When do you give your all?
Our readings this weekend are peopled with generous
widows: in 1 Kings, the widow of
Zarephath acts on the law of hospitality when she provides a small cupful of water and a
little cake for Elijah, made from her last handful of flour, while in the reading from Mark's Gospel, a widow
puts two small coins into the
treasury, her whole livelihood, Jesus
tells us. In both cases, the widows
bring all that they have to bear upon what they do -- they do not hold
back. Vulnerable, they have learned to
be open, and thus have a greater propensity for faith, knowing, as Psalm 146
reminds us, that the fatherless and the
widow the Lord sustains. And so they do not reach perfection but they reach
for perfection, and they are
sustained by the Lord in whom they have confidence. More generous still, as the Letter to the
Hebrews reminds us, Jesus gave the whole of his being for the salvation of humanity: Christ offered himself entirely, once for all, appearing before God on our behalf.
Jesus knew our need and gave his life to take away sin by his sacrifice.
He is generous; he is gift.
Can we say the same? Are we gift? Do we reach constantly for perfection and generosity in Christ? Do we bring all that we have to bear upon all
that we do? Or does the Lord see only a partial investment of our selves?
Perhaps, as we ponder this week's readings, we might strive for the
faith to give our all, knowing that we receive manifold blessings in return
from our Lord who gave all to save all.
This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source: Wordle
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