Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
(I Kings 17:7-16;
Matthew 5:13-16)
A Dominican priest in
Pakistan had a large Muslim following.
The people considered him a holy man of God. They would wait for him after mass outside
church. There he would bless them. The blessing evidently brought cures and
other graces. The widow of Zarephath
looks at Elijah as those Muslims did to that Dominican in Pakistan.
The widow is not a
daughter of Israel. She tells Elijah,
“’As the Lord, your God, lives...”
She must recognize the power of God, or she would not invoke an oath in
His name. She also acknowledges the
authority of God’s prophet when she obeys his commands.
The woman is saved by her
faith in God even though that faith is undeveloped. We do well to imitate it along with her
generosity. We want to do all that God has
commanded through Moses and, especially, Jesus.
In today’s gospel Jesus tells his disciples to be salt and light. He is telling us to lift people’s spirits with
works motivated by love.
