The Jar of flour and the Jug of oil
In response to yesterday’s post on the poor widow and the two copper coins, a subscriber, wrote to me suggesting I also speak of the widow in this week’s first reading 1 Kings 17: 10-16. In response to the prophet Elijah request for a morsel of bread, she replied ‘I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug’.
I was struck by the fact that in both narratives, there was a concept of offering two items to God. The two coins of the poor widow and the jar of flour and the jug of oil by the widow of Zarephat. Are there two aspects of ourselves that we are called to offer up to God? What are our two coins and our jar of flour and jug of oil?
Also, we are called to offer up these aspects of ourselves to God before attending to ourselves. The widow of Zarephat was asked to serve the prophet Elijar his morsel of bread before she attended to herself and her son. And the Gospel narrative says the the poor widow gave ‘all she had to live on’. A message that service to God is more important than our very lives and that of our family.
This demands a profound faith that He will sustain us in ways beyond our understanding. These widows become a counter-cultural symbol, defying the world’s notion that our security lies in what we can control and accumulate. Instead, they show us that true security and fulfillment come when we place our trust in God, offering up the precious ‘two items’ trusting that He will not let us go without.
Their faith redefines abundance, revealing that our true treasure lies in our willingness to give all we have to God, knowing He will care for our needs. To behave in this way is not easy. As I reflected in yesterday’s post, it is aspirational. We must journey toward this attitude. It is a beatitude to be ‘poor in spirit’.
To attain this height requires faith, and faith comes through prayer and reflection, that is contemplation. And contemplation leads to an attitude and then action. Probably the two coins are contemplation and action. The two widows must have been women of great faith. They must have spent many hours in prayer, contemplating on God’s love and providence in their lives.
Out of this deep, personal relationship with God, they developed a trust so strong that it enabled them to give all they had. Their small offerings were acts of profound faith and courage, rooted in an unwavering belief that God would provide. Through contemplation, they saw beyond their limited means and embraced an attitude of abundance, leading them to act with generous hearts.
Friend, I remind you that Advent is fast upon us. It is a ‘Season of Hope’ trusting that the Christ Child will come into our lives, bringing talents, treasure and an attitude of abundance. To receive these gifts we must prepare ourselves. This is why I wrote the little book ‘A Season of Hope’ guiding you through a journal to Christmas. You can secure yourself a copy at the following link. A Season of Hope LINK
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Wonderfully said, Andre. I think with prayer and devotion, we all arrive to the place of the widows... even if it is finally on our death bed!!!
Thank you, Deacon. Beautiful rendering.
There’s so much in these two readings.
I think another reading that is related to these two widows is the parable of the vine.
“I am the vine, and you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me, you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” [John 15:4–5]
The branch that is attached or that has been grafted to the vine doesn’t need to worry about its sustenance . The food comes to it through the vine.
I think true awakening happens when we realize that we were attached to the vine to Jesus all along. It’s the attachment to our material possessions or status or everything else that makes us blind to the reality.
The reality is that everything is attached intertwined our life is made up of relationships. The significance of giving up the two coins or the jars is a symbol of giving up on the material aspect of our world . Does it mean literally selling all your properties? Some have done this but I don’t think such drastic actions are necessary.
I think if one truly abides in Jesus and Jesus in him/her 100% of the time then the attachment to worldly matters disappears on its own . You can’t have two masters.