The first reading for Tuesday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time tells the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:7-16). In a time of severe drought, Elijah is sent to a poor widow. When he arrives, he asks the widow for something to eat. She replies that she was collecting firewood to prepare a final meal with the last of her food for herself and her son; “when we have eaten it, we shall die.” (vs. 12) Elijah informs her that the Lord has promised that “the jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” (vs. 14) She feeds him and the Lord is faithful to the promise; her food never runs out.
I marvel at her generosity. Yet studies have shown repeatedly that the poor – those in the lowest income brackets – give far more (as a percentage of their income) than those in every higher income bracket, including the very rich.
Several weeks ago, one of our “regulars” came to office, accompanied by a volunteer with many years’ service. The man asked for help with his rent; he was about to be evicted from his apartment. When asked how he got so far behind, he explained how various family members and friends had financial difficulties and asked for his help. The sums were not large and he gave to them, receiving a promise that he would be paid back. It stretched his resources and he fell a little bit behind, but he was certain (at the time) he would make it up. Over the months, the “little behind” grew, and he was never able to catch up. Finally, he got so far behind that he was about to be evicted.
He described his many efforts over several months to make up the money (requesting repayment of those who owed him money, looking for odd jobs to earn extra income, approaching family and friends, seeking financial assistance from other charitable organizations) and how all had failed. The volunteer who had accompanied him was able to vouch for his efforts and how they had extended over weeks and weeks. The volunteer likewise was able to describe the many hours the man regularly gave around the church, assisting the volunteer.
Given all the information, the right thing to do was to help him pay what he owed, although the total was far more than we would ordinarily give to an individual need. (When a person receives an eviction notice, the only way to keep one’s place is to pay the rent in full; partial payments are not accepted.) And so we helped him pay his rent and he avoided evicted, after having a long conversation about how a person has a first responsibility to provide for one’s own needs in life, and then, help others.
Yet, the widow did not do that; she did not provide for her own needs first. She had nothing “extra” to give. She shared what little she had.
The widow’s story concludes, “she was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.” (vs. 15-16) The story does not describe how this happened. The common assumption is that the Lord provided for her miraculously, a sort of continuing “multiplication of the flour and oil” lasting over a year (just as the manna lasted all during Israel’s wandering through the desert).
But perhaps it happened in differently. Maybe God provided for her through more “ordinary” ways, ways that are familiar to us. Perhaps the widow went to her neighbors, who shared food with her. Perhaps she had to go to the local Zarephath food pantry; perhaps she and her son and Elijah went to the area meals program. Maybe her local temple/ shrine helped her.
When I think about these possibilities in the story of the widow of Zarephath, I think a bit differently about the man who came looking for rent assistance. Perhaps my conversation about “becoming more financially responsible” reflected more “the wisdom of the world” than the wisdom of the Gospel. When family and friends came to him earlier, looking for help, didn’t he respond like the widow, who was willing to share what little she had, even at the risk of not having enough for herself? And although at the time he decided to help them, he didn’t know that we would be there to help him, God knew. And because God sent him here, his “jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry.”
The Generosity of the Poor
The first reading for Tuesday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time tells the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kgs 17:7-16). In a time of severe drought, Elijah is sent to a poor widow. When he arrives, he asks the widow for something to eat. She replies that she was collecting firewood to prepare a final meal with the last of her food for herself and her son; “when we have eaten it, we shall die.” (vs. 12) Elijah informs her that the Lord has promised that “the jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” (vs. 14) She feeds him and the Lord is faithful to the promise; her food never runs out.
I marvel at her generosity. Yet studies have shown repeatedly that the poor – those in the lowest income brackets – give far more (as a percentage of their income) than those in every higher income bracket, including the very rich.
Several weeks ago, one of our “regulars” came to office, accompanied by a volunteer with many years’ service. The man asked for help with his rent; he was about to be evicted from his apartment. When asked how he got so far behind, he explained how various family members and friends had financial difficulties and asked for his help. The sums were not large and he gave to them, receiving a promise that he would be paid back. It stretched his resources and he fell a little bit behind, but he was certain (at the time) he would make it up. Over the months, the “little behind” grew, and he was never able to catch up. Finally, he got so far behind that he was about to be evicted.
He described his many efforts over several months to make up the money (requesting repayment of those who owed him money, looking for odd jobs to earn extra income, approaching family and friends, seeking financial assistance from other charitable organizations) and how all had failed. The volunteer who had accompanied him was able to vouch for his efforts and how they had extended over weeks and weeks. The volunteer likewise was able to describe the many hours the man regularly gave around the church, assisting the volunteer.
Given all the information, the right thing to do was to help him pay what he owed, although the total was far more than we would ordinarily give to an individual need. (When a person receives an eviction notice, the only way to keep one’s place is to pay the rent in full; partial payments are not accepted.) And so we helped him pay his rent and he avoided evicted, after having a long conversation about how a person has a first responsibility to provide for one’s own needs in life, and then, help others.
Yet, the widow did not do that; she did not provide for her own needs first. She had nothing “extra” to give. She shared what little she had.
The widow’s story concludes, “she was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah.” (vs. 15-16) The story does not describe how this happened. The common assumption is that the Lord provided for her miraculously, a sort of continuing “multiplication of the flour and oil” lasting over a year (just as the manna lasted all during Israel’s wandering through the desert).
But perhaps it happened in differently. Maybe God provided for her through more “ordinary” ways, ways that are familiar to us. Perhaps the widow went to her neighbors, who shared food with her. Perhaps she had to go to the local Zarephath food pantry; perhaps she and her son and Elijah went to the area meals program. Maybe her local temple/ shrine helped her.
When I think about these possibilities in the story of the widow of Zarephath, I think a bit differently about the man who came looking for rent assistance. Perhaps my conversation about “becoming more financially responsible” reflected more “the wisdom of the world” than the wisdom of the Gospel. When family and friends came to him earlier, looking for help, didn’t he respond like the widow, who was willing to share what little she had, even at the risk of not having enough for herself? And although at the time he decided to help them, he didn’t know that we would be there to help him, God knew. And because God sent him here, his “jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry.”