Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Only In God_110421

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Only In God”

 Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In the course of today’s readings, we encounter several women who have remarkably strong faith. They are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for all their needs, even for the most basic necessities of life! We know neither of their names only that they share a common bond, that of widowhood. Being a widow was tantamount to being assigned to a most difficult and arduous station of life in the patriarchal society of the bible, and it remains such to this day. The loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. It reduced a woman to a life of begging and dependency upon the acts of charity from others in the community.

Despite her direful plight, the first widow we encounter in the Book of Kings offers the Prophet Elijah hospitality. She and her young son have only a “handful of flour… and a little oil” and that’s it. The widow and her son are themselves far beyond the bounds of destitution and yet she willingly makes “a little cake” for the Prophet leaving nothing for herself and her son! Yet, “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry!”

In the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place at the Temple offering. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.” Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from her wealth as the others did, “but from her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

These women teach us of a deep and trusting faith in God, lessons very appropriate for us today. They teach us not from their head, but from their heart and from their deep-seated experiences of life. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our need? This is a difficult question for us to face honestly as we tend not to reflect too deeply into our own possible shortcomings but, it is an area that is certainly worth the effort. If we spend some time thinking about this question it may lead us to reflect on an underlying struggle we face often in this life – that is, how much do we really trust that God will be there in our time of need, whatever that “need” might be.

There is an aspect to these widow’s faith that reflects Christ’s complete self-giving, his pouring himself out completely for our sake, Christ’s “kenosis” as St. Paul writes in Philippians 2:7, in which Christ surrenders his own will to the divine will of his Father. This complete giving of self is a gift from God that scripture reveals mostly in the lives of the poor and lowly ones, such as these widows we encounter today. They teach us that God cannot be outdone in generosity. Their strong faith enables them to trust God completely, to trust “only in God” and “in all things,” not only for all the necessities of the present moment but for all our future needs also.

May our faith grow like that of these two women we meet in scripture today so that like them, we are willing to share generously the gifts we have receive from above.

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

Image credit: wikimedia.org-Hand_gottes.jpg

Generosity

Deacon Tom Writes,

“ Generosity”

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

We encounter two women in our scripture readings today with amazing faith. They are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for all their needs. We know neither of their names. We only know they are widows. Being a widow was difficult (and still is) in the patriarchal society of the bible. The loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. Women depended upon acts of charity. They were the recipients of the good works of others.

Yet, in the first reading from the Book of Kings, the Prophet Elijah is given hospitality by a widow and her young son who have only a “handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug”. The widow and her son are themselves on the edge of destitution and amazingly she teaches us a powerful lesson in generosity as she willingly makes “a little cake” for the prophet leaving virtually nothing for herself and her son! Her total dependency on God is rewarded: “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry”!

In the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place during the collection. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents”. Having touched His compassion, Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from her wealth as the others did, “but from her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”. Extreme generosity!

These women teach us about faith, trusting in God, and generosity lessons very appropriate for us today. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our need? Are we generous to the point of going without ourselves? These are difficult questions for us to wrestle with, but ones that are certainly worth setting aside some quiet time to explore. Time spent honestly answering these questions may clarify how much we really trust God and if our faith is strong enough to believe that He will be there in our time of need, when we are “burdened and heavy laden” with whatever it may be that weighs down our souls.

These widows we encounter today teach us in a practical way that God cannot be outdone in generosity. It is a strong faith that knows this. It is a faith that trusts God completely, in all things, for all the necessities of the present moment. We might begin this venture by seeking to become more like these women of faith and pray, “Lord, increase our faith, our trust in you, and your generosity”.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Only In God

Deacon Tom writes

“Only In God”

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

In the course of today’s readings we encounter several women who have remarkably strong faith. They are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for all their needs, even for the most basic necessities of life!  We know neither of their names only that they share a common bond, that of widowhood. Being a widow was tantamount to being assigned to a most difficult and arduous station of life in the patriarchal society of the bible, and it remains such to this day. The loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. It reduced a woman to a life of begging and dependency upon the acts of charity from others in the community.

Despite her direful plight, the first widow we encounter in the Book of Kings offers the Prophet Elijah hospitality. She and her young son have only a “handful of flour… and a little oil” and that’s it. The widow and her son are themselves far beyond the bounds of destitution and yet she willingly makes “a little cake” for the Prophet leaving nothing for herself and her son!  Yet, “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry!”

In the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place at the Temple offering. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents”.  Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from her wealth as the others did, “but from her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”.

These women teach us of a deep and trusting faith in God, lessons very appropriate for us today. They teach us not from their head, but from their heart and from their deep-seated experiences of life. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our need?  This is a difficult question for us to wrestle with, but one that is certainly worth the effort. If we spend some time thinking about this question it may lead us to reflect on an underlying struggle we face often in this life – that is, how much do we really trust that God will be there in our time of need, whatever that “need” might be.

There is an aspect to these widow’s faith that reflects Christ’s complete self-giving, his pouring himself out completely for our sake, Christ’s “kenosis” as St. Paul writes in Philippians 2:7, in which Christ surrenders his own will to the divine will of his Father.  This complete giving of self is a gift from God that scripture reveals mostly in the lives of the poor and lowly ones, such as these widows we encounter today.  They teach us that God cannot be outdone in generosity.  Their strong faith enables them to trust God completely, to trust “only in God” in all things, not only for all the necessities of the present moment but for all future needs also.

May our faith grow to be like theirs so we too willingly give all …even our whole livelihood…for the greater glory of God. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image credit: wikimedia.org-Hand_gottes.jpg