THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR - B

THIRTY SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR – B: (1Kings 17:10-16; Heb 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44) Theme: Slogan of Christian Faith is – “Donate with the heart” Reflection: We need to make an analysis of our movement towards others - Attitude of giving with the heart: The Church invites us today to learn the attitude of giving the heart rather than the economic help. Indeed, the extention of the charitable help in the form of clothes, provisions, and the money is important. Even this help has to be done with the conviction of the heart and with the loving soul. Donation is the moment in which the true solidarity and being-with the other is manifested. In the Christian faith the giving, or the offering, is the virtue that takes precedence of all the prayerful formulas. Charity has to be the result of faith and faith must lead to the action. Faith without actions is useless and action without faith is not perfect. Therefore, prayer and reflection has a value when they are followed by the concrete actions. Otherwise, charity remains only as the word to be spoken and the good topic to be written. The Church does not will that our faith remains only within the walls of the beautiful edifice. Giving is an human virtue and giving with love is a christian virtue. Thus, the exortation of the Church through the readings of today is this: let us learn to give and give with the true love in the heart. - Church is the testimony of the charitable works: Infact, Church itself is the great manifestation of the solidarity with the world both in its proclamation and in its reaching out to the needful society. Pope John Paul II expresses that there is a demand for a compassionate response from the Christians for the needs of the world (NMI, 50). To follow the Pontiff faithfully it is better to listen to his own words: “The scenario of poverty can extend indefinitely, if in addition to its traditional forms we think of its newer patterns. These latter often affect financially affluent sectors and groups which are nevertheless threatened by despair at the lack of meaning in their lives, by drug addiction, by fear of abandonment in old age or sickness, by marginalization or social discrimination. In this context Christians must learn to make their act of faith in Christ by discerning his voice in the cry for help that rises from this world of poverty. This means carrying on the tradition of charity which has expressed itself in so many different ways in the past two millennia, but which today calls for even greater resourcefulness. Now is the time for a new "creativity" in charity, not only by ensuring that help is effective but also by "getting close" to those who suffer, so that the hand that helps is seen not as a humiliating handout but as a sharing between brothers and sisters. We must therefore ensure that in every Christian community the poor feel at home. Would not this approach be the greatest and most effective presentation of the good news of the Kingdom? Without this form of evangelization through charity and without the witness of Christian poverty the proclamation of the Gospel, which is itself the prime form of charity, risks being misunderstood or submerged by the ocean of words which daily engulfs us in today's society of mass communications. The charity of works ensures an unmistakable efficacy to the charity of words.” (NMI, 50). Church first of all witnesses charity by its presence and social upliftment work. She also calls the christians “to be with the needy”. To be means to share and to participate in the conditions of the others. - How is our movement towards others? Today, with the inspiring readings, the Church calls us to analyze what we are for others and how we move towards others. Present and modern man who is burdened with innumerous tensions needs more of the attentive presence than economic or material help. The material help feeds the needy for the temporary satisfaction and he is again in need. Instead, what is demanded of the christian charity is the loving presence and solidarity of the heart. Pope Benedict XVI affirms this in his Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, 2 when he says that “Charity is at the heart of the Church's social doctrine. Every responsibility and every commitment spelt out by that doctrine is derived from charity which, according to the teaching of Jesus, is the synthesis of the entire Law (cf. Mt 22:36- 40). It gives real substance to the personal relationship with God and with neighbour; it is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones). For the Church, instructed by the Gospel, charity is everything because, as Saint John teaches (cf. 1 Jn 4:8, 16) and as I recalled in my first Encyclical Letter, “God is love” (Deus Caritas Est): everything has its origin in God's love, everything is shaped by it, everything is directed towards it. Love is God's greatest gift to humanity, it is his promise and our hope.” Charity means, thus, looking in the face of the person with love and brotherhood. Jesus has done this and He asks us to do the same. This is the true, sincere and generous that the Christians are called to manifest. This is the summary of the readings and we understand it better when we reflect the readings. Readings: The Look of Jesus penetrates the intention of the heart - Faith in the Prophet of God (First Reading): The widow in the first reading is the model for the confidence that we need to place in God’s providence. The prophet of God has visited the widow and asked for some bread. The widow is perplexed and afraid. She is perplexed because of the scarsity of the flavor of wheet she has. She has only a very small portion of the flavor. She knows that it is not sufficient for her and her son and if she shares it with a another person it is not enough even for one time consumption. She is afraid of losing the little she has and is also afraid of dying of the lack of bread when this little gets over. But the man of God, the prophet admonishes and encourages her: “do not be afraid … first of all prepared a piece of bread for me and than for you and for your son” (v.13). The widow is able to see in the words of the prophet a word of God. She is able to recognize that it is not just this man who is asking but it is God himself who is requesting her for the bread. Once she realizes she does not hesitate anymore. Her perplexity and her fear have disappeared. She is filled with the faith in the man of God and confidence in the hand of God. She prepares the bread and three of them eat for several days. Her complete faith in the divine providence has saved her from the castigue of the nation. She has given to God with the complete trust and confidence and enjoyed the consequence: the life does not see death even in the darkest conditions. - Offering