Thirty
Second Sunday of Ordinary Time
November 12, 2006
What do you know about
trusting completely in God? – Trusting with only God’s goodness
between you and whatever the situation is?
At every wedding I am blessed to witness,
I find an amazing grace. That moment, when the couple exchanges their vows always
blows me away. They say the God word – FOREVER – to their spouse –
in good times and bad, in sickness and health. Though each has a general idea
of the outlines of what that will entail, you know that no one in those moments
really knows all that they are saying yes to. And yet the still say their “I
do’s.” Just as every priest or religious says their own version, with
out much of a way of knowing what that will cost them. I remember my own “I
am with the help of God” (The last answer to the Bishop’s questioning
of the candidates before the laying on of hands and ordination prayer) as if it
were yesterday. Yet, as frightening a risk as both of these kind of moments are,
they pale in comparison to the two women in today’s scripture.
Both of them trust in God without a safety net. In moments of reckless abandonment,
they give all they can foresee that will sustain them into the hands of God. Without
a back up! Without a safety net! Without anyone else to rely on! With my ordination,
I knew that I would have a roof over my head. I knew that my basic needs would
be taken care of. These women chose only to rely on God. Amazing!
Wouldn’t you love to have been in on the conversation between Elijah and
the widow? “You want what? Don’t you see, sonny, this is all we got.
After that, we will drop dead… Elijah continues: “Make sure that the
bread is hot out of the oven and feed me first…” And maybe it is Elijah’s
cheek, his bold impudence that allows her to trust. Maybe it is because she has
no where else to turn to, or maybe because giving to God was such a priority in
her life that nothing else mattered, and she realized this was just another of
those moments – but she gave all she had to live on. Which is exactly what
the woman in the gospel is praised for – giving all she had to live on.
It is a reckless abandonment they witness to, a trusting without knowing that
is profound. It is so much so, that most of us exhibit that kind of trust only
on our wedding or ordination days. And Jesus would have us witness to that all
the days of our living.
It is no accident that Mark situates this story during the last week of Jesus’
life on earth. In a not too subtle way, he is reminding us that in a few days
Jesus will give His life for us on Calvary. And the unspoken invitation to us
is: “What do we give Him in return? How willing are we to use the gifts
God has given us for the good of others?” Are we willing to give Jesus
‘everything that we have to live on – our lives, our talents, our
treasure, our time?
Of the many ways you can pray into this gospel, let me suggest one very concrete
one:
Since Mark also situates this story as a kind of counterpoint to the pious religiosity
of the scribes who give only a part of their wealth, who give only from their
excess – without really having to rely on God – it seems that the
challenge he would have us consider is how we use our elusive wealth. Here is
an interesting litmus test. (not the only one, but an interesting one…)
If you compared what you give to God via the church and the various charities
you are involved in, and the various people you help through your goodness –
would it compare favorably or unfavorably to the tip you usually give to the
waiter or waitress who serves you in a restaurant?