply of water. Then Elijah asks for food and the widow says she is just
about ready to bake their last bread and then she and her son will die. The prophet tells her “Do not be
afraid…” This is an amazing phrase…it is used 365 times in the Bible…one for every day of the year. Have
we ever thought about that? Is this a special message from God to each of us today? What does it tell me
right now about my trust and my faith? Well, the widow did exactly as Elijah said and what Elijah provided
with his miracle was enough for them to live on for a year, the length of the drought. The woman offered
hospitality, trusting that her needs would be provided by God. How does my trust and faith compare with
this?
Mark’s gospel shares an example of a woman going into the synagogue and doing what she always did:
sharing what little she had. Why did she do what she did? Perhaps she had the realization that others are
worse off than she was, so she gave from her poverty while the others watching, especially those well off,
gave from their wealth. Mark starts the scene off with Jesus and the apostles in the temple watching the
people go by. Jesus then began to teach the onlookers telling them to beware of the scribes. Now the
scribes were a group of Jewish leaders who flourished from the time of the Exile until Titus came in 70 AD
and destroyed the Jewish State. Originally this term was used merely of clerks whose function was to copy
royal and sacred manuscripts. Now they had responsible positions and had fancy clothes, and made
themselves known around the temple. They wanted and expected special places at banquets and other
celebrations. It was noted that they had a reputation of representing widows in order to be trustees of their
estates and took an exorbitant fee for this work demanding a large portion of the estate.
Now Jesus directs his attention away from the scribes and focuses on the poor widow. Jesus and the others
were casually observing the people paying their temple tax by putting money in the appropriate treasury
boxes. The wealthy gave large amounts because they could, but how many did it for show? It really wasn’t
a sacrifice for them, the money they gave would not even make a dent in their pocket money. Jesus spotted
this poor widow who put two small coins into treasury…she gave from her poverty while they gave from
their wealth. The passage seems to indicate that the widow gave all she needed to live on. But another
interpretation could well be that Jesus is criticizing the Temple system for allowing a poor widow, and any
poor person to contribute money they needed to live on. Shouldn’t the Temple exist to help and give and
not be concerned with receiving? Later on in Mark, we see that Jesus will predict the destruction of the
Temple because it failed to care for the widows and the orphans.
So many people in our world go about each day doing what they can to make ends meet. They wonder how
to pay the bills. They worry about their children and elderly parents. They are caught in low-paying jobs
with no hope of advancement. People in other lands live in makeshift refugee camps…are separated from
their families…stand in long lines for food rations. They do this because they hope for a better tomorrow
and they trust in you and I to help them. The widows are TEACHING me today to:
- ask God for His grace that I can be generous to those in greater need than I.
- allow God to use me as an instrument of His love, care and support for those in need.
- give from my poverty, not simply my surplus.
So I reflect on:
• How do I put God and God’s people first in my life?
• When has giving from my poverty or want resulted in my receiving more?
• What does it mean to be poor? What measure do I use to judge the wealth of others?
• Why does it seem the most people who do something to help the poor give money or goods instead of
time and presence? Which is more valuable in helping to alleviate poverty: material goods and services,
or time and presence? Why?
Sacred Space 2018 states:
“Widows are mentioned in both sections of this gospel…they represent the poorest and most vulnerable…But those
who multiply their sufferings can be seen…praying in public and seeking to be honored. Such hypocrisy is hateful to
Jesus.
Then Jesus sees s poor widow putting her last couple of small coins into the temple treasury. He is astounded and
contrasts her generosity with the disposition of the rich who made large offerings ‘out of their abundance.’ Implicitly He
may be criticizing the religious authorities for the pressure they put on people to part with what they cannot afford. Do I
appreciate the qualities that can be found in the widows (and other poor) of my world?”