Nothing Compares

“I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God.” Romans 8:18-19

It’s November, and the weather is changing. As we enter the last weeks of the church year, there is also a noticeable change in the daily readings. They have taken on a more somber tone. There are more references to the Second Coming of Christ, the end of time and final judgement. I first noticed it one Sunday in mid-November when the Old Testament and Gospel readings focused on two impoverished widows who lived 900 years apart but faced a similar plight.

In 1 Kings 17:10-16, the prophet Elijah asks a poor widow for a drink and something to eat. Her reply is heartbreaking: “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 few sticks, to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.”

In the Gospel Reading from Mark 12: 38-44, Jesus observes a woman who drops “two small coins, worth a few cents” into the temple treasury. He says to His disciples, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

In between these two stories of desperate poverty and sacrificial giving was a Reading which comes from the Letter to the Hebrews and speaks of the return of Jesus Christ. The last line says that Jesus will come “to bring salvation to those who eagerly await him” (Hebrews 9:28). That’s how St. Paul describes hope in Romans 8:19, as waiting in “eager expectation.” Just as little kids eagerly await Christmas, Christians ought to eagerly await the Second Coming of Jesus.

I had to give that some thought. When Scripture describes His return at the end of time, the images are often so vivid and powerful that they’re scary. I wondered what disposition of heart and mind allows someone to look forward to the end of time with “eager expectation.” Is it the same disposition that causes someone to share her last “handful of flour” with a stranger or to put her last “few cents” in the collection basket?

The Psalm that Sunday was right on. It says that we can hope because He is faithful.

Happy is he…whose hope is in the Lord his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith for ever.” (Ps 146:5-7)

It boils down to knowing God, placing