XXXII Sunday of the Year

SHE GAVE ALL SHE HAD

1 Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44 or 12:41-44

Readings for the XXXII Sunday of the Year

In the late 70s, a young man walked into church one evening with his first salary: a thousand rupees. After communion, the celebrant announced a collection for the new parish school. When the ushers reached the man, he put his salary envelope into the collection!

Sharing about the incident, he said: “I didn’t know from where my next meal would come but I put my entire salary into the collection. I was reckless! Today I make several times that amount. But I’m sure I won’t repeat that action.” He added: “When we possess much, we find it difficult to give it all.”

The reverse is certainly true in today’s readings!

The widow of Zarephath gave everything she had, her son’s and her own last meal, to a foreigner whose God she did not even worship. And this God provided for her!

The widow in the temple offered two of the smallest coins in circulation. In the arithmetic of the kingdom, the widow’s mite is worth more than all the other contributions. While the others gave from their surplus, she gave all that she had. God must have provided for her.

Last Sunday we concentrated on the “Great Commandment”. The ultimate love towards God is found in these two widows. Right through this section in Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has shown the emptiness of the Pharisees’ religion; he now presents this widow as an example of someone who gives all she has to God. Further, the poor widow typifies what Jesus has done and will do – give everything, give himself as an offering to God. Jesus hopes that his disciples will take their cue not from the scribes’ ostentation but from the widow’s piety and generosity. 

If these poor widows could give everything to God, if a young man could give his whole salary for God’s work, what about me: What am I going to put into the “temple treasury” this week? Will I be recklessly generous and trust in divine providence?

True generosity is measured not by what I give, but by what I have left over after I give!

XXXI Sunday of the Year

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT

Deuteronomy 6:2-6; Hebrews 7:23-28; Mark 12:28b-34

Readings for the XXXI Sunday of the Year

In a cartoon strip, Frank and Ernest are standing in front of rows of shelves of books. The sign on top of one of the shelves reads: “Law Library.” Franks tells Ernest: “It’s frightening when you think that we started out with just Ten Commandments.” 

It is frightening! The Jews started out with Ten Commandments and ended up with 613; there are 1752 canons in our Canon Law! 

There were two tendencies in Judaism: one expanded the law into many regulations; the other gathered the law into one summary sentence. Further, there were two schools of thought: one believed there were lighter and weightier matters of the law, and one could prioritize; the other held that all principles – even the smallest – were equally important and binding. Hence, the question the scribe asked in the gospel passage was a living issue in Jewish circles. 

Jesus’ response gathers up the scripture of Israel in one statement. He quotes the creed of Judaism, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:2-6, first reading): “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Alongside this creed, Jesus places another passage (Leviticus 19:18): “You shall love your neighbour as yourself.” For Jesus, it is a combination of these texts that makes the summary and the essence of the law; religion is loving God and loving people. 

The scribe, pleased with Jesus’ reply, makes a pertinent point: such love is better than all ritual sacrifices. But it is always easier to let ritual take the place of love; it is easier to let worship become a matter of the church building instead of a matter of one’s whole life.

 

Jesus loved God and people totally. 

How am I going to imitate Jesus in the week ahead? How shall I love my God with my whole being? How shall I love my neighbour as myself?

PS: G.K. Chesterton said that the great lesson of Beauty and the Beast is that a person must be loved before he/she is loveable. Unless we feel loved, we cannot love. Just as abused children grow up to become abusers, loved children grow up to become loving adults. God loves and accepts us “just as we are”. Therefore, we can love and accept ourselves and in so doing, love and accept others.