November 23, 2009
Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself with the king's food or wine; so he begged the chief chamberlain to spare him this defilement. Give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. Daniel 1:8,12b
He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood." Luke 21:3-4
Piety
“Lilies of the Field” by John Michael Talbot
Consider the ravens.
They do not sow and they do not reap.
Yet God the Father provides for them
And among the earth, these are among the smallest things.
Consider how the lilies grow.
They do not spin and they do not sew.
But I tell you not even Solomon
In all of his the splendor was arrayed like any one of these.
So seek ye first the Kingdom of God
And the wealth of his righteousness.
For wherever your treasure lies,
There will you find your heart.
Do not be concerned for your life or your body:
What to eat, what to wear, what you will do for tomorrow.
Seek out instead his heavenly kingdom
And the rest upon the earth in its own time will come.
Study
Today, like so many other days, the themes in St. Luke’s Gospel expand upon lessons Jesus also earlier in the Gospel. Those lessons which get repeated are doubly or triply hopefully have an even greater chance to cut through the clutter of cacophony surrounding us. Maybe we just might hear Jesus over the sounds of the horns on the Beltway of life.
Daniel and the poor widow put their own life and livelihood on hold just like Jesus was stressing back in chapter 12.
Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan? (Luke 12:25) Daniel was not concerned about his lifespan nor about eating well. He refused the food from the kings own table in order not to break the dietary laws of the Torah. He and his three friends survived very well on water and vegetables.
If God so clothes the grass in the field that grows today and is thrown into the oven tomorrow, will he not much more provide for you, O you of little faith? (Luke 12:28) The poor widow could but some new clothes to keep warm with those two coins she dropped into the temple treasury.
Do not be afraid any longer, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32) The chamberlain was afraid that he would incur the wrath of the King if he did not carry out the orders. However, Daniel persuaded him to test the vegetarian solution so he could allay the fears of possible retribution.
Action
Yesterday, the headline on the cover of Parade magazine asked readers, “What stirs Hugh Grant’s heart?” Need I say who cares?!
What today’s readings are trying to have you uncover is what stirs YOUR OWN heart? We see that Daniel acted out of obedience. We see the poor widow acted out of self-less generosity. What about you?
Does this remind you of any of the talks from your Cursillo weekend? Perhaps the Ideal talk?
As that talk ended, and as the liturgical year ends, reconsider the questions posed after that talk. Have you recently observed the direction in which your thoughts, your free time, your money and your energies go?
What are your thoughts? What do you think about most often?
How do you spend your free time? On what do you spend your money?
What pleases you most in life?
What is your Ideal?
There will you find your heart.
