Homily for the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Nov 12, 2006)
A)
The Renew Book our Small Group uses, comments with regard to
today’s Gospel:
The widow serves as a symbol of one who is without resources or a
safety net to support her. Her offering puts her whole life in jeopardy.
Giving away the only two coins in her possession is not only an enormous
act of generosity, but also a
great act of trust in God.
B) I would tend to think
that someone who gave away all she had to live on was foolish.
Is reckless abandon
to be encouraged?
Do you think someone who gives away everything they
have is showing deep faith or a lack of good stewardship?
Should she not
have at least checked out what her gift would be used for; and whether
it would do any real good?
C) The Renew Book goes on
to say: She does not stop to question whether the temple offering will
be spent wisely. She gives because she loves God and she believes it
is the right thing to do.
l. recently one of my
brothers was asking me how we track the money people give to our
St Vincent
de Paul Society. How
can people know that their gifts will go to people who will use the
money well?
2.
While we really try to be accountable for any donations to
our parish or the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the fact is that two
verses after Jesus commends the widow for her gift to the
Temple
, Jesus prophesies that the
great buildings of the
Temple
will soon all be torn down and not
one stone will be left upon another. Knowing what Jesus knew would
you have raced over and told the widow to save her money and
use it for her own well-being?
3.
A Christ-like gift is not judged by its effectiveness, but
your motive for giving it
-
To be a true sacrifice is not how much you give, but how much you give of yourself –
-
God wont look at how
much you gave, but how much you
kept back for yourself.
D) This gospel blows
away the façade that this is a permanent planet and that what matters
most is what we accomplishments on this earth.
I believe the
Temple
and many other human projects have *-importance – like:
-the work of our St.
Vincent de Paul Society in caring for the poor
-keeping up Little
Sisters of the Poor – Sacred Heart Home for the elderly poor
-supporting the projects of
the Catholic Campaign for
Human Development in the
United States
.
On the other hand, the
Temple
and every other building and
project on this earth will all pass away. What will remain is the
widow’s love for and devotion to God.
E) How sad the man
or woman who seeks only their own security, spending their time worrying
about their investments and trying to hold onto their health.
Jack London wrote: I
would rather be ashes than dust
I
would rather my spark should burn
out in a brilliant blaze, than it should be stifled by dry rot.
I would
rather be a meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy old
planet.
I want to
do more than exist, I want to really live
I shall
not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time.
It is only when I trust God
enough to give myself completely,
that I will catch fire.
Conclusion:
What is the message from the widow who trusted enough to give everything
she had to God? It is the
Gospel message: It is only if we follow
Jesus and give ourselves totally that we will
be truly alive. What
will matter for all eternity will not be the size of our church
buildings, nor the expense of our church projects, but whether
or not we have given our hearts to the Lord God.
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