It is the thought that counts

Homily for Ordinary Time – 32nd Sunday Year B 2015

1 Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44

Introduction

Remember when your five-year-old daughter gave you a Mother's Day card, one she made from scrapbook paper?  She wrote on it with crayons, spelled the word "mother" wrong, and drew a picture of you that looked like an alien.  But because you knew who made that card and why she made it, you received the card, like it was the most expensive card Hallmark ever made; it is the thought that counts!

That is what we say to indicate that the kindness behind an action, is what matters, even if the action itself is imperfect or small.

Scripture and Theology

And so, that is why Jesus also praises poor widow who put only two coins in the collection plate at the Temple.  These coins probably amounted to very little money.  But while other donors gave from their surplus wealth, she gave from her poverty all that she had; it is the thought of total self-gift that counts.

This action of complete self-giving was also carried out by another widow, the widow we heard about in the first reading.  She gave to the Prophet Elijah her very last supply of food.  Her meal probably could not compare to the fine dining at the restaurants we have in New Orleans.  But because she gave completely, everything she had, she was rewarded by God, with food to last her the whole period of the famine.  Her action was small, but the thought behind it was great.

But the one really puts this message into action is Jesus himself.  He does not give two coins or the last morsel of food like the two widows, but he gives his very life on the cross.  Sometimes we think of the sacrifice of Jesus as being the physical suffering that he endured; but his true sacrifice, his true gift was giving himself completely for the life of the world.  Many people before him died for God; many people after him gave up their lives for God.  But only he died, without having to do so, so that he might give life to the world.  And so when Jesus tells the story of the widow, he is not really talking about her; he is foretelling what he himself is going to do, to give all that he has, his human life for the life of the world.

And so, the message of today's readings is rather simple.  By his own example and by the example of the widow, Jesus asks his disciples to give of themselves completely.  But if we are to give completely, we must some thought into what we give, whether what we give is big or small.  And especially if all we have to give is just a little, if it is accompanied by much thought, then it will count just as much.

Christian Life

As Christians, we put this message into action, when we give to God and to our fellow human beings.

What do we give to God?  Our main gift to God is our prayers of praise and thanksgiving.  But what value do these prayers have, coming as they do from us, unworthy human beings?  After all God is almighty and has everything; he does not really need our worthless words and actions of praise.

·        God is like that wealthy friend or relative of yours, who has it all!  When their birthday comes around, you think, "what I can I get them?"  After giving it some thought, perhaps like me you go to the Dollar Store and pick out a rather humorous Greeting Card that speaks to them particularly.  And when you give it to your friend, they look beyond the fact that the card cost just a dollar, laugh their hearts out and they know that you truly love them.

·        God is like that person who gives you a truly expensive gift and all you can do to thank them is to say thank you and write them a "Thank-You" card.

And so, although God has no need of our praise and thanksgiving, although our praises add nothing to his greatness (Common Preface IV), yet we still worship him, to show our devotion and earns our salvation.

That is why we must think about the prayers we recite and the hymns we sing.  Jesus tells his disciples: "In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words" (Mt. 6:7).  Instead he wants us to put some thought in our prayer.  What are we really saying to God?  If we think about what we are saying or singing and it comes from our hearts, these poor words will be like the two coins of the poor widow.  They will give please our Father in heaven, because like your daughter's hand-written card, they will come from the heart.

That is why we must put some thought in the things we use to worship God, our churches, our altars, our vestments.  In the Old Testament, the prophets over and over again condemn the sacrifices of the Israelites as being unworthy.  The Prophet Malachi asks: "When you offer a blind animal for sacrifice, is there no wrong in that? When you offer a lame or sick animal, is there no wrong in that?" We Christians must do better.

I have had the opportunity celebrate Mass in all kinds of places; at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, at various beautiful churches here in the Archdiocese of New Orleans including this very church, as well as on a rickety coffee table under a mango tree in my home country of Uganda.  Which of these Masses was most pleasing to God?  I believe that all three Masses please God, if the worship they give God is the best that they have.  Even that small village community in Uganda, without the beautiful churches and ornaments found elsewhere, as long as they give their best coffee table as the altar and their best wild flowers for the decorations, please God when they worship him in this way.

And so, our Mass cannot be just another social gathering, but must be a well-thought out heartfelt prayer of thanks and praise to God.

Besides God, we also practice total self-gift when we give to needy brothers and sisters of Jesus, our fellow human beings.  Even when we give to fellow human beings, our thought must be substantial enough to count.

For example, the Christmas season is coming up.  Some of us will wrestle with deciding what gifts to give our family members.  We want to give them not just something that fulfils the obligation, but something that they will appreciate or at least something that they need. I remember once giving the same gift to a friend two years in a row; just because she now had two of the same thing did not make my gift any better.  Putting some thought into the gift-giving process could have spared me the unnecessary embarrassment.

I know a family, who plan how they give to charity.  They dedicate a portion of their family budget to charity.  But they go a step further and do some research, to find out who will most benefit from what we give.  Some of their donations go to their church, some to charities that care for the needy, some to the missions and some to needy individuals that they encounter.  Putting some thought into their giving makes sure that it counts, that it does good to others, that it changes lives and does not simply placate their hearts.

Conclusion

This week we celebrate Veterans Day.  In our veterans we celebrate the lives of men and women who have given all they had for their country and nation.  Some of them have been maimed physically or scarred psychologically by the experience of giving all that they had.

May the veterans, the widows of today's readings, the example of Jesus, inspire us to actions of giving to God and neighbour without counting the cost.

And may the thought behind our giving to God never be mediocre but whole-hearted; may the thought behind what we give to our fellow human beings never be stingy but generous.