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Our Sunday Reflection - November 10, 2024
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This poor widow put in more than all the others.
Mark 12:38-44
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Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day
We believe that everything we have ultimately comes from God. God gave us life to begin with, offers us the gift of new life through Christ Jesus, and blesses our life every day. We hope to imitate God’s generosity through our own actions. The readings we hear today offer a lesson in finding a way to respond generously to the gifts we have received, no matter our state in life. They also remind us not to judge the generosity of others. Listening to God’s word, may we be reminded of our obligation to give back to God, as God has generously given to us.Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
We meet two widows in today’s readings who are models of generosity, giving all of what little they have. The widow of Zarephath uses the little flour and oil she has to bake a small cake for Elijah, who promises God’s generosity many times over. The widow who gives two coins to the treasury is held up as an example by Jesus, for she too gave all she had. May these two poor widows from centuries ago teach us of true generosity.Reflections
- Two years before Elijah met the widow of Zarephath, he made his first prophecy. Speaking in the LORD’s name, he told the king, Ahab, that God would send a drought upon the land as a punishment for Israel’s sins. The ensuing story reminds its listeners that not even Elijah was spared; had he not journeyed to Zarephath he himself would have died of thirst. God’s providence and generosity in sending life-giving rain at long last are matched only by the widow’s. It ends up that both she and Elijah are fortunate that they encountered each other on that day. Her generosity, and God’s, allow her, her son, and Elijah to live through the final year of the drought.
- The opening paragraph of the Gospel contains a damning indictment of the hypocritical scribes of Jesus’ time who “devour the houses of widows” (Mark 12:40). They collected the temple tax from the treasury and used it to fatten their own wallets. Under the pretext of their public exhortations of the prayers they needed to recite, they took the last remaining coins from widows and others who lived on the edge of poverty. As wonderful as the lesson Jesus teaches his disciples about the value of the widow’s self-sacrificial generosity, let us not ignore the other lesson he teaches. The greed of the scribes in this case is unjust, selfish, and potentially devastating to its victims.
- In the poor widow who gives her last two coins, we have a model of the self-sacrifice Jesus teaches us to embrace. She gave her livelihood; he goes on to sacrifice his life. The analogy is even sharper in the first reading, as the widow in Zarephath sacrifices not only her final meal but also her son’s. Centuries later, God sent the Son to be born into this world, where he would sacrifice himself on the cross for our sins. Through Elijah, God was miraculously able to save the widow’s family from death. Through Jesus, God was miraculously able to raise the human family to new life.
Question of the Week
When am I like the widow, giving when it hurts? When am I like the scribe, taking advantage of others’ generosity and rationalizing it? When do I fail to recognize the generosity of God in my life?
-from Pastoral Patterns
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readings of the mass
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, November 10, 2024
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, November 10, 2024
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Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS -
Reflections on the readings
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