32nd Sunday 2021
1Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
I often quote to myself the comment of the author of the Old Testament Book of Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun. This is usually when I look back through old homilies and discover that the brilliant new insight which I have just had is exactly the same insight which struck me the last time these readings occurred, and the time before that, and so on.
This week though, I have amazed myself. On looking back, I find that I have reached a different conclusion from that in previous homilies on these readings. I decided to begin “It strikes me that the key word from today’s readings is ‘generosity’”. Checking with my own past, I discovered that six years ago I had concluded that the key word was “trust”, and that I had approached things from a different angle.
Keep that word “trust” in mind. It is clearly an important concept for both widows whom we encounter today—trust in God and, for the widow in Sidon, trust in God’s prophet Elijah—but follow me, if you will, in looking at generosity.
Both widows exhibit complete generosity. The Sidonian widow shares her remaining food with Elijah. Does she believe him when he tells her that her supply will not, after all, run out? Or is she simply showing that self-emptying generosity which is so often the mark of those who have little or nothing, that willingness to share what little remains?
Similarly, the widow in the Gospel is willing to give everything to God, trusting in Him for the future. This is a definite meeting point between generosity and trust.
Where do we come in? Both generosity and trust are demanded of us. How are they demanded, and how do we respond?
Under present circumstances, I think that it is fair to draw examples from international affairs. The developing countries are desperately short of COVID vaccines, and the richer nations are being asked to share, and, in particular, to waive patents on the vaccines, so that they may be affordable for the people of the developing world. Some countries, our own included, are showing reluctance, perhaps believing that there may not be enough to go round, but in particular, being unwilling to reduce the profits of the drug companies. There appears to be a lack of generosity here—there is certainly no trust in God—but it is also a self-defeating attitude since, if the poorer countries cannot protect their people, new variants of the virus will arise which will, in turn, affect the richer nations. We shall find ourselves bitten on the bum!
We could draw similar examples from the area of climate change. Rich nations, companies, and individuals are unwilling to make vital changes for the sake of poorer peoples, but also in fact for their—indeed our—own sakes.
Bringing things to a personal level, we should, indeed must, question ourselves about our own generosity, about our willingness to share, and about our trust in God. How many of us who stood and applauded NHS and care workers are willing to pay more in tax to ensure that those same workers receive proper remuneration, and that our health and care services are better resourced?
And how far am I willing to place myself in God’s hands, entrusting my future to Him, while being generous with my material resources, my time, indeed my whole life? Every day, in the course of my prayers, I make two acts of self-surrender to God, one taken from St. Ignatius beginning “Lord Jesus Christ, take all my freedom, my memory, my understanding and my will...” and the other from St. Alphonsus which begins “Lord from this day forward, do with me, and with all that belongs to me, as it shall please thee...”. How serious am I, really, in making these prayers?
If you make a Morning Offering, as I hope that you may, entrusting your day and your life to God, how much of that day and that life are you truly giving to Him? Generosity and trust: perhaps they are both key words, for individuals, for communities of whatever sort, and for nations.
