*****
In the first reading today and in the Gospel reading we meet two widows who are remarkably similar. Both put their trust in God rather than in things.
In turn, both are rewarded and recognized for their trust, for their faith, in God.
The first widow is a foreigner to the Hebrews. She is from Zarephath, a coastal city on the Mediterranean. Elijah traveled through this land during a famine. As in all famines, the rich complain, and the poor starve. The woman was poor. When Elijah met up with her, she was putting her last scraps together before she and her son would die. Imagine a stranger going up to this woman and asking for food in the name of the Lord. And imagine this woman putting her faith in God and feeding the prophet. Putting her total trust in God, she received enough to eat for a full year.
The second widow was the one of the Gospel reading who put two small coins into the Temple treasury. Jesus said that her donation, although it seemed insignificant, was tremendous because she gave all that she had. Her donation was an act of putting her faith in God to care for her.
What these two widows did is extremely difficult for all of us. No matter how great our faith is, it is profoundly difficult to put our total trust in God. There is something within us all that looks for solutions to our problems outside of the realm of faith. A great fallacy of our age is that money can solve our problems. It is the job of advertisers to convince us that we can buy happiness. Paradoxically, the happiest of those blessed with material wealth and riches are those who freely share their success with others.
The radical message of today's readings is that we must place our confidence in God rather than in our material possessions. This action is difficult for us to do because it demands our practicing the virtue of humility. Only a humble person who recognizes his or her profound need for God is certain that the presence of God in his or her life is fundamental to happiness.
Perhaps, some day, we will have the profound faith to trust in God as these two widows trusted in God. But, then again, that is the fundamental reason why we gather together to worship, to pray and to celebrate the Sacraments, while we realize that our faith can always be deepened, we also acknowledge that we cannot do that alone.
We need God and we need one another.
*****
“Love justice, you who judge the earth…”
In his dialogue Republic, Plato uses Socrates to argue for justice that covers both the just person and the just city state:
“Justice is a proper, harmonious relationship between the competing parts of a person or a city. Hence Plato's definition of justice is that justice is the having and doing of what is one's own. A just man is a man in just the right place, doing his best and giving the precise equivalent of what he has received. This applies both at the individual level and at the universal level.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice)
We probably do not think about it very often, but each of us in our own way is called to judge. However, deliberately or unconsciously, the thoughts, feelings, attitudes and actions we form every day impacts the earth, even only if it is in our little corners of it. That said, our collective ways of judging – and treating – the earth add up over time.
The Book of Genesis reminds us that we are not only on the receiving end of Creation, but we are also cooperators in Creation – we have an active, ongoing role to play in Creation. In the Roman Missal we hear:
“You laid the foundations of the world and have arranged the changing of times and seasons; you formed man in your own image and set humanity over the whole world in all its wonder, to rule in your name over all you have made and for ever praise you in your mighty works, through Christ our Lord.”
Teddy Roosevelt is quoted as having once defined justice as “doing the best you can where you are with what you’ve got.” How best can we apply those words in our attempt to do justice to the earth – and especially in our relationships with those sharing the earth with us – just today?
*****
“You are God’s building...”
To construct a building is one thing, but to maintain it is another. Prudent builders/owners not only allot resources for the actual construction of whatever it is they build, but they will also earmark resources for the ongoing upkeep of the building.
In a letter to Madame de Chantal (February 11, 1607), Francis de Sales observed:
“It is not necessary to be always and at every moment attentive to all the virtues in order to practice them; that would twist and encumber your thoughts and feelings too much. Humility and charity are the master beams - all the others are attached to them. We need only hold on to these two: one is at the very bottom and the other at the very top. The preservation of the whole building depends on two things: its foundation and its roof. We do not encounter much difficulty in practicing other virtues if we keep our heart bound to the practice of these two...” (LSD, pp. 148-149)
God – the Master Builder – has constructed each of us in his image and likeness. Today, celebrate the building-of-God that you are! Maintain the gift of your divinely-built edifice with the spiritual foundation and roof most readily available for your good - humility and charity!
*****
“Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
We all have skeletons in our respective closets. We all have things in our past about which we are embarrassed or ashamed. In his Letter to Titus, Paul remarks: “We ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, deluded, slaves to various desires and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful ourselves and hating one another.” Who of us can claim to be blameless? And yet, because of God’s mercy – because of God’s generosity – there is more to us than our past. We can have a new present; we can have a new future.
The Gospel story of the ten lepers is a powerful illustration of how God’s love can change and transform our past. Jesus cured these men not because of anything that they did to deserve it, but rather Jesus cured them simply because he wished to do so. However, if Jesus did expect anything in return for his pity – for his mercy – for his generosity – he expected some semblance of gratitude.
Today, think about all the good things that God has done for you. Think about how merciful God is. Think about how generous God is. How can we show our gratitude? How can we say, “Thank you”?
*****
“The Kingdom of God is among you…”
In today’s Gospel we hear: “Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, ‘The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’ The Kingdom of God is among you.” Jesus seems to be saying that the Kingdom of God isn’t about finding a thing, place or location, because in the context of the Gospel, the Kingdom of God is a person - in this case, the person of Jesus Christ.
In his Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis de Sales observed:
“God is in all things and in all places. There is no place or thing in this world in which God is not truly present. Just as wherever birds fly they always encounter the air, so also wherever we go or wherever we are we find God present.”
He continued:
“God is not only in the place where you are but also in a most particular manner in your heart – in the very center of your spirit. Just as the soul is diffused throughout the entire body but resides in a special manner in the heart, so, too, God is present in all things but always resides in a special manner in our spirit.” (IDL, Part Two, Chapter 2, pp. 84-85)
So, where would you expect to find the Kingdom of God today? Try looking for it in the Body of Christ - look for it within yourself and look for it within others.*****
“Patience; meekness; self-discipline; humility; obedience; poverty; chastity; tenderness toward our neighbors; bearing with our neighbors’ imperfections; holy fervor.” (IDL, Part III, Chapter 2, p. 127)
Which begs the question: what do other people see gathering – or circling – around us?
*****
“Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says…”
And what did the unjust judge say? Essentially, he said this: “I will do justice to this woman just to get her off my back.”
Have you every done something good simply to get someone else to stop bugging you? Have you ever done the right thing just to get someone else to go away? Have you ever done the just thing just to get someone else to shut up?
Let us face it. Isn’t it true that sometimes we do the right thing for a less-than-admirable motive? In his Treatise on the Love of God, Francis de Sales wrote:
“Let us purify all our intentions as best we can. Since we can diffuse throughout all various acts to sacred motive of divine love, why should we not do so? On all occasions we will reject every kind of vicious motive, such as vainglory and self-interest, and consider all the good motives we can have for undertaking the act before us so as to choose the motive of holy love - which is the most excellent of all – and to flood it over all other motives, steeping them in the greatest motive of all....” (TLG, Book XI, Book 14, p. 237)
One might ask, “So, am I supposed to wait until my motives are totally pure before I attempt to do something right?” Lord knows that if that were the case, then the world would really be out of luck! In a perfect world we would always do what is good, righteous and just for only good, righteous and just reasons. But insofar as this is an imperfect world, we should not cease our attempts to do what is good for goodness’ sake; rather, we should acknowledge the need to purify our intentions even as we struggle to live our lives with other people in a reasonable, just and equitable manner.
May God give us the courage we need just this day to not only do the right thing but also to do the right thing for the right reason!
