Christ Gives Us All He Has

Dear Friend,

These simple lines conclude Jane Mead’s poem “I Wonder If I’ll Miss the Moss”:

“Whenever the experiment on and of
my life begins to draw to a close
I’ll go back to the place that held me
and be held. It’s O.K. I think
I did what I could. I think
I sang some, I think I held my hand out.”

She wrote them toward the end of her life - cut short by cancer five years ago. As indicated by the title, the context of the poem is the earth. She writes of being close to it, even sleeping outside and encountering a kangaroo rat. There in the last line, with her hand held out, maybe she’s put all she holds dear into words.   

The context of this week’s Gospel is the Temple, and the main character is the widow who puts two coins into the temple treasure. “She’s given all she has,” says Jesus. He also says, “Beware of those who devour the houses of widows.” Ominous words. In the first reading, a widow gathering sticks, convinced she and her son are about to die of famine, encounters Elijah the prophet. His word of trust in God brings them life, a jar of flour that never goes empty and a jug of oil that never runs dry.

The earth provides goodness to share, as a temple to be cherished, a sign of Christ, through whom all things were made. Baptized in Christ – priest and prophet - we can all give thanks for this temple and love the night sky even if we don’t sleep under it. In a world that rewards devourers, we lift up the “fruit of the earth” each Sunday and open our hands to receive it, transformed. Christ gives us all he has.

Gratefully,

Father Dan ofm, Pastor