A FAITH TO GIVE ALL
Like the poor widow in the Gospel, these individuals have the faith to
give all. And in so doing, they gain all.
In the Responsorial
Psalm we acclaim: We praise the Lord, my soul! For the Lord keeps faith
forever. In the power of Jesus' purity of heart... and the infinite love of His
act, He faces God the Father as high priest of the world. And though His
sacrifice was made in time, in the historical hour of His death, it is
celebrated eternally, in the endless present. -Robert Guardini.
Today's first
reading speaks of faith. Elijah believed in God's Word that he would find help
in a hostile place. Elijah trusted God when he dealt with Zarephath, a pagan
from Phoenicia. God sent Elijah to the Kingdom of Ethbaal, the father of
Jezebel, who was bent on the prophet's destruction. On top of that, aid would
come in the form of a pagan widow. For her part, this widow trusted both a
stranger and a foreign God, the God of Israel.
During a time of
drought and famine, both Elijah and the widow risked their very lives - he by
venturing into enemy land, and she by giving of her remaining food and water
and thereby endangering what life she and her son had left. Like the poor widow
in the Gospel, these individuals have the faith to give all. And in so doing,
they gain all.
Saint Jerome wrote
a reflection about the widow we read about in the Gospel today. The poor widow
cast only two pennies into the treasury; yet because she gave all she had it is
said of her that she surpassed all the rich in offering gifts to God.
In this Sunday's
scripture, we also get the forces of bread and power. The scribes openly seek
power: the honor that clothes it and the exploitation that gains it. Elijah and
the widow need bread. But one grabs while the others - including the Gospel
widow - give.
Points to Pray and Ponder: A faith to give all: Are we a grabber or a giver?
Pray that in His poverty you might become rich.