Still very
much conscious of my recent pilgrimage to Tanzania, to St. Mary’s School in
Mazinde Juu, to this land of considerable poverty, I experienced such a
beautiful faith in the high school students at St. Mary’s School, in the
dedicated faculty, and in Father Damien Milliken. They were such beautiful examples to me of
people of faith, who in their simplicity of lifestyle, witnessed to their trust
that a loving God accompanies them every step of the way.
This same powerful message is found in the widows in today’s
Scriptures. In the first Scripture
reading from the book of Kings, the prophet Elijah was asking the poor widow of
Zarephath first for a cup of water and then for a bit of bread.
If we are to understand the widow of Zarephath, we need to
notice something about her that has not been probably part of our
experience: she is starving. She and her son have strictly rationed
themselves as their store of food diminished.
Meals would have gotten fewer and fewer.
She and her son must have been wasting away long before they got to the
last handful of flour.
Yet when a stranger asked her for something to eat, she
looked him in the face – and did not say no.
Would we have the compassion of the widow of Zarephath who
was worried not just about herself but about her son a well. She gave to the stranger the food she had
saved for her son.
There is such an important lesson here.
To give from our livelihood is not only an act of generosity;
it is also an act of trust in God. We
can give from our need only if we trust that God will provide for us. Jesus himself demonstrates the ultimate act
of generosity and trust in God as he gives his life for us on the cross.
And as the Scripture tells us, she was rewarded for that
trust in God: “her jar flour did not run dry.”
When does our giving and giving generously challenge us that
we have to trust in God for that next bit of bread?
No comments:
Post a Comment