We wake up each morning and take our place in the hierarchy of life. That hierarchy is often arranged according to power, influence, status and wealth. This hierarchy is flaunted through nice clothes, greeted obsequiously in public places and dine in the finest establishments. When we have little to offer, we keep our heads low and just go about our daily routine.

Jesus is a friend to the underdog. But that does not mean he is not a friend to the well-heeled. He is a friend to every person with the concern that each soul is not taken away from him. In today’s Gospel about the poor widow he tells us that power, influence, status and wealth are corruptive elements to the pure soul. Too much of them can disguise our intentions, deceiving our very own self.

His litmus test is not the amount we drop into the offertory but our effort, sacrifice, trust and love that accompany the giving. He admires us when we have little and still give a portion of that little, not to him, mind you, but to someone else who we think will be more in need than ourselves. It is too easy to give out of our surpluses, and at the same time look good for it.

“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.” (Today’s Gospel)

It is not merely about surpluses in money. The spirit of our giving; the reasons, the intentions and the heart in the giving flattens the inequality among all persons created by the unequal distribution of world wealth and power. Jesus uses both widows in today’s readings to teach that the wealth of eternal life is measured by the size of our heart in the giving – and that heart cannot give money but love, faith and trust. In this every human person is made equal.

The more we give out of the little we have constitutes trust, faith and love. And this isn’t about money.

In the hierarchy of worldly life, we may be way down the ladder because we are lowly educated and socially awkward. We struggle to contribute to anything because the world has inflicted upon us an inferiority complex. Today’s message gives us genuine hope that the little we have to offer in terms of talent and ability will be fully appreciated. Only Jesus alone know how difficult it has been for us to make a difference, and that every ounce of effort we put in is not from our surpluses. We must not let the world extinguish this hope.

Hope and trust is a couple that leads us into greater faith. When we run low on hope in worldly matters, we are called to empty ourselves and put all our trust in him. When we have little, and still give in trust and faith, our jars in life will never empty.

“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.” (First reading)

‘Please’ he said ‘bring me a scrap of bread in your hand.’ ‘As the Lord your God lives,’ she replied ‘I have no baked bread, but only a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a jug; I am just gathering a stick or two to go and prepare this for myself and my son to eat, and then we shall die.’

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

‘I’ grew up attending catechism classes in the late 60’s. Maybe I was a poor student. I seem to recall that the most important part of my Catholic faith was to memorize the Ten Commandments. The words of Moses were drilled into me, “If you fear the Lord your God all the days of your life and if you keep all his laws and commandments which I lay on you, you will have a long life”. (Today’s first reading)

My Catholic faith life was built on this literal fear of God. It took me a life journey to understand that God-fearing was not this type of fear. My God was almighty, distant and authoritative. God is always waiting to punish if I broke any of the Ten. For a Catholic like me, the idea that I can have a personal relationship with God is an impossible, somewhat sacrilegious, concept.

My belief in God was largely a personal matter. I was never comfortable sharing it. The only outward sign was my attendance at Sunday mass. I was however, a strong believer without any challenging doubts. I worshipped God, and I literally feared him. But was I really in love with him? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart”.

I must have missed class or was not listening when they taught this: “Jesus replied, ‘This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.’” (Today’s Gospel). For the longest of time, I was caught in this one dimensional vertical aspect of God, Church and faith. I was also praying fervently without hearing any answers.

God’s mode of communication is mostly through our ‘neighbour’. Whatever God wants to do for us, mostly it is done through the acts of people around us. Often the answer to our prayers is heard or seen through our ‘neighbour’. God communicates a lot with us. Often his strongest messages come through the love our neighbours have for us, be they family, friends or strangers.

We need to fall in love with God. It is through true love that I finally got to know a personal God. The more I encountered love in my neighbours, the more I encountered God in daily life. The more I participated in this call to love God and love my neighbour, the better I know God. In truth, he isn’t distant or authoritative. The more encounters I have with God, the closer I feel towards him. And through all these encounters, a personal relationship with God developed. It is no longer an impossible concept.

We must come out of hiding. Our faith is not a personal matter, “between God and me”. It is not just about memorising the Ten Commandments but about having a personal relationship with him. For that to happen we must allow God to communicate with us.

God is not only in the vertical between me and God but is encountered more in the horizontal aspect of our faith – in the acts of love for our  “neighbours”.

31st Sunday in Ordinary Time