June 8, 2010
Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
By Beth DeCristofaro
(The widow) answered, “As the LORD, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug. Just now I was collecting a couple of sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid. … For the LORD, the God of Israel, says, ‘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.’” She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and Elijah and her son as well… (1 Kings 17:12-14)
Jesus said to his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. (Matthew 5:13)
Piety
I raise my eyes toward the mountains. From where will my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.
God will not allow your foot to slip; your guardian does not sleep.
Truly, the guardian of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade at your righthand.
By day the sun cannot harm you, nor the moon by night.
The LORD will guard you from all evil, will always guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and going both now and forever.
Psalm 121
Study
Have you ever felt empty? Used up? Unable to add “seasoning” or respond to or contribute to anything around you? I’ve had those moments when work becomes too demanding, family responsibilities mount up and I feel that just one more thing is going to tip me over to tears or misery or the screaming meemies! Or perhaps to seek the life of a hermit. I must say that in this state, Jesus’ words that salt which has lost its flavor is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot is by no means comforting. But as a woman of faith, and a pretty darn good cook as well, I know that it takes an awful long time and a lot of neglect to make salt lose its flavor.
Jesus doesn’t leave us with salt trampled underfoot nor does God leave the widow and her son to starve. Jesus gives us the image of the city on a hill brightly lit and serving as a beacon. Elijah tells the woman to share what little she has and experience the bounty of God. And she does. God works through our acquiescence to fill us and through us fill the world. And we are invited again and again to put ourselves before God in order to refill. The LORD will guard your coming and going both now and forever. We may then offer our God-filled selves to the rest of God’s world. God’s abounding generosity is fed through our piety, particularly the Eucharist, through our study (for example SOL) and is then echoed and reinforced through our action, our charity.
Action
We are called to be a city on a hill, shining so that the glory of God is made known. To whom can you be a city on a hill today?
If you are feeling used up, flavorless, can you allow someone to be a light in your darkness? Try to attend an extra Mass this week or spend time in adoration at the tabernacle.
Consider refilling your jug and relighting your beacon at School Of Leaders this Saturday, June 12, 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady Queen of Peace, Arlington, VA. See http://arlingtoncursillo.org/ for more information.
