32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

          The readings this Sunday invite us to really examine our lives in terms of our relationship with God.  And there are some questions that come to mind, at least for me:  Is God first in our lives?  Or is God an afterthought?  Do we really trust God?  Or are we afraid that God will take something from us?  Do we give God our best?    How much does God want of us and is our relationship with Him really that important?

          What doesn’t help us in considering these questions is the fact that in many ways we have become “master budgeters.”  The demands of living in this modern economy seem to require that we carefully calculate out just how much money something will cost, how much time something will take, how much energy is needed for a particular task.  And along with this, we are also notorious “bargain hunters.”  Ironically, even though we are “master budgeters,” we also find ourselves buying things we don’t really need because the price is just too good to pass up.  We always want to know what’s the most that I can get for the least amount of money, in the least amount of time, with the least amount of effort.  This makes us very pragmatic, efficient, and shrewd; and these traits are not in and of themselves bad.  In fact, they are very good in many ways.  They are especially useful in managing a household or running a business or in figuring out how to get through college without too much debt and without starving yourself.  But, I’m afraid that these qualities do not translate so well into the spiritual life, that is, into our relationship with God.  When it comes to the spiritual life, there is no place for this kind of minimalism (as in “What is the minimum I have to do or pay to get what I want?”).  The reason this doesn’t translate, the reason this doesn’t work is because in the end God wants everything.  He desires (and deserves) our first, our best, our all. 

And so, contrasted to this kind of “shrewd minimalism” we have the example of two women, two widows in the scriptures today: the widow of Zarephath in our first reading and the widow at the temple treasury in our Gospel.  Both of these women have nothing, and yet they give all.

          Let’s look first at the widow of Zarephath.  She is gathering sticks to prepare her last meal for herself and her son before they die.  A stranger approaches and asks for a cup of water.  She doesn’t tell him to go away, or begin to pour out her own troubles on him, but patiently listens to his request, stops what she is doing and sets out to get the water.  Then, when this stranger also asks for something to eat, she explains her dire situation:  “There is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug.”  How often do we say something very similar to God? “God, I can’t do any more.  I have nothing left.  What more can you ask of me?”

          The stranger, Elijah, says to her, “Do not be afraid.  Go and do as you propose.  But first make me a little cake and bring it to me.”  What incredible trust the widow must have had!  If she were a more “calculating” person, she would have said, “Absolutely not!  I have only so much left, just enough for one last meal for me and my son.”  But she took a risk.

          In our own lives too, it is often at the moment of total exhaustion, when we feel as though we can do no more, as though there is nothing left – that we most need to follow the widow’s example to “take a risk” and dare to trust in God.  And when we do, we find that, in a way, it was no risk at all.  In fact, there is no surer bet than to trust in God.  The riskier venture by far is for us to rely only on ourselves and our meager resources that we have so carefully squirrelled away.  Think of it, if the widow of Zarephath had been more shrewd, had she been that great, pragmatic minimalist, she would have been dead within days, but because she trusted in God, she and her son ate for a year, and were even able to share these blessings with their guest.

          The lesson in all of this is certainly to trust in God, but it is also to give to God first.  I am not talking about money or our charitable giving here, though that too gets swept up in all of this.  No, I’m simply talking about the priority that we give to God in our lives.  Is God first or is God last, or somewhere in between in our lives?  Does God more often than not get the “leftovers” from us, at the end of a busy day or when and if we can “squeeze” Him in?  Unless God is first in our lives, we are robbing no one but ourselves, our families, our loved ones, our communities, our study, our work, our play.  All of the things and people and priorities that we put before God in our lives are actually given less than what is due them when we put them before God.  But when we place God first in our lives, all of these other things, our other priorities, duties, and relationships are enriched and are made more meaningful and more fruitful.

          I would offer just two very practical suggestions on how to “put God first” or give God priority in our lives:

First, commit or re­-commit yourself to Sunday Mass.  Now, I realize I’m probably “preaching to the choir.”  After all you’re here.  But maybe some weeks it’s a struggle, or other things come up or you just don’t feel like it.  Resolve all the more in those weeks when it is difficult or when you least feel like it to start your week here.  For us this is the first day of the week.  It is the first day of the new creation when Christ rose from the dead.  There is simply no better way to begin our week.  In fact, I would go so far as to say that in a busy week when we might not be able to fit in much additional time for prayer, or spiritual reading or service to our neighbor, if at a minimum we made this first gift of ourselves to God by coming to and really participating in Sunday Mass, we would see the fruits of it in our lives almost immediately.  If Sunday attendance isn’t a problem for you, great!  But then, consider inviting or (better still) offering to accompany a friend.  We know that it is much easier for us to do things we don’t always feel like doing with another person, whether that’s exercise, or study or prayer.

Second, begin each day in some way with prayer.  There are many good versions of a prayer of “morning offering” out there, or it could be a prayer in your own words, or just a single “Our Father.”  Just to begin the day by saying, “Good morning, God!” instead of “Good God, it’s morning!” is a great start. Offer in some way those “first fruits” of your day to God, and in time you will see its fruit in your lives.   

          Let’s turn now just for a moment to that second widow, the widow in the temple treasury.  Jesus says of her, “This poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.  For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”  Like the widow of Zarephath, this woman is an example of great trust and of giving to God first.  She is also a beautiful example of giving totally.  Again, I’m not talking simply about money or material things, but rather of making a total gift of ourselves to God.  Some have more to give, and some have less, but God is not so interested in what or how many gifts or abilities you have or what your means are, so long as you lay whatever you have down without reserve at His feet, totally at His service.  In God’s estimation quantity counts for little, but proportion is everything.

          And so, my brothers and sisters, with these two poor widows as our models, our patrons, let us not be stingy with God in the response we make to Him to live for Him, but let us be generous, laying all that we have, all that we are, our whole livelihood at His feet, for His service.  This is above all an interior act of the will, a spiritual gift of the heart, more than it is any material gift.  External, material gifts are but reflections of the greater gift we give to God in our inmost hearts, when be place ourselves totally in God’s care and at God’s service.  Do these things: trust God, put Him first in your lives, and give totally of yourselves, and I promise you God will not “cheat” you.  But, in fact, your lives will be deeply enriched and you will gain eternal life. 

When it comes to our relationship with God – which encompasses everything else – let us set aside that shrewd, calculating, pragmatic minimalism to which we are so accustomed, and instead throw ourselves with what may seem like reckless abandon into the arms of God, giving Him our first, our best, our all.