Giving Life

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today resonate with the theme of giving life.

Nourishment

Elijah receives nourishment from the widow of Zarephath, who is facing death in the drought in the First Book of Kings.

The Letter to the Hebrews declares the Divine nature of the sacrifice of Christ.

* [9:28] To take away the sins of many: the reference is to Is 53:12. Since the Greek verb anapherō can mean both “to take away” and “to bear,” the author no doubt intended to play upon both senses: Jesus took away sin by bearing it himself. See the similar wordplay in Jn 1:29. Many is used in the Semitic meaning of “all” in the inclusive sense, as in Mk 14:24. To those who eagerly await him: Jesus will appear a second time at the parousia, as the high priest reappeared on the Day of Atonement, emerging from the Holy of Holies, which he had entered to take away sin. This dramatic scene is described in Sir 50:5–11.

In the Gospel from Mark, Jesus assesses the contribution of the poor widow to the Temple treasury to be greater than the generosity of the wealthy.

* [21:1–4] The widow is another example of the poor ones in this gospel whose detachment from material possessions and dependence on God leads to their blessedness (Lk 6:20). Her simple offering provides a striking contrast to the pride and pretentiousness of the scribes denounced in the preceding section (Lk 20:45–47). The story is taken from Mk 12:41–44. USCCB Bible 1 Mark, chapter 12

Tom Shanahan, S.J. comments that the readings in today’s liturgy present us with the stories of two women outstanding in their generosity.

Who are the persons we serve today? To name but a few: those seriously sick among us; those who have lost lifetime jobs; Those who, like the widows, lack the necessities of life; the constant stream of people-migrants who wander our earth in search of a home, mercy and peace.

Don Schwager quotes “Mercy and compassion are never worthless”, by Leo the Great, 400-461 A.D.

"Although the spite of some people does not grow gentle with any kindness, nevertheless the works of mercy are not fruitless, and kindness never loses what is offered to the ungrateful. May no one, dearly beloved, make themselves strangers to good works. Let no one claim that his poverty scarcely sufficed for himself and could not help another. What is offered from a little is great, and in the scale of divine justice, the quantity of gifts is not measured but the steadfastness of souls. The 'widow' in the Gospel put two coins into the 'treasury,' and this surpassed the gifts of all the rich. No mercy is worthless before God. No compassion is fruitless. He has given different resources to human beings, but he does not ask different affections." (excerpt from SERMON 20.3.1.6)

Friar Jude Winkler describes the encounter of Elijah with the widow. He explains how we step out of time in the celebration in the Mass. Friar Jude comments on the nature of generosity as observed by God.

Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, introduces “The Ground of Being,”  that is a commanding phrase that theologian Paul Tillich (1886–1965) used, as an excellent metaphor for what most of us would call God (Acts 17:28).

Kathleen Singh describes the nature of Love that is eternal.

Love is the natural condition of our being, revealed when all else is relinquished, when one has already moved into transpersonal levels of identification and awareness. Love is simply an open state with no boundaries and, as such, is a most inclusive level of consciousness. Love is a quality of the Ground of Being itself. In this regard and at this juncture in the dying process, love can be seen as the final element of life-in-form and the gateway to the formless. [5]

The poverty of the women in the texts today was material and is in contrast to the rich spiritual message and challenge we have in experiencing the “little deaths” of life.

References

(n.d.). 1 Kings, chapter 17 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/1kings17
(n.d.). Hebrews chapter 9 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/hebrews/9
(n.d.). Luke chapter 21 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/21
(n.d.). Mark, chapter 12 - United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/12
(n.d.). Creighton U Daily Reflections .... Retrieved November 11, 2018, from http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/daily.html
(n.d.). Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/
(2017, December 30). 2018 Daily Meditations - Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://cac.org/2018-daily-meditations/