The readings today for this thirty second Sunday in ordinary time are basically about “true and false religion,” both of which have their origin in our relationship to divine providence — trust in providence leads to true religion, while a lack of trust can lead to false religion. In the first reading, the widow is in a bad state, a very difficult predicament. She has nothing, she is in despair and is going to make one final meal with the little she has, eat it with her son and then die. A very dark picture indeed.
Elijah tells her not to be afraid. “Do what you are planning, but first make me a little cake and bring it to me,” he says, “and then afterwards make something for you and your son.” Put you and your son second, in other words. He then utters a prophetic word: “The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail.”
Remarkably, she trusts what he says; she obeys him, blindly obeys. Now the details of what took place are left out, but the result of her trust is that she was able to eat for a year. And Jesus says much the same thing in Matthew: Do not worry about what you are to eat and drink, what you are to wear, the Lord knows you need these things. Seek first the kingdom of God and all these other things will be provided for you (Mt 6: 25-33).
Now as you well know, that kind of trust is very difficult. Most people’s lives are governed by fear, and the result is they put themselves first. When that happens on a social scale, we are left with a highly individualistic society in which each person looks after himself or herself, and those who cannot manage for whatever reason are left on the margins to fend for themselves. A good and just society is always looking for better ways to care for and support those who find themselves in such a predicament. An unjust society is one that simply accepts this state of affairs such that nothing changes from one generation to the next. There are some countries in the world which, although imperfect in many ways, clearly reject such an individualism that gives rise to certain social problems on a much larger scale, including homelessness, poverty, lack of good medical care, and loneliness.
Gustavo Gutierrez, Dominican priest and father of Liberation theology who died last month, wrote: “The poverty of the poor is not a call to generous relief action, but a demand that we go and build a different social order.” Determining the most effective means to achieve that end is very difficult and requires decades of experience and financial expertise, among many other things, but a just society is always moving towards greater fraternity rooted in a deep sense of solidarity.
Scripture is very clear on what constitutes true religion. In Isaiah, we read:
What do I care for the multitude of your sacrifices? says the Lord. I find no pleasure in your sacrifices. …To bring offerings is useless; incense is an abomination to me. …Your …festivals I detest; they weigh me down. When you spread out your hands, I will close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. …Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow (1: 11-17).
James too speaks of true religion in his letter: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (1: 27).
False religion, on the other hand, neglects the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faith (Mt 23, 23). Jesus addressed this with tremendous vexation; nothing seems to have angered him more than religious hypocrisy, which we read about in this gospel:
“Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation” (Mk 12: 38-40).
Those are fascinating verses, for they address the narcissism of the religious leaders at the time, a narcissism that never seems to go away and which typically involves a preoccupation with vestments, the love of being fawned over, seats of honor, and the pretext of piety, or sanctimony.
Although liturgy is important, in the Parable of the Last Judgment, there is no mention of it, for it is a means to an end. Instead, we will be judged on how we achieved the end, that is, how we chose to relate to the least of our brethren, the hungry, the naked, the imprisoned and the sick. Servant of God Pedro Arrupe, the 28th Superior General of the Jesuits, whose cause for sainthood was announced this past February, wrote: “Today our prime educational objective must be to form men-and-women-for-others; men and women who will live not for themselves but for God and his Christ – for the God-man who lived and died for all the world; men and women who cannot even conceive of love of God which does not include love for the least of their neighbors; men and women completely convinced that love of God which does not issue in justice for others is a farce.”
Image: Bernardo Strozzi – Prophet Elijah and the Widow of Sarepta. Public Domain.
Douglas McManaman was born in Toronto and grew up in Montreal. He studied philosophy at the University of St. Jerome’s College (Waterloo) and theology at the University of Montreal. He is a permanent deacon of the Archdiocese of Toronto and ministers to those with mental illness. He taught Religion, Philosophy and the Theory of Knowledge for 32 years in Southern Ontario, and he is the current chaplain of the Toronto Chapter of the Catholic Teachers Guild. He is a Senior Lecturer at Niagara University and teach Marriage Prep for the Archdiocese of Toronto. His recent books include Why Be Afraid? (Justin Press, 2014) and The Logic of Anger (Justin Press, 2015), and Christ Lives! (Justin Press, 2017), as well as The Morally Beautiful (Amazon.ca), Introduction to Philosophy for Young People (Amazon.ca), Readings in the Theory of Knowledge, Basic Catholicism, and A Treatise on the Four Cardinal Virtues. He has two podcast channels: Podcasts for the Religious, and Podcasts for Young Philosophers. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Ontario, Canada.
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