32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
THE CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP
The core vocation in the Gospel of Mark is the vocation, or call, to discipleship. Today’s Gospel passage provides us with one last example of what the vocation to discipleship means, and one example of what it doesn’t mean. A destitute widow shows us that discipleship means following Jesus’ way of service, even if it requires giving one’s livelihood (or life). The scribes show us by their bad example that discipleship should entail a vocation to extend God’s care to those who are most in need.
In our reading from the book of Kings another widow and her son are close to death. They too give what little they have, but they are rewarded by Elijah with food enough for a year. And the reading from the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that Jesus sacrificed his life “to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him” (Hebrews 9:28).
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