1 KINGS 17:8-16
The word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” But Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
The Prophet Elijah is one of the most famous figures of the Old Testament. He lived around 850 B.C., in the northern kingdom, during a time when the policies of “the house of Omri,” specifically of King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, favored the worship of Baal and actively persecuted the worshipers of Yahweh.
This represents the total apostasy of the people of Israel. Elijah is a champion of the faith. (His name means “Yahweh is God”). He is a stern, solitary figure, dressed in a mantle of camel’s hair (typical of the “nazir,” consecrated to Yahweh, as John the Baptist would later do), who appeared suddenly wherever battles for Yahweh needed to be fought.
Elijah eventually disappeared in the desert, and they could not find him. This gives rise to the famous account of the chariot of fire, and the spirit of Elijah being passed on to his disciple Elisha.
In today’s text, the prophet, fleeing from his land, lives in hiding for fear of the king and queen, and is welcomed by a widow from Zarephath (which does not belong to Israel but is in Phoenicia, a land of pagans).
It is a time of extreme poverty caused by a drought that lasts seven years. The widow’s hospitality deserves recognition from the Prophet. Neither her flour nor her oil runs out.
The character of the poor, non-Israelite widow is the ultimate example of the “lowest” social class. In an utterly patriarchal society, widowhood means complete abandonment, and widows are frequently exploited by their male “administrators,” even in Israel.
Her status as a non-Israelite makes her even more distant and unworthy of esteem in the eyes of men. The message is typical: the poor, non-Israelite widow is the one who welcomes the prophet and therefore receives God’s blessing.
Jesus himself took up and quoted this episode (Luke 6:25), and interpreted it as a sign that it is not by being from Israel that one pleases God, but by fulfilling God’s will, in this case by being hospitable and merciful.
HEBREWS 9:24-28
For Christ has not entered into a sanctuary made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf, nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own. Otherwise, he would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world. But now, once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes judgment, so also Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.
PROPOSAL FOR AN ALTERNATIVE READING.
The composition of the readings for this Sunday is typical. We are making a continuous reading of the Gospel of Mark, and we come to the scene of the widow who gives alms in the temple. To accompany this reading, a text with a remotely similar theme from the Old Testament is sought. The second reading follows the independent reading of the Letter to the Hebrews. Given the usual disconnection between this text and the other two, we propose its replacement with 1 Cor 26:31.
Behold, brothers, those of you who have been called! Not many are wise according to the flesh, not many are powerful, not many are of noble birth. Rather, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; He has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the strong. The base and despised things of the world God has chosen; things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh should glory in His presence. From Him you are in Christ Jesus, whom God made for us wisdom from God, and righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”
Apparently, there are not many important people in the community of Corinth. The foolish things of the world, chosen by God. A very Jewish mindset, which attributes to God everything that happens, diminishing human freedom to magnify the action of God.
But reflection takes us further: for whom is the Good News good news? This connects well with Luke’s beatitude: “Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation,” which does not mean anything with a sense of retribution in the afterlife, but refers to the effect of power, prestige, and money on those who possess them: satisfaction, which leads to not needing God.
In another order of things, we could think that the Wisdom of God is the parables, so superior to all human wisdom with which we usually try to give importance to the humble words of Jesus, full of Wisdom and alien to all trappings of human prestige.
José Enrique Galarreta
Another Alternative Reading
From the book “The Prophet” (Khalil Gibran)
You give very little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give. What are your possessions but things you keep and guard for fear you may need them tomorrow?
There are those who give little of the much they have, and they give it for recognition, and their hidden desire for recognition taints their gifts. And there are those who have little and give it all. These are the ones who believe in the abundance of life, and their coffer is never empty.
There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. And there are those who give with pain, and that pain is their baptism.
And there are those who give and do not know the pain of giving, nor seek the joy in it, nor are they aware of the virtue of giving when they give. They give as the myrtle spreads its fragrance in the deep valley into the air. Through the hands of those who are like these, God speaks, and from the depths of their eyes, He smiles upon the earth.
It is good to give something when it has been asked for, but it is better to give without being asked, out of understanding.
And is there anything you can keep? All that you have will be given away someday. Therefore, give now, for the season of giving is yours and not of those who will come after you.