32nd Sunday: Year B

MAY YOU, THROUGH THIS EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION, OBTAIN THE GRACE TO REACH OUT IN SELFLESS GENEROSITY TO YOUR NEEDY NEIGHBORS, WITHOUT COUNTING THE COST, BUT RATHER, LOOKING UPON CHRIST WHO HAS GIVEN US AN EXAMPLE OF A HEROIC GENEROSITY. HAPPY SUNDAY +JOHN I. OKOYE

DOCTRINE AND FAITH
(1 Kings 17, 10-16; Hebrews 9,24-28; Mark 12, 38-44: 32nd Sunday: Year B) Several themes have been woven together in the dramatic account of the first reading. The story based on the ancient obligation of hospitality also contains a prophetic announcement and a miraculous event. It can be read as a story that recounts the faith of the woman or as an episode in the extraordinary life of the prophet whose name is given as Elijah (My God [Eli] is the Lord [jah]. This name suggests that the story is really about the efficacy of the power of God in a land that has been considered the domain of another god. The woman whose name is not given is in a perilous situation. As a widow in a patriarchal society, she has very few resources to call upon. Through marriage she has left the protection of her father’s house; through widowhood she has lost the security of her husband. It is ironic that the prophet himself is dependent upon one of the most vulnerable members of the society. Furthermore, the woman and her child are on the brink of starvation. Despite this she is still required by custom to provide hospitality to whoever approaches her, regardless of the cost this might exact of her. The woman does not question the prophet’s initial request of water, nor does she resist when he asks her to feed him before she attends her own needs and those of her son. The prophet’s request should not be seen as an example of selfish insensitivity. Actually, this very request becomes avenue through which God provides for the woman and her son. The question of the sovereignty (supreme power or authority) of Elijah’s God can be seen in the exchange between the woman and the prophet. In her oath, she refers to your God. It is clear that the woman does not share Elijah’s religious commitment. The prophet responds with words that are associated with a revelation of God: Do not be afraid! Using the formula of prophetic proclamation, Thus says the Lord, he then tells her that it is his God, the God of Israel, who will provide her and her son, just as she has provided for God’s prophet. Furthermore, the God of Israel is who controls the rain, the source of fertility in the land. The reason that the woman is in such dire straits in the first place is that he has withheld the rain. Her reserve of water and flour and oil has been deed and the land has not been able to produce anything that might replenish her supply. The oracle of salvation proclaimed by the prophet promises: God will miraculously provide for them until that time when God will send the rains enabling them to rely again on nature. The woman followed the word of the prophet and God’s word spoken through the prophet came to pass. The text says that the woman’s miraculous supply of flour and oil lasted for a year. In her oath the woman had declared that Elijah’s God lives. She made this proclamation in the face of what appeared to be inevitable death. The miracle showed the woman that this God who lives can and will grant life even in the face of death.
    The theme of the second reading is the unsurpassing excellence of the sacrifice of Christ. To argue this out the reading plays on the difference between the true sanctuary and the one that is patterned after it. It claims that while the high priests performed their sacrificial duties in the earthly temple, the exalted One entered the true sanctuary. It insists that the cultic system, established to enable the people to participate in cosmic events by reenacting them, was only to actualize these events for a short period of time. This explains why the ritual of the Day of Atonement was reenacted year after year. In contrast to this, Jesus offered himself once for all. His sacrifice, like all cosmic acts, was unrepeatable. Earthly ritual may reenact his sacrifice, but there is no need for Jesus himself to repeat it.
    What appear to be two very distinct narratives connected only by the term widow are really contrasting examples of expressions of piety. There is no indication that Jesus is here condemning all scribes. He may just as well be singling out those whose ostentatious piety really cloaks their exploitation of wealthy widows. While at prayer in the synagogues, men wore long outer garments called tallith. Some scribes may have continued to wear these robes in public, hoping that people would consider them prayerful men and admire them for it. In addition to this outward display, they sought other ways to be treated with deference and to enjoy privilege. The sought places of honour, along with reverential salutations for public acclaim was vital for them. The need to be so highly esteemed may be frivolous, but it is not immoral. However, Jesus’ denunciation further accuses these scribes of exploiting widows. The description of their swindle suggests that they somehow appropriated the widows’ property, perhaps having it deeded (to convey or transfer property or rights by legal deed) to them in exchange for prayers. Severe condemnation was not called down upon them simply because they had taken possession of the women’s property but because the women were exploited in the name of religion.
    In the second scene Jesus was able to observe the poor widow of the gospel story offering into the temple treasury the smallest coins in circulation at that time. The amount equaled about one-sixty-fourth of a denarius, the normal daily wage of an unskilled worker. Jesus’ criticism of the scribes’ behaviour had been made publicly. He proclaimed it to the crowd that had gathered around him. His comparison of the generosity of the wealthy and of this woman was imparted privately to his disciples. He did not evaluate the contribution itself. Rather, he spoke of the source of the offering. The wealthy donated from their surplus; they gave what they did not need. The woman donated the little she had; she gave what she needed. Her total giving implied absolute trust in God. The passage that opened with a condemnation of the false piety of the unscrupulous closes with praise of the genuine piety of the simple.
Going through the readings of this Sunday one can discern a central theme: the willingness to give all that one has. The readings offer us three models of such unselfish giving, and they suggest some of the rewards that will accrue to those who are courageous enough to attempt it. The generosity in giving is religiously inspired, and it comes from those who have the least material possessions to give. This kind of giving requires that we reach deep into ourselves, that we almost strip ourselves of our hold on life, and that we do so for religious reasons. This giving, pictured in today’s readings, is nothing than heroic generosity. Jesus is the ultimate example of heroic generosity. He first offered himself for our sins. Now, as the eternal high priest, he stands before God as the mediator, pleading on our behalf, bringing salvation to those who eagerly await him. It is interesting to note that the other two models of selfless giving are widows, individuals who are doubly disadvantaged by the patriarchal societies of which they are members. The narratives, the first and the gospel readings, choose women as examples of heroic virtue precisely because their societies have relegated them to a status of inferiority and vulnerability. They do this not to reward them but to show that God chooses the weak of the world to confound the strong. God will not be outdone in generosity. Sometimes we become the beneficiaries of obvious blessing, as was the case in the story of the woman of Zarephath, who was granted a year’s supply of flour and oil. At other times we simply continue living life as usual, like the woman in the temple who was unaware of the commendation that Jesus had given her. The truly generous do not look for reward. They carry out their responsibilities and place the rest in God’s hands. Let us pray in the Eucharistic liturgy of this Sunday for the grace to always follow the selfless generosity of Jesus in his heroic giving of self for the building up of his Church and to the advantage of our needy neighbors. Happy Sunday! John I. Okoye

{graphics by Charles O. Chukwubike}