Msgr. Joseph Prior
(See the readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time)
The official motto of the United States of America is “In God we Trust.” The phrase is based on a particular translation of Psalm 115:9-11. It was first used on coinage during the civil war. In 1956, the United States Congress made it the official motto replacing E pluribus unum. Anytime we pull some change from our pockets we can look down and see these words in all caps: IN GOD WE TRUST.
Though the call to trust in the Lord is our national motto, it is certainly not limited to the people of the United States. We see faithful all over the world actively place their trust in God. Christians acclaim Jesus as Lord and King. It is he in whom our help comes. It is he in whom we place our trust.
The readings for the liturgy this Sunday call us to trust in God and remind us that he will provide for all our needs. The first reading is from the Book of Kings and recalls the story of Elijah’s visit to the widow of Zarephath. The situation there is bleak. A severe drought had come upon the land. People were thirsty. The soil was dry. People were hungry. Elijah is sent to the town by God who had told him “Arise, go to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow there to feed you” (I Kings 17:9).
The desperate situation is heightened by the fact that the woman is a widow. She and her son have just about run out of food when Elijah arrives. When he does arrive, he asks her for a small cup of water. She goes and gives it to him. She is a kind woman. She welcomes him into her home. Elijah then asks for “a bit of bread.” She tells him: “As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.”
Her words reflect her distress. The prophet then says: “Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son. For the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘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.’”
The widow, hearing the word of the prophet, responds trusting in God. She prepared the bread as instructed. And as we soon find out, the jar of flour did not go empty nor did the oil run dry. She and her son could eat for a year until the drought had passed.
The story of the widow of Zarephath witnesses to God’s providential care. He provided for the widow in a way totally unexpected. His invitation to trust, given through the prophet Elijah, was met with a response in faith. She placed her trust in God and her needs were met.
The particulars of this story are set in a time of extraordinary need where the call to trust involved a great leap of faith. Sometimes we face such moments in life — situations where there does not seem to be any hope, no obvious solutions to the challenges, nowhere to turn for help. Hopefully these moments are rare.
The story of Elijah and the widow reminds us that God sees our needs, he understands our anguish and he invites us to trust. Now we turn to the gospel account. Here we see where trust in God, woven into the fabric of our lives, or imprinted in our souls like the words stamped on a coin, can lead to extraordinary things in the ordinary circumstances of life.
Jesus is speaking to the crowds about charity. He makes a contrast between the scribes and the poor widow. Jesus describes the scribes as wealthy. These are the ones who go around in “long robes” and are influential, accepting “greetings in the marketplaces.” They are the powerful who take “the seats of honor in synagogues and places of honor at banquets.” They care little for the poor as they “devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers.”
His images quickly shift as he sits down opposite the treasury. The “treasury” here is probably one of the collection boxes in the Temple area, used among other things for offerings for the upkeep and functioning of the Temple. Jesus observes many rich people putting in large sums. The inference is that they are doing this to be noticed and so to increase their influence in the community.
Then Jesus describes the hero of the story, a poor widow who put in “two coins worth a few cents.” Then instructs the crowd: “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”
Jesus’ teaching reminds us of the importance of sincere charity. We are called to give of ourselves not on a superficial level (from surplus) but from the heart (from our need, our poverty). The widow’s extraordinary charity was channeled by her great trust in God. The contribution she was making was most likely for the Temple, the “house of God.” She gives out of her love for God. Her faith in God allows her to go well beyond what the scribes and rich people are doing. Even though they might be giving more monetarily, they are giving little of themselves for they fail to have God at the center of their lives. They are relying more on themselves than him. She gives from the heart.
Her faith is represented by the few cents that is worth “more than all the other contributors to the treasury.” She can give from her need because she trusts in God’s providential care. She knows not when or how God will answer her needs but she trusts that he will. Her charity is presented as “extraordinary” because not many, certainly not the scribes or rich whom Jesus descries, have such deep faith; but for the widow, her charity is “ordinary” for her trust in God is part of who she is.
Trust is an important aspect of faith. Trust involves confidence that God is present in our lives. He knows us and our situation in life, he knows our needs. Trust involves belief that God will help us, that he cares for us, that he loves us. Trust means that reliance on God is more important than self-reliance.
Today we are invited to renew our trust in God. Although many of us use digital wallets these days, most of us use cash at some point. Perhaps the next time we use coins or dollars we might take a look at the words written there and take them to heart: “IN GOD WE TRUST.”
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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.
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