Maybe you’ve seen this – it’s called
the “simplified Form 1040” – it’s a two line income tax return. It shows up in emails and on facebook around
every April 15. Line 1 asks “how much money
did you make last year?” And line 2 says
“enter total from line 1” and “send it in.”
This simplified 1040 came to mind as
I pondered the poor widow in this Gospel, whom Jesus points out as having been
the most generous of the folks’ offerings at Temple. Indeed, He points her out as having given all
she had! How much do you have? Send it in- give it all.
Now theologians debate whether Jesus
is really pitying the poor widow as a victim of the evil scribes, but even so, I
think there’s no question that He’s praising her generosity, her faith, her
trust. Despite the faint clink clink of her couple coins as they land in the
treasury, compared to the loud, impressive clanking of the coins the others
throw in, Our Lord is praising her as the most generous.
Generosity and trust are the two
words that kept coming back to me as I prayed over these readings, in
fact. And thankfulness. This poor widow is an example to you and me
of great generosity, perfect trust, and we can infer, a most thankful heart.
First of all, trust – how can one
show greater trust than to give all one has, trusting that the Lord will
provide tomorrow, and in the future. The
widow in our first reading from First Kings shows this kind of trust as
well. In the midst of a great famine,
the widow about to make her last meal, Elijah asks her to share the tiny bit
she has left, and promises her (actually prophesies that the Lord is telling
her) that her “flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the
day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth.”
And while we’re not told how, she and her son eat for a year, until the
rains came again we can assume.
To listen to Elijah and do as he
asks – what great faith, what great trust, huh?
And the widow in our Gospel, putting her last two coins in the treasury
– an act of placing her entire providence in God’s hands.
Widows, you see, in Jesus’ (and
Elijah’s) day – had no “social security,” couldn’t work, or own property, and
had no inheritance rights (even her own husband’s estate passed to the
children), so basically had to rely completely on others’ generosity. Such a person might be tempted to clutch on
to what little she has, be it a bit of flour and oil, or a couple small
coins. But no, each of our widows shows a
radical trust that God will somehow provide.
And that radical trust in God leads
to radical generosity – we see in each widow not a grasping, a holding on to
what she has, but completely the opposite – a radical generosity, a complete
detachment in the heart from her “stuff,” and full openness and willingness to
share that little bit with others. There
can be no doubt that Jesus, who sees each person’s heart, is praising the good
and generous heart of this poor widow, who has given her all.
And I think it’s safe to say that each
widow has a thankful heart, too. I don’t
think it’s possible to fully trust in God, or to have great generosity, unless
it comes from thankfulness. From
recognition that all that we have, all that we are, is unmerited gift from God.
Unmerited, you say? “I go to work each day and work hard for what
I have,” you might argue. Yes, and from
Whom did you receive the good work ethic, the knowledge and skills to
successfully work, even the next breath you’ll breathe?
The simplified 1040 is funny because
we all have a bit of this attitude. Very
few of us like paying taxes – I know I don’t – I suppose I have an attitude of
“hey it’s my money and I work hard for it and I don’t like the government
taking it from me.”
But a heart turned to God in
thanksgiving recognizes not that it’s the government’s money, nor mine
really, but that it’s His, God’s!
That all we have, all we do, all we are, all our time, our talents, our
treasure, are God’s generous gift to us, that God is entrusting it all to our
care, to our stewardship.
And as that sinks in, as we
recognize that all we have and are is God’s gracious gift, we realize that He
calls us to give our all back to Him.
How much do you have? He asks.
Now generously give back to me!
It’s a good thing, I think, for us
to ponder these readings and this message in these next couple weeks leading up
to Thanksgiving – to seek to recognize God’s generous gift in every thing and
every situation. From that recognition,
to ask God to form within us more and more grateful hearts. And from truly
grateful hearts, we may learn ever more greater trust in God’s great
providence, and ever more perfect generosity.
* * * * * *
I’d like to now
introduce Donna/Kevin/Karin who is/are here to speak to us about the Rochester
Diocese Catholic Ministries Appeal. I
stand here as someone whose formation and education to prepare me for
ordination as a deacon was entirely funded by CMA monies, and it wouldn’t have
been possible for us to pay for a masters-level education without the CMA, so I
encourage you to listen to Donna/Kevin/Karin with open minds and hearts.
No comments:
Post a Comment