11 November 2018
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of my best friends is a woman who some will call a “perfect package.” She is beautiful, has an excellent personality, and is very intelligent with two graduate degrees from Ivy League institutions. However, her career path is not very promising. Despite her credentials, she has been unemployed for quite a while. Nevertheless, she always wants to keep up with her donations to the Church because she believes that her situation is like the poor widow in Zarephath. My friend shared with me once that she hears the voice of God telling her “Do not be afraid” like what Elijah said to the widow. Therefore, she believes that she must continue to give to the Church despite the fact that she only has a small amount of money in her savings account. Indeed, she has a great faith that if she keeps giving to the Church, “the jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry.”
The story of Jeremiah and the poor widow in Zarephath is placed in the midst of the story of the battle between Yahweh and Baal. Elijah as the prophet had confronted the King Ahab for his mistake by syncretizing the worship of Yahweh and Baal. Elijah declared that the land will suffer drought and hunger. Yahweh will bring rain instead of Baal, who was the god of fertility and rain. So the central story is about the battle between the true God versus false gods. Elijah is a great prophet. One of his great qualities is his obedience to Yahweh as the true God. He followed God’s order to withdraw to a small east-Jordanian river valley, in which he was fed by the ravens. Later, he suffers the same fate as his people, water runs dry and so God sends him to the Sidon region, where he find a widow to feed him there. Elijah does not know that the widow God has chosen to help him is terribly impoverished herself.
As I reflect on the story of my friend and Elijah, I think that the crux of the matter of these stories is about being obedient to God’s will. We cannot know what is expected of us. The issue is whether we can accept that all we receive is coming from God. In prayer today, reflect on any uncertainty, tragedy, anxiety, or any difficulties in your life or people around you. Reflect on your feelings in dealing with the situation – maybe a desire to be obedient to God or maybe quite the opposite, feelings of fear or doubt about what will happened to you. Whatever feeling that you have, please take it to God and share your anxiety and distress to Jesus as your friend.