Dear Folks,
There are some people in the Bible who deserve more recognition than they usually get. Our first reading this Sunday; 1Kings 17:10-16, tell the story of the Widow of Zarephath, and I consider her one of the great heroes of the Bible.
Consider her situation. She had gotten married and had a son (I’m guessing recently, since the son was apparently still too young to help collect sticks). Her husband died. Widows didn’t have a lot of options financially, but she did the best she could. Then came the drought, and therefore the famine. She now had no one who would hire her, nothing left to sell, no one from whom she could beg anymore, and now her food was almost gone. She was getting ready for her and her son to have one last taste of food before they starved to death. Imagine the heaviness of her heart as she ponders all her hopes and dreams being crushed, the horrible fate that
was looming.
Then this scruffy looking strange man comes and asks for a drink of water. Immediately she goes to get it. Even in her current situation, her hospitality goes so deep that she doesn’t hesitate. The he calls after her asking for some food.
Oh.
Any other time it would not have been a question, of course she would feed a stranger. Not so easy today. She explains the situation, and the reasonable expectation was that he would respond, “I’m so sorry. I’ll go ask someone else.” Instead, he has the nerve to say okay fine but first feed me. I don’t imagine she put much stock in his promise “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.” There was nothing about him to tell her he could work miracles, and it would be more likely he would say anything to get what he wanted, even scamming a starving widow. I expect she figured she and her son were going to starve to death and nothing could change that. She had one last decision to make in her life, and that was to be generous to a stranger. She chose to be generous. She had so little to give, but gave with great love. God rewarded her, and I consider her one of the underappreciated heroes of the Bible.
I would also mention Shiphrah and Puah (Exodus 1:15-21). They were Israelite midwives who were being oppressed in Egypt. They defied the mightiest king in the world to save the babies
from slaughter. They succeeded because they were clever and had tremendous courage. They had a terrible situation and responded in faith. Their faith went that deep.
In our Gospel this Sunday, we see the contrast between the Scribes and Pharisees, whose faith was just on the surface and the widow giving her small coins whose faith was deep enough to give when she had so little.
Challenge for us: how deep does our faith go? Will it still work when we are at the end of our rope, worn down to nothing, crushed by life? May God grant us the grace.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim