Putting One's Hope in God

 Reflection on Today's Readings, 32nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B,  November 7th, 2021
Texts: 1 Kings 17:10-16; Ps. 146:6c-7.8-10ab; Heb. 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44
One message runs through today's readings: Putting one's hope in God. The readings teach us that the faith in Jesus Christ requires putting one's hope in God. Without hope, there is no faith, for faith is the assurance of hope (Heb. 11:1). The readings teach us that it is by putting hope in God that we save ourselves and others. They also remind us that whatever we give to God in hope yields in abundance. They remind us that it is in hope we can givemthe self to God completely and by so doing be pleasing to God. They also teach us the consequence of not putting one's hope in God. Today's first reading speaks of serving God in others.  Elijah was a man of  God; a man who represents God. In such a man God is honoured and served. The honour given to man of God is often inspired by one's faith in God. The widow's giving of self was inspired by her faith in the prophetic words of Elijah: "For thus says the LORD the God of Israel, ‘The Jar of meal shall not be spent, and the pitcher of oil shall not fail, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” We learn from the widow how to make a leap of faith, holding firmly to God's promises in the scriptures. The promise of God gives me life (Ps. 119: 50).
We also learn from her that our salvation requires us to make a leap of faith. The widow save herself and her family through the leap of faith she made as God sustained the jar of meal and the pitcher of oil. Neither the jar of meal nor the pitcher of oil were spent.  Today's psalm says, "The LORD upholds the orphan and the widow". It is not all orphans or widows but those who put their hope in God and are poor in the spirit. To be poor in the spirit is not to put one's hope in material things but in God. The widow in today's gospel reading and the widow of Zarephath are examples of those who are poor in the spirit and put their hope in God. They were poor not because they were lazy, imprudent or wasteful but because they had chosen to give all to God. They were poor because they put their hope in God instead of wealth. Some people are poor and yet corrupt; some people are poor and yet full of lies; some people are poor and yet cheat; some people are poor and yet unjust; some people are poor and yet full of evil. Some widows are poor and yet do not put they hope in God but in worldly pleasure and wealth.
Today's second reading speaks of Jesus Christ offering Himself to God the Father for our sins. It is said, "But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." By His life He teaches us to give ourselves to God our Father. Giving ourselves to God our Father is possible when we put our hope in Him.
Jesus Christ condemned pretence in the pharisees. The pretence is the attitude of those who put no hope in God. Let us hope in God that we give ourselves to God our Father

Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for teaching and showing us how to live our life by Your own life; grant us our lives and grant us the grace. Amen

Fr. Andrew Olowomuke