32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time B - November 10, 2024
1 Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
Theme: We Offer God what we Have and who we Are with Love and Gratitude
One day, one parishioner asked his parish priest:
“Father, how much should I spend on the birthday present for my wife?” The
parish priest said, “If you love her, then you know.” Another day, the same
person asked his parish priest again, “Father, how much am I supposed to give
my tithe to God in the Church? Is it ten percent of my income? Before or after
tax? Am I also supposed to tithe from other incomes, such as gifts, tax
returns, and benefits? His parish priest answered, “If you love God, then you
know.” Today’s Scripture readings discuss our offerings or donations to God.
Two poor widows, one in the first reading and another in the Gospel, are
praised because they gave all they had with love and trust. Jesus did not
acclaim the other contributors in the Gospel because they donated from their
surplus wealth. These two widows remind us of Jesus, who gave all he had (his
life) to take away the sins of the world, as the sacred author of Hebrews tells
us in the second reading. Today’s Bible readings do not ask us to put all
our savings in the collection baskets and expect miracles afterward. Instead,
they focus on our love for God and our neighbors, which should motivate our
offerings to God. When we realize how much God loves us and how worthy the
sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us is, we will know that we should offer
God “all we have” and “all we are” with total love and gratitude.
Today’s text comes immediately after the stories about
one scribe who questioned Jesus regarding the greatest commandment (12:28-34)
and that of the Question About David’s Son (12:35-37). It precedes the stories
of the Destruction of the Temple Foretold (13:1-2) and the Sign of the End
(13:3-8). In our Gospel passage, Mark continues the topic of total surrender
and love of Jesus in discipleship. On the one hand, he shows that the rich and
Jewish religious leaders cannot give up their wealth and earthly pride to
follow Jesus. See, for instance, the stories of the Rich Man (10:17-31) and the
scribes of today’s Gospel story. On the other hand, he speaks of the poor people
who give all they have and follow Jesus. This is the case of the blind Bartimaeus
(10:46-52) and the poor widow of our Gospel reading.
Our Gospel text is a narrative story structured in
two parts. The first part shows Jesus denouncing the false piety of the scribes
(vv. 38-40), and the second part presents one poor widow as an example of true
piety (vv. 41-44).
Let us begin with the first part. Jesus is in the
temple teaching. His topic is the scribes' false piety. He tells the crowd to
be aware of their false piety and not imitate them. The scribes like to appear more
religious in public, but, in reality, they reject Jesus and devour the houses
of widows. Previously, in his response to the scribe’s question about the
greatest commandment, Jesus gave him two greatest commandments: the love of God
and the love of neighbor. Then, in our text, he shows that he is God in the flesh
and the widows whose houses the scribes devour are their neighbors. As long as
they do not accept him, Jesus, and continue to mistreat the widows, their piety
remains false. Here, the Church wants us to become aware of false piety. Coming
to Church and giving our offerings are good but not enough. What makes us pious
in front of God and people is our “love of God and love of our neighbors. In
other words, we are true Christians when we have intimate relationships with
Jesus and our neighbors, brothers and sisters.
The second part of our Gospel concerns the offerings
believers give to God. Mark tells us that Jesus sat down close to
the treasury and observed how the people were giving their offerings. Many rich
people offered large amounts of money. In contrast, one poor widow gave two
small coins worth a few cents. Jesus praised the widow over the rich people
because the latter contributed from their surplus wealth while the widow gave
all that she had. Note that the focus here is not on what or how much they put
into the treasury but on why and how they gave. The difference between their
actions is based on their relationships with God. On the one hand, the widow represents
the believers who know how much God loves them and are in a good relationship
with God. On the other hand, the scribes represent those whose motivation is
their false piety, the public image, but not an intimate relationship with God.
Their actions toward God are shallow, just as their relationships with God are.
This second part of the Gospel reminds us that Jesus sits in our hearts and
sees what and how we give our offerings to God in the Churches. Our offerings show
how much we appreciate all the blessings we receive from God, expressing our gratitude
for God’s love for us. Therefore, we are called first to strengthen our
relationships with God. When we realize how much God loves us and how worthy
the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross for us is, we will know how to be generous
to him in our offerings.
This
widow of the Gospel echoes the widow of the story of Elijah we heard in our
first reading. The context of this reading is this: A severe famine struck
their country because of the lack of rain. This widow had a handful of flour
and a little oil, enough for one day's meal for her and her only son;
afterward, they would die from hunger. “When we have eaten it, we shall die.”
(1 Kings 17:12). Suddenly, a starving stranger, Elijah, showed up and asked for
food and drink, promising that God would provide them with more if she first
fed him. The reading says that this poor woman did as Elijah had said. From the
context of our story, she shared her last food with Elijah, not necessarily
because she believed in miracles, but because the love of God for her was more
than her life. She sees God through Elijah. She willingly accepted that she and
her son stay hungry and die to save the man of God’s life. This total offering
reminds us Jesus, who offered all that he had (his life) to take away the sins
of many, as our second reading tells us. We learn that the “love of God and the
love of neighbors” entails self-offering, even supreme sacrifice. Because of our
intense love for our God and neighbors, we are called to willingly be ready to offer
ourselves to minister to God’s people, even if it demands us to sacrifice our
lives to save people’s lives.
May
the liturgy of this Mass help us realize how much God loves us and how worthy
the sacrifice of his Son on the Cross for us is so that, in return, we always offer
him “all we have” and “all we are” with total love and gratitude. Amen.
Rev. Leon Ngandu, SVD
SVD USS Biblical Apostolate Coordinator
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