32 Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 7-8, 2015)

In the first Scripture reading from the book of Kings, the prophet Elijah was asking the poor widow of Zarephath first for a cup of water and then for a bit of bread. If we are to understand the widow of Zarephath, we need to notice something about her that has not been probably part of our experience: she is starving. She and her son have strictly rationed themselves as their store of food diminished. Meals would have gotten fewer and fewer. She and her son must have been wasting away long before they got to the last handful of flour. Yet when a stranger asked her for something to eat, she looked him in the face – and did not say no.

Would we have the compassion of the widow of Zarephath who was worried not just about herself but about her son a well. She gave to the stranger the food she had saved for her son. There is such an important lesson here.

To give from our livelihood is not only an act of generosity; it is also an act of trust in God. We can give from our need only if we trust that God will provide for us. Jesus himself demonstrates the ultimate act of generosity and trust in God as he gives his life for us on the cross. And as the Scripture tells us, she was rewarded for that trust in God: “her jar flour did not run dry.”

When does our giving and giving generously challenge us that we have to trust in God for that next bit of bread? Have we challenged ourselves to give generously as the widows in today’s scriptures? But looking at the readings today from the book of Kings and Mark’s Gospel, I was struck by something else. The readings are about giving, yes, and giving generously.

They are also about something unexpected. They are about loss, and death. The two women in these readings are widows. Once, they loved someone, and depended upon him. But death changed everything. Their life has changed. A widow’s life can be very difficult. They are grieving. Financially they are suffering significant hardships. And yet. The widows we meet today at instead of hoarding their assets for themselves, and holding on to whatever they could. They surrendered. They gave of themselves, however they could, whatever they could. A little cup of flour, a couple of small coins. They held nothing back. And they were blessed.

There is a lesson we all need to hear. We may suffer losses that rob us of those we love. We may grieve, and we may mourn, and we may ask ourselves “Why?”
But the way through loss, the way through death… is love. Opening our hearts. Giving ourselves. Holding nothing back.

The Scriptures give us a powerful message about grieving. “Blessed are they who mourn; for they will be comforted.” Jesus and his mother Mary have taught us how to grieve. Yes, we are to be in touch with the loss we experience, the loved one we miss so deeply. We certainly are not to sweep our feelings under the carpet and pretend to be brave. As did the widows in the scriptures today, the great lesson in grieving is to hold nothing back, to continue to serve, and most importantly, continue to trust in God. “And the jar of flour will not run dry.”

Pope Francis has often told us that the poor have much to teach us. Today’s scriptures are beautiful examples. These widows had no one to speak on behalf of their needs. It would be easy to take advantage of them. Yet, what they teach is about faith. When we trust in God, our lives are very much blessed. These widows know a truth about the spiritual life that too often escapes us.

These widows through the loss and death of their husbands came to the profound realization of the faith journey. The poverty of the poor opens their hearts to turn to trust in God as the source of all blessings. As a result they can give to the stranger their lasts cup of flour or the last penny to their name. God will not abandon them.

For ourselves, as we pray over the scriptures, are their parallels in our lives with the poor widows of the Scriptures? Please God we have a ton of money. Your response to that: “Wait a minute, Father, money doesn’t grow on trees with our family. We need to be very frugal with our resources.” I really, really understand that, but it is also true we do not experience the poverty and hunger that so many hungry people experience around the world. Comparatively speaking, we are very blessed.

Friday afternoon, I celebrated Mass with many widows at Penfield Place nursing home. As you know, the lives of nursing home residents are very much simplified. Their faith comes from this simple trust that we can do all things in whom who strengthens us. Nursing home residents do not have the mobility that you and I enjoy, but these residents have much to teach us in their simple trust that God will provide for us and that our lives are very much blessed.

As Pope has said, the poor have much to teach us:

• We are to give and to give generously.
• When we give from our need, we simply trust in God’s unending love.
• The way through loss and death is ---- to love.