Homily for the Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Scriptures for today's Mass
Audio
There’s
quite a contrast in the two brief vignettes
St.
Mark pairs, side by side, in today’s gospel.
First,
a stern Jesus, mincing no words, condemns
the scribes
who
take advantage of their office and of the poor
for
their own benefit and satisfaction.
And
then a compassionate Jesus directs our attention
to
a poor widow - from precisely the class of people
the
scribes are accused of scamming -
a
poor widow whose small offering Jesus compares
with
the larger contributions made to the temple by the wealthy.
Mark
offers a description of the scribes.
And
it concerns me that I fit that description rather well.
As
a priest, I am among those who wear long robes.
I
accept the greetings of many as I walk each day
through
the market place of Concord center.
I
have a seat of honor here in the temple.
And
when I go to a reception or a banquet
I’m
almost always seated at the head table.
In
my defense - I do not devour the homes of widows!
And
we’re usually out of here in an hour -
so
I don’t think that’s lengthy prayers.
But
I do belong to that class, clergy,
who
are often accorded honor and rank
simply
on account of the office they hold.
Tragically
we’re learning how in our own day
and
going back decades,
such
honor and respectability were too often accorded to those
who
had not earned, merited or deserved it.
This
week the Catholic bishops of the United States will gather
for
their annual November meeting.
The
agenda for their meeting will be almost entirely devoted
to
the crisis in our Church, created by those who abused
both
their office and those in their care.
Pray
with me, as I’m sure you do,
that
the bishops’ work this week will be substantive
and
will manifest changes and plans for more change
to
stanch the hemorrhaging of the church’s credibility
and
rescue her from the jeopardy in which her mission lies.
When
it comes to the poor widow in gospel
and
what she places in the collection basket,
Jesus
is clearly not terribly concerned here
with
how much money
someone
might give to the temple treasury.
He’s
interested, not in the amount being offered,
as
in the source of the offering – where it comes from.
In
a nutshell, Jesus is saying,
“I’m
more interested in the gift that tugs on your heartstrings
than
in the gift that pulls on your purse strings.”
Of
course, it’s often the case
that
purse strings and heartstrings are connected
-
and that works well WHEN
pulling
on my heartstrings opens my purse all the wider.
But
that’s not always the case.
In
the story here,
Jesus
watches the wealthy handing over large sums of money
but
he sees that their offering doesn’t come from their hearts:
they’re
giving from their surplus wealth
and
so they don’t feel the pinch.
The
poor widow didn’t have to spend much time
counting
her wealth: she had only two small coins to consider.
And
what did she do?
She
emptied her heart which led her to empty her purse.
Her
heart’s generosity wasn’t limited
by
the paucity of her purse’s contents.
She
had no surplus from which to make an offering
so
she gave from her want, from her poverty
–
she gave all that she had.
And
when you give from your want,
when
you give until you feel the pinch,
when you give with a generosity beyond
what your accountant or bookkeeper
might suggest as wise,
then you’re giving from your heart
which is what the Lord asks of us.
Even
if you’re still holding strong
against
the rising tide of Christmas ads,
you
can’t escape knowing that the “season of giving”
is
right around the corner.
(Today’s
announcement at the end of mass
include some hints of Christmas!)
“The
season of giving…” An interesting term!
Who
gives, in the season of giving? Who
receives?
And
what is given? How much is given?
And
to whom is it given?
And
who gives and who gets in this season of giving.
How
much will you and I give this year
-
to those who already have too much?
-
to those who already have more than they need?
And
how much will we give this year
-
to those who have next to nothing?
-
to those who have far less than even the most basic of needs?
For
that matter: how much will we spend just on
decorating,
wrapping and mailing gifts
to
those who truly do not need what we’re going to give them?
Will
our giving be governed by our heartstrings
or
our purse strings?
In
celebrating Thanksgiving and Christmas
we’ll
stuff ourselves with food and drink and gifts.
Our
purse strings will be wide open at the malls and online.
But
when the needs of others tug on our heartstrings this year,
will
we find ourselves giving from only from our surplus?
Or
might we find ourselves giving until we feel the pinch
of
giving from our want?
The
scene in the gospel presents us with some stark contrasts.
Where
do see ourselves,
in
the mix of the scribes, the rich and the poor?
Earlier
we sang, “The Lord hears the cry of the
poor…”
And,
indeed, he does.
And
he hears their cry through our ears.
And
he wants to reach out to the poor our
arms and hands.
And
he wants to help them by sharing with them from our surplus!
None
of us is excused from this gospel’s demand.
This
is a story for every heart, every purse - for every one of us.
We
hear this story, gathered at the Lord's Table.
Jesus
gave from his poverty, too.
On
the Cross, he emptied himself out,
he
emptied out his heart for us,
not
for a moment counting the cost.
And
in doing so, he felt much more than a “pinch” in his giving.
And
with the same generosity
he
offers all of himself to us again today,
in
the gift of his Body and Blood in the Eucharist:
the
sacrifice of Calvary becomes our sacrifice of praise
and
we receive everything Jesus poured out for us.
May
Christ who gave himself for us
lead
us to empty out our hearts generously, for one another,
and
especially for those most in need
in
this season of giving.
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