Our times seem to be getting ever more challenging and disturbing. In such times it’s always tempting to close in on ourselves. Our instinct is to do whatever we can to protect ourselves and our loved ones. We have less energy to care about the needs of others, or to reach out to them. We can become less open, more suspicious of those we perceive as outsiders. All of this is a perfectly natural human response when life is hard. Yet, as I reflected on today’s readings I was struck by how they call us to a completely different way of being.
In the first reading Elijah travels to Sidon which is in the grip of a serious drought. He meets a widow gathering some sticks and asks her for something to eat and drink. The woman has very little left, only enough for one last meal for herself and her son. Yet, she doesn’t turn him away, instead she shares the little she and her son have with Elijah, trusting the promise that he has made her:
“Jar of meal shall not be spent, jug of oil shall not be emptied, before the day when the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.”’
Her generosity is echoed by the story of the poor widow that Jesus tells in the gospel. As he watches her put all she has to live on into the Temple treasury he says to hid disciples:
‘I tell you solemnly, this poor widow has put more in than all who have contributed to the treasury; for they have all put in money they had over, but she from the little she had has put in everything she possessed, all she had to live on.’
The courageous actions of these two widows are a reminder that when life gets hard we are called, not to retreat from one another, but to reach out to others. We are called to override our instincts and to reach out to the stranger, to welcome the other, to share from our resources however limited they might be.
Where is Christ challenging you to risk sharing in these challenging times?