THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
11 NOVEMBER 2018
Widows
in the Ancient Near East lived at the bottom of society. Without any social safety net in a world
where men earned their living, widows were extremely vulnerable. This would have been especially true of the
widow of Zarephath in the first reading.
Her situation was even worse, because she lived in an area where there
had been a severe drought for years.
Into her
life walks Elijah. The widow would
regard him as the enemy. He was the one
who announced the drought as a punishment for the sins of King Ahab and his
wife Jezebel. Yet, the widow still
offers him hospitality – a small cupful of water. Amazingly, she trusts his word that his God
would provide for her and her son when she makes a small cake out of the little
oil and water that she has left. She
puts herself into the flow of God’s giving by giving the little she has. God rewards her trust by providing food for
her and her son for an entire year.
Centuries
later, Jesus encounters another widow in the Temple. Like the widow of Zarephath, she too is at
the bottom. Jesus criticizes the learned
theologians who are at the top. They
enjoy the benefits of their positions:
their long robes, their seats of honor in synagogues, and the best
places at banquets. They are the ones
who serve as trustees for impoverished widows, keeping too much from their
meager resources in payment for their services.
In sharp contrast, Jesus points out the poor widow who puts two small
coins into the Temple treasury. Unlike
the large coins that would have made a lot of noise going down the trumpet
shaped containers, her small coins would not have been noticed. But Jesus notices her. She gives of her substance, trusting the God
will give back more than she could have given herself.
These two
widows have much to teach us as we advance in the spiritual life. When we become too comfortable and accustomed
to relying on our own resources, we tend to fill our lives with more stuff. Those who have gone through twelve step
programs know this truth. It is only
when they have hit rock bottom that they can begin to trust that God will
provide what they need to confront their addictions. Those who adopt the attitude of the widows
can actually grow in trusting that God will provide. That is why so many in our parish have
embraced stewardship as a way of life.
Stewardship teaches the lessons that the widows already knew – that God
gives back more than we give. Good
stewards set aside a first and generous time for personal prayer, especially
the hour at Mass on Sunday when we give thanks to God for all God has given. Good stewards set aside a first portion of
their busy schedule to give time in humble service. Good stewards sacrifice a first portion of
their treasure, instead of tossing in whatever is left over.
Jesus
notices this widow in the Temple just days before he is stripped of everything
and gives his life completely for us on the cross. The widow points to what he will do. He will contribute all that he has for our
salvation. His trust in the Father will
be returned when he will be raised from the dead and share that resurrection
with those who die with him.
It takes a
lot of courage to take those first steps in embracing stewardship as a way of
life, because we fear that we will not have enough. But those who have taken that first step
begin to experience the reality that they receive much more back than they ever
give. As we pray for the courage to
embrace the faith of those two widows, we also pray for our bishops, who will
meet this week to confront the damage done by certain religious leaders of our
time have used their positions to enrich themselves to the detriment of
Christ’s Body, the Church. We pray that
they will have the courage to listen carefully to the promptings of the Holy
Spirit to introduce reforms to the Church and healing to those who have been
harmed. Our prayer is based on the
experience of the widows that God will always give back more than we can ever
offer.
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