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2012

Archbishop Harris’ Gospel Reflection November 11 – 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)

 

by Archbishop Joseph Harris
by Archbishop Joseph HarrisGospel Mk 12:38-44

Gospel Mk 12:38-44

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “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.”

Homily

I have often repeated the story of the single mother of five children who opened her home to another family consisting of a mother and five children whose home had been burnt down. Other well to do people in the town had closed their doors on the burnt out family for many reasons but basically because they did not want the hassle of a group of strangers in their home. Even though many of these well to do families professed to be Christian, their brand of Christianity did not empower them to go the extra mile, loving as Christ has loved us.
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The portion of the Gospel that I have elected on which to meditate is a Gospel story that all of us know very well, not only because the story of the widow’s mite is well known but because in many ways it is or was and can be the story of our own life. Jesus is in the temple observing how the crowd put money into the treasury. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “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.”As in our time I suppose people had a lot of priorities on which to spend their money. Among these priorities are a certain level of comfort and also saving for the future. After these priorities are satisfied, then and only then do we think of the commandment which calls us “to love the neighbour”. In many respects we are still people of the Old Testament. We love the neighbour as we love ourselves but Christ asked us not “to love the neighbour as ourselves” but to love the neighbour as He, Christ himself, has loved us” This calls for the habit, which must be cultivated, of forgetting ourselves for the sake of the neighbour. In this respect the example of the widow in this story is most instructive. She “contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.” There was no question of her holding back anything for the future; she gave all that she had, forgetting herself and her own needs, trusting totally in the providence of God. What a lesson for us who find it so difficult to trust in the providence of God! This widow went more than the proverbial mile, she went the whole way. The attitude of the widow in this Gospel story is what the apostle James defines as true worship. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. (James 1, 27)

In this Gospel story, Jesus contrasts the attitude of those scribes, more interested in accumulating wealth, with that of the poor widow. The temple collection was supposed to be used among other things, for the relief of the poor. The poor widow gives everything that she had, her whole livelihood for this cause, because of her total trust that God would in fact take care of her.

This poor widow had more trust in her God than those scribes whose lifestyle gave the lie to what they said they believed. Does our desire and lifestyle of accumulating great personal wealth in the face of great want give the lie to what we say we believe?

The authentic tradition of our church is other however. From the very beginning we see the church concerned about the plight of the widows in its midst. The ministry of the diaconate came about because of that concern. It is this concern which spawned so many religious congregations dedicated to the poor, through education and health. It is this concern which brought about the St. Vincent de Paul society. It is this concern which even today sees many persons who could have made it big in the secular world, giving their time and talent, not to amassing wealth but to the care of the voiceless. We thank God for the example of these persons and pray that we may indeed offer true worship to God.

Prayer

All powerful and ever-living God, we thank you for the teaching which you give us in the scripture readings for this weekend. In this world in which everything tells us that the accumulating of great wealth to the exclusion of the poor and voiceless is the way to go, you remind us that this attitude can render our worship empty. Help us to remember that we are part of a great tradition of concern for the poor and voiceless and that we must keep that tradition alive. We ask this through the intercession of Mary our Mother and your Son Jesus. Amen

 

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