THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (2024)
Readings:
1 Kings 17:10-16
Psalms 146:7-10
Hebrews 9:24-28
Mark 12:41-44
It would be especially unlikely, living in Florida, that we would come across a person who does not know a widow, the focus of our liturgy today. Indeed, unlike the widows of Jesus’ day, most widows today are not highly disadvantaged. It would be unseemly for a husband today, no matter how chauvinistic, to not make provision for his wife and family should he depart this world sooner rather than later. So patriarchal was the society of Jesus’ world that when the husband, bread-winner, died, the widow was left to fend for herself and her family. We see in the story of Ruth that the single women were allowed, encouraged, to go into the fields after a harvest to glean a few heads of grain with which they could make bread. The good Jew was meant to take special care of widows and orphans.
The widows of the Book of Kings and Mark in today’s cycle of readings are both impoverished. Elijah calls out to the widow of Zarephath, who is out gathering some sticks for a fire (not there to wait on Elijah), “please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.” As she makes her way to get Elijah some water, he calls out boldly (selfishly?), and “please bring along a bit of bread.” But her poverty dampens her hospitality, and admits that “she has nothing baked.” Besides, on account of the famine in the land, she only has a handful of flour which she was intent on making something for her and her son, after which “we have eaten it, we shall die.” The widow doesn’t know she is dealing with a prophet, which surely must have made Elijah’s insistence all the more intrusive. As she watched her handful of flour disappear into a piece of bread for a stranger, she must have mustered the courage to truly believe the prophet’s advice, “do not be afraid,” and she trusted his assertion that “the jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” The widow of Zarephath comes to us today as someone who truly believes and trusts, and that belief and trust made it possible for the widow and her son to eat for a full year. Prophets can be brusque, but they can also bring out the very best in people!
Sunday’s gospel begins with the kind of teaching which would assure the anger, not only of the Scribes, but of all those who considered themselves religiously important. Jesus warns the crowds to “beware of the Scribes,” who were thought to be experts in and teachers of the law. They should have been examples of godliness and humility; instead, they frequently sought public honor and recognition. As if shamelessly seeking notoriety were not bad enough, they also defrauded vulnerable widows, “devouring the houses of widows.” Such leaders were not to serve as models for the people. Those who take advantage of others and display false piety “will receive a very severe condemnation.”
The harsh words of the gospel’s opening are replaced by a reflective calm, when Jesus takes a time out to take in the workings of the “temple treasury.” No doubt all sorts of people were coming and going, wealthy and poor. In the midst of all the hubbub, a humble and simple widow shows up, who “put in two small coins worth a few cents.” The wealthy and the far-better dressed did not get Jesus’ wrapt attention. The widow captured Jesus’ attention (unbeknownst to her), and He realized that there is a lesson to be learned here. Calling His disciples, Jesus says “Amen, I say to you” (equals it’s important), “this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.” The disciples, who surely noticed the better dressed and the wealthy, were no doubt scratching their heads, until Jesus gives them the reason that is true: “for they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”
Stewardship is a matter of the heart. The widow gave sacrificially from what little she had, because she loved God. Her giving provides a window into her heart. When God considers our Christian stewardship, He looks not merely at the amount of our gifts but at our motives. Too often our motives are tainted by the desire to be important, the desire to impress others. Sadly, like the Scribes or the wealthy in the Temple Treasury, we desire our gifts to raise our status. And it is not just about money! Stewardship is about time, talents, and treasure (as any decent pastor knows), all of which can make a window to our hearts, where the taint of selfishness cannot be hidden. Let us model our lives on the two widows who are the focus of today’s readings, for they believed and trusted in a loving God, even when that God seemed to ask the impossible.
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