of the totality of life (Gospel): The widow in the Gospel is the model for the utter dependence only on God. Jesus is in the temple observing well those who are putting the coins in the offerty box. There are many who are dropping in the box good amount. Each one opens his pocket, takes out his purse and chooses one amount from the number of currency notes and puts it in the box. They are good insofar they are sharing their havings with God and with others. They are pleased to offer from their abundance. They feel it as an obligation to give something of their earning and savings. It is good. Behind all these obligatory givers there comes a poor widow. By her social status itself she is considered to be poor and below margin. By her appearance too she look very poor. Jesus is curios to see her. Until now he has seen many rich and well being men who come with the head high and the neck stiff and dropping the money with lot of vigor. Now he is more attentive towards this poor widow. He watches her carefully. The widow comes to the offerty box. Opens her small bag of cloth. She takes out what she has. There are only two coins. She does not hesitate. She drops two coins immediately in the box. Jesus is taken up by wonder and astonishment. She admires and praises her act. He immediately calls his disciples and offers them a teaching: “In truth I tell you: this widow, who is very poor, has dropped into the treasury more than all others. Infact, all have put some part of their overflow. She, instead, in her misery, has put everything she has, everything she has for living” (vv.43-44). What is asked of a christian is exactly this: offering the totality of life to the one who has given the life. And the widow is the greatest example for us today. - Not the Logic of the World but of the Heart: The widow of the Gospel does not follow the logic of the world. Logic of the world tells you that you share, with you human attitude, atleast something of what you are and what you have. If the widow has to follow this she has to give only one coin as an offering. She does not want to think as the world thinks with regard to the offering to God. Infront of God she does not want to hesitate. Infront of God she does not want to count. Infront of God she does not go for play of life. Infront of God she does not hide anything or draw back to herself anything. She did not give place to the logic. She has given prominence to the heart. Heart knows what is prior and important in life. She knows that if she offers two coins, all that she has, she will not have anything for the next moment. She does not think of the future. All that she believes is that it is God who gives and it is God who asks from us everything of our life. By offering all that he has he has thrown herself on the shoulders of God. She has placed herself completely in God. She has commended her life into the hands of God. This is the logic of the heart and this is the logic of the spirit. The world and its calculations do not understand this. We instead are to surpass the logic of human mind and give importance to the logic of the heart and soul. And we find our life in God as the widow has found her life in God. - Jesus’ look enters deep into giver’s intention: It is only Jesus who finds the difference. He recognizes and scrutinizes the intentions of the giver. He observes not only with the eyes but with the spirit. He observes not only the hands that put the money into the treasury but also the deepest motivations of the heart. His look is so deep that it penetrates the mind and soul. His look can find out with what kind of motive the people offer. It is this look that makes the difference between the many and the poor widow. He does not see just the quantity (how much) of what is given. He sees only the quality (with what intention) of what is offered. Giving is just an human goodness but offering life is the Christian love. Jesus infact asks us for this: not the quanity of life (how long and how well one lives) but the quality of life (how much one gives himself for the others). Conclusion: Not the Quantity but the Quality of the help to be manifested - “Not-enough” leads to the “More-than-enough”: What we need to learn today is that once we have offered to God and to others with the complete trust and confidence it will create a miracles. “I have only a little”, “I am poor and what can I give”, “it may not be enough for all”, “my small portion of help cannot change the world”, these are the excuses that we find for escaping from the generous help we need to extend. For God and infront of God these phrases would not work. For him anything is possible. He can bring anything and everything out of nothing. He is Omnipotent and Almighty. He providence is always availabe for those who place their faith in him. The flavor and the oil of the widow, in the first reading, are never over. The little has become abundant and what she thought “may not be enough” has become “more-than-enough”. She thought the she would live only for a day or two with what he has. But when she has given to the man of God, or to God, all that she has given, it has become every flowing that they ate it for many days. The widow in the gospel has given only two coins but it is not something for Jesus. It is everything for him. He sees whole of her life in those two coins. His admiration is always for him. It is with this attitude that we need to do our charity. We may be poor to offer more, we may be incapable in many things, we may be considered to be the least of all. This does not matter God. God wants that we manifest what we have with the whole heart. God wants that we spend our energies, our talents and all that we have for the glory of God and for the well being of the other. It is the quality of life that God wants from us, not the quantity of life. The two widow are the encourging examples for us to imbibe this attitude. - Life of thanksgiving is required of us: We should not hide anything for ourselves. In reality, Christian life is not for its own sake. Christians are not themselves. Their presence and their power is for the upliftment of the world. Their word and their deed is for the manifestation of their solidarity and love to the needy. True thanksgiving consists in this. What is Eucharist in which we participate now? It is an act of thankgiving. Jesus gives thanks to the Father for the love he revealed to the world through him. Jesus gives thanks not with the prayers and formulas alone. His ultimate thanksgiving is revealed in His Self-Offering, His Body and Blood, on the Cross two thousand years back and under the form of bread and wine now infront of our eyes. Such a kind of thanksgiving is the true charity that God demands from us. Let us learn from the act of Jesus to give ourselves in totality to God and to our fellow beings. Infact, this is an act of love: love of God and love of the neighbor.