Sunday 11 November 2012
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
B
1 Kings
17:10-16, Psalm 145: 7-10, Rv. 2. Heb 9:24-28, Mark 12: 38-44
The
woman did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son.
The
Lord keeps faith forever.
Christ
offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself.
She
has put in everything she possessed.
First reading
1 Kings 17:10-16
Elijah the
Prophet went off to Sidon. And when he reached the city gate, there was a widow
gathering sticks; addressing her he said, ‘Please bring me a little water in a
vessel for me to drink.’ She was setting off to bring it when he called after
her. ‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord
your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal
in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go
and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’ But
Elijah said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, go and do as you have said; but first
make a little scone of it for me and bring it to me, and then make some for
yourself and for your son. For thus the Lord speaks, the God of Israel:
“Jar of meal
shall not be spent,
jug of oil shall
not be emptied,
before the day
when the Lord sends
rain on the face
of the earth.”’
The woman went
and did as Elijah told her and they ate the food, she, himself and her son. The
jar of meal was not spent nor the jug of oil emptied, just as the Lord had
foretold through Elijah.
The widow
believed the Word of God spoken through the prophet Elijah. The same word is
spoke to us. Do I believe that I am in the hands of a loving God, closer and
more caring than any father on earth. Can I struggle for justice for the
oppressed knowing that I am in thehands of God who cares for them through me?
____________________
Psalm
Psalm 145:6-10
My soul, give
praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord
who keeps faith for ever,
who is just to
those who are oppressed.
It is he who
gives bread to the hungry,
the Lord, who
sets prisoners free,
My soul, give
praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord
who gives sight to the blind,
who raises up
those who are bowed down,
the Lord, who
protects the stranger
and upholds the
widow and orphan.
My soul, give
praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
It is the Lord
who loves the just
but thwarts the
path of the wicked.
The Lord will
reign for ever,
Zion’s God, from
age to age.
My soul, give
praise to the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Second reading
Hebrews 9:24-28
It is not as
though Christ had entered a man-made sanctuary which was only modelled on the
real one; but it was heaven itself, so that he could appear in the actual
presence of God on our behalf. And he does not have to offer himself again and
again, like the high priest going into the sanctuary year after year with the
blood that is not his own, or else he would have had to suffer over and over
again since the world began. Instead of that, he has made his appearance once
and for all, now at the end of the last age, to do away with sin by sacrificing
himself. Since men only die once, and after that comes judgement, so Christ,
too, offers himself only once to take the faults of many on himself, and when
he appears a second time, it will not be to deal with sin but to reward with
salvation those who are waiting for him.
Jesus
died once and for all on Calvary. However since he is the Son of God, his act
of obedience and worship is eternal. As he died he offered his life in an act
of reconciliation of the human race, of which he was part, with God against
whom men had sinned. He takes his sacrifice, not into the inner holy of holies,
but directly into the presence of God. Every time “we break bread” we share in
this eternal Sacrifice once offered physically on Calvary.
____________________
Gospel Acclamation
Rv2:10
Alleluia,
alleluia!
Even if you have
to die, says the Lord,
keep faithful,
and I will give you
the crown of
life.
Alleluia!
Or
Mt5:3
Alleluia,
alleluia!
How happy are
the poor in spirit:
theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Mark 12:38-44
In his teaching
Jesus said, ‘Beware of the scribes who like to walk about in long robes, to be
greeted obsequiously in the market squares, to take the front seats in the
synagogues and the places of honour at banquets; these are the men who swallow
the property of widows, while making a show of lengthy prayers. The more severe
will be the sentence they receive.’
He sat down opposite the treasury and watched the
people putting money into the treasury, and many of the rich put in a great
deal. A poor widow came and put in two small coins, the equivalent of a penny.
Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you solemnly, this poor
widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they
have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in
everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
Can you take
the risk of trusting God?
The famine was relentless – three and half years without a drop of
rain. The situation of the widow was desperate. All her resources gone, she was
gathering a few twigs to use up the last of her flour. When that was gone,
there was nothing for it but to await death. She could find nothing to eat
anywhere. The prophet appears on the scene to make matters worse. He asks for
some water and then he asks for some bread. Then she declares ‘all I have is a
little flour and oil. When this is gone I and my son must die of starvation’.
Elijah asks her to give him the bread and trust that God will provide for her.
She trusts and He does provide. All she had she gave and then God who looks
after all who love him (Rom8:20) looked after her.
She gave away here
livelihood and lived. If she had kept the flour saying ‘how can I give to you,
we ourselves are starving’, She and her son would have died. Give what you have
in the name of God and he is the one to provide for you. In the Gospel Jesus
contrasts the scribes who exploit the helpless with the cover up of long
prayers with the widow who gives to the Temple
How many of us have such a lively faith in the goodness and fidelity
of God towards us? When we are asked for a donation for a good and worthy
cause, how many times we follow the rich of Jerusalem and give of what we have
left over. We do not give if it hurts.
The widow in the Gospel has very little but what she has she puts
into the hand of God. None of us has much more. However, we hold on to what we
have. God wants us to let go and trust in Him to act. “Your heavenly Father
knows you need all these things. You must seek the kingdom of God
‘Seeing is believing’ and we do not see God. However, whether we see
him or not, what does it matter? We know he is present and we have heard his
words.
Do you believe that by giving generously to God even of what you
need, he will be generous to you? When you give, do you give of what you need
or of what you do not need? Do you contribute, as Blessed Mother Teresa would
encourage us, until it hurts? Are we really interested in what Jesus thinks,
whatever you give, time, skills, energy or money, is it for him? For whom do
you live? Do you live only to please him? Or yourself?
Father, may I trust in your goodness to me like child
in its parents.
No comments:
Post a Comment