Homily – Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
November 8, 2009 Cycle B
1 Kings 17:10-16 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44
The judge said, “Mr. Johnson, I reviewed this case carefully and I decided to give your wife $800.00 a week alimony.”
Mr. Johnson answered, “That’s very generous your Honor. And believe me, I’ll try to help out a little myself now and then.”
Well, that’s not quite what the judge had in mind.
I tell the story as a warning because my reflection today on the Gospel’s well-known and well beloved incident of what we call the Widows Mite, might have a different ending, or should I say a different interpretation. Year after year when we’ve heard this story, we’ve heard the moral of the heroic generosity of such a woman, and we’ve been told in effect “Why can’t we all be like that?” To have another interpretation of this tale, let me remind you of the opening words of the Gospel.
At the opening statement Jesus is spitting out some acid comments: “Beware of the social climbing scribes who hanker after the trappings of position and respectability while all the while they exploit poor people, especially vulnerable widows.” You see here is the context that the lesson is taught in. The scribes and Sadduceus were all part of the political religious Temple complex. And like other areas of government over the years they had grown corrupt. They had their lobbyists, their briberies and the their scandals. It was an open secret yet people could do little about it.
One of the groups called the Essenes found the temple area so corrupt that they moved out. They went and settled in the area of the Dead Sea. It is that area that we have come to know that found the Scrolls of the Scriptures in the caves back in 1947. There were others who stayed and gave passive resistance and Jesus was one of them. The Gospel teaches us that Jesus “sat down opposite the treasury.” Therefore, Jesus is sitting there in silent protest. He is opposed to the whole temple atmosphere around money with the rich parading their large sums. Jesus is in effect doing a sit in, just as He is obviously watching who is putting what in.
Then along comes the widow. She is one of those exploited. Poor as she is, she drops in two coins out of the religiosity of her heart. Jesus sees this, shakes His head, and speaks out these words, “This poor widow put in more then all the others -- - from her poverty she has contributed all she had.” We need to be reminded that these words are not words of praise necessarily, but rather they are words of lament. Yes, lament. Spoken with a heavy heart. Jesus is sorrowful, even angry that this devout woman has unwittingly put money into a system in which the scribes devour the houses of people like her. More over this widow has given her all to a Temple that will soon be destroyed.
What is our lesson today then? Well first, this familiar Gospel may not be so familiar after all. Huh? Maybe it’s not just about the simple message of a simple woman of great heart who shames the ostentatiously high and mighty with her two small coins. Rather, maybe it’s about legal corruption and a Jesus who is saddened that good people are exploited by the system and must pay into it. My suspicion is that we would all like the old interpretation better. It’s a lot safer. Isn’t it? But this last one is more spiritually challenging. It challenges us to challenge evil where we find it. To sit across from the treasury, to lament, to do what we can to cleanse the Temple and bring justice for the poor and marginal. In short, it challenges us to be like Jesus.
While we are challenged to be like Christ, we have been reminded of the often paradox seeing a more complete picture of Jesus. It certainly is more than the “meek and mild” Jesus. Jesus always cared about the truth more than he did about popularity. He minced no words with His disciples when it came to describing His mission. Remember the statements in Chapter 12 of the Gospel of Luke, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division.” You see, when it came to dealing with establishments Jesus recognized that there would be no peace without justice. The peace of God comes when there is both love and justice.
I come today then to conclude our series on stewardship to remind us that one of the elements of the community of faith, the Church, is to deal with the areas of justice in our times. Your financial support and pledge to the work of the community here at Christ the King will go a long way in enabling us to offer educational and spiritual programs to heighten our awareness of the issues of justice and peace in these times. I believe that our parish is somewhat unique in offering a full smorgasbord of religious formation opportunities, from “womb to tomb” if you will.
While we wish to enrich our spiritual lives through our participation, we continue to know that it is the call of God for us to be generous in supporting His mission and His work. Your participation then in our 2010 stewardship drive will help us to continue to be a people who live sometimes on the edge of society, challenging where necessary, and also importantly challenging us to grow in God’s love.
Christ calls us today not to seek greater things or talents, to astound our world, but for greater love and selflessness with which to enrich this world.
Amen. Amen. Msgr. Tom, Pastor Christ the King