32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

In our first reading and gospel today we hear about two widows, both nameless and both very generous.  The widow in our first reading, called the widow of Zarephath, had the good fortune to run into Elijah the prophet just as she was gathering sticks to make a small fire and prepare a final meal for herself and her son.  She believed that they both would starve to death.  God, however, had different plans for the widow.  God sent Elijah to her saying "Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there.  I have designated a widow there to provide for you" (1 Kings 17:9).  So, when Elijah encounters the widow he asks for some water and food.  What Elijah did not know was that God sent him to a very poor, almost starving widow. But Elijah had faith in God and the widow clearly believed Elijah when he told her "the LORD, the God of Israel, says, 'The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth'" (1 Kings 17:14).  She took all the food she had and gave it to Elijah and because of her generosity "She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the LORD had foretold through Elijah" (1 Kings 17:15-16).  This is a good story with a happy ending. 

The story of the widow St. Mark presents in today's gospel, Mark 12:38-44, is a study in contrast.  While sitting outside the temple treasury in Jerusalem, Jesus observes many rich people putting in large sums.  He then sees this widow putting two small coins in the treasury.  Calling his disciples "to himself," he points her out to them saying, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood." Unlike the widow of  Zarephath, this widow gave everything she had without the assurance of better things to come.  Her humble offering came unsolicited. It came from her heart and was inspired by her total dependence on God. She held on to nothing for herself.  She trusted that God would take care of her and all her needs.

We do not know how this story ends.  We do not know what happened to the poor widow.  What we have is her remarkable example of faith, trust and generosity of spirit.  She was a role model for the disciples and she is a role model for all of us today. 

Today is Veteran’s Day in the USA and Remembrance Day in Commonwealth countries and parts of Europe.  Veteran’s Day was formally known as Armistice Day and it marks the end of hostilities between the Allied  nations and Germany in World War I.  The fighting ceased on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Although the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, the end of WWI is considered to be November 11, 1918. President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed November 11 Armistice Day in November 1919 and Congress approved the day as a legal holiday in 1938.  In 1954 Congress amended the Act of 1938, changing Armistice Day to Veteran’s Day, to honor American veterans of all wars.  Memorial Day honors U.S. service people who died in action.

My maternal grandfather was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916; he was only nineteen years old.  So, November 11 has special significance for my family and me.  As you go about your day, pause at 11am and remember the price paid for freedom.  And say a prayer of thanksgiving for all the people in the military who were and are willing to sacrifice their lives to defend and preserve our freedom.    

O God,
protector of the widow and orphan,
giver of justice for the oppressed,
you uphold the poor who hope in you
and you sustain those who place their trust in your love.

Strengthen our faith,
that with simplicity of heart
we may come to trust in you alone
and hold back nothing in serving you.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.

  AMEN