Homily for November 8, 2009
by Deacon Greg Kandra
We hear this gospel story, about the widow's mite, and tend to think of it as a lesson giving, and of great sacrifice. And that is true, and it's a lesson we need to hear, especially in these hard times.
But looking over the readings for today, from the book of Kings and Mark's gospel, I was struck by something else. There is another theme that casts a long shadow over the scriptures this Sunday. They are both about giving, yes.
But they are also both about something unexpected.
They are about loss, and death.
Last week, when we heard the Beatitudes, we heard once again that "blessed are they who mourn." This week, we are challenged to look beyond the mourning.
The two women in these readings were widows. Once, they loved someone, and depended on him. But death changed everything. Which means they were both struggling just to stay alive. They may even have been beggars. Thousands of years ago, if a woman became a widow, and had no family to support her, and no significant amount of money socked away somewhere, her life was effectively over. She might literally be living day-to-day, hand-to-mouth.
A widow in Jesus' day would have a hard enough time just taking care of herself, and her children, let alone anyone else.
And yet.
More in first response:
We hear this gospel story, about the widow's mite, and tend to think of it as a lesson giving, and of great sacrifice. And that is true, and it's a lesson we need to hear, especially in these hard times.
But looking over the readings for today, from the book of Kings and Mark's gospel, I was struck by something else. There is another theme that casts a long shadow over the scriptures this Sunday. They are both about giving, yes.
But they are also both about something unexpected.
They are about loss, and death.
Last week, when we heard the Beatitudes, we heard once again that "blessed are they who mourn." This week, we are challenged to look beyond the mourning.
The two women in these readings were widows. Once, they loved someone, and depended on him. But death changed everything. Which means they were both struggling just to stay alive. They may even have been beggars. Thousands of years ago, if a woman became a widow, and had no family to support her, and no significant amount of money socked away somewhere, her life was effectively over. She might literally be living day-to-day, hand-to-mouth.
A widow in Jesus' day would have a hard enough time just taking care of herself, and her children, let alone anyone else.
And yet.
More in first response:
