Homily: Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
Mark 12:38-44
10 November 2024
Fr. Ricky Cañet Montañez
One Sunday morning mass when I was still in San Roque Parish, an elderly woman entered the church at offertory. At first, I thought she was going to sit on the front pew beside the lay ministers but she walked past them and went up the sanctuary! I was rather alarmed and I was tempted to stop what I was doing, but I simply continued. When she was just inches from the altar, she pulled out a plastic bag of coins from the pocket of her “duster”, made the sign of the cross, and then put down the offering of her day’s alms on the altar. Afterwards she just went down and quietly sat in an empty seat in the pews. I was relieved that she posed no threat, and at the same time I was happy I did not stop her. It would have been a shame if I had prevented her from offering her gift.
The giving of oneself totally in love for God and neighbour which was the focus of our readings last Sunday is best exemplified by the two widows in this Sunday’s readings. In the gospel, Jesus notices a poor widow and commends her generosity, her willingness to give out of her poverty… “her whole livelihood”. She only had two (2) small coins but she gave all of it anyway, whereas the rich gave from the surplus of their wealth. Jesus commends her by saying that the large sum of offerings by the rich pale in comparison to the widow’s paltry offering because she had given fully of herself and her resources. Similarly, the widow of Zarephath gives Elijah the last meal intended for her and her son. She had accepted that they were going to die of hunger soon after. Nevertheless, she did not hold back the little she and her son had when Elijah was in need of sustenance. Although in dire straits, both widows sacrificed from their own need and gave without reservation. Their total self-giving shows absolute trust in God. By not holding back and having complete trust in God’s providence, they exemplify for us what it is to be radical followers of the Lord.
I am sure we all have individual stories of unnatural generosity. Maybe some of us chose to give our jeepney fare to someone in need, even if it meant we had to walk home. How many parents have foregone their share of the family meal just so their kids could have a second serving or eat their favourite chicken part? What about the eldest child who works tirelessly to help support the family and send younger siblings to school? As human beings we are not incapable of giving of ourselves but we certainly have the tendency of hanging on to what gives us a sense of security. Do remember what Jesus said: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what does a man profit, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Matthew 16: 25-28)
The extreme generosity of the widows in the readings is a foreshadowing of the sacrificial giving of Jesus of Himself on the cross. Remember that as the second person of the Trinity, Jesus is also God. He could have limited His sacrifice by choosing to continue His mission on earth until He was fifty, or perhaps, chosen a less humiliating way to die, but He didn’t. Jesus chose to be completely obedient to the will of His Father. He surrendered His mind, heart, will, and entire being to the plan of the Father. Can we leave our entire existence, past, present and future in the hands of the Father as Jesus did? We pray that we may be more and more like Jesus who even in the face of such torment on the cross could still say, “Father into your hands I commend my spirit.” (Luke 23:46)
We are challenged by the gospel not to shy away from discipleship, even if it comes at a great cost to us. Let us remember that regardless of who we are, where we are and what situation we are in, we can in our humble ways manage to address the needs of others. Every gift becomes impactful if done with love, in imitation of Jesus Christ.
Sunday Gospel Reflections 