From the bulletin for The Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time (Nov 10, 2024)
32nd Sunday
In the first reading this weekend, the prophet Elijah urges a poor widow to feed him first with the little bread she has left, and then to see to feeding herself and her son, who are at death’s door. This hardly seems like a loving act. Superficially, one might wonder if Elijah is worthy of the condemnation Our Lord utters against the scribes in the Gospel, “They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers!” (Mk 12:40) How could the prophet be so selfish?
Of course, Elijah asks what he does because he knows what the Lord has spoken with regard to the widow: “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the LORD sends rain upon the earth” (1 Kgs 17:14). But for that word to be fulfilled, the LORD demanded something from that poor widow: the surrender of her faith. Her trust was the water that, combined with the flour, oil, and God’s word, would become the daily bread on which she was to live during that time of drought and famine.
God’s merciful love, as rich and tender as it is, is neither easy nor cheap. It is demanding. It is exacting. It constantly stretches both those who practice it and those who experience it. It manifests itself sweetly with the poor and the humble: consider Our Lord rejoicing over the generous faith of that other poor widow who casts her whole livelihood on divine providence through her two-cent contribution. It also shows itself stern and uncompromising with the proud and erring: see how the same Lord calls out those scribes in public on account of their callous deeds!
Love seeks the good of the other; the merciful love of God gives us what we need though we do not deserve it. Whether what we need is a stern rebuke or a consoling affirmation! Following on the months of communion and stewardship, we have christened this month of November “the month of Mercy.” (Why does each month need a theme, Father David? What’s wrong with plain, ordinary, vanilla November?) This is in part simply recognizing what we already do each November as a Church: we perform that spiritual act of mercy of remembering and praying for our poor, naked, imprisoned, sick, and hungry brothers and sisters languishing (homeless!) in Purgatory. But the theme also follows in logical progression from what came before. In September we focused on our relationship with the Lord and one another, recognizing the primary importance of being attached to the Vine and living members of the Body. Then in October we meditated on how we are making use of what’s been entrusted to us for the service of the Lord and the upbuilding of His Body. Now, we recall that the choicest fruit of that service is to imitate our Savior by loving others as He has loved us: mercifully, according to our needs and not our desserts.
Of course, the centerpiece of the month at the parish level is Mercy Morning, our still-blossoming, annual effort to get the whole parish family engaged in works of mercy at the same time. This is obviously not in the spirit of “checking the box” so we don’t have to worry about it for the rest of the year. Rather, the day is intended as a stimulus and a reminder, and a way of doing what is of chief importance together lest our communion with one another lack something essential. While I hope you can join us on the morning of the 16th, therefore, I also encourage you as individuals, households, and small groups to think of how you might be able to go out of your way for the sake of someone in need this month. Perhaps serving a meal at Dorothy Day on Thanksgiving weekend, or plugging into our Pastoral Care ministry for some fall service at the homes of our elderly community members… a visit to the poorest of the poor at Lynnhurst Estates, or a special trip to Rainbow to buy groceries for our local food shelf… Our life at St. Marks allows us to become so familiar with the merciful love of Our Lord’s Sacred Heart, which flows so abundantly for us in the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation. We who ought therefore to be rich in mercy must abound in deeds of mercy, “especially towards those of the household of faith,” (Gal 6:10) yes, but also extending towards all those called to be members if it.
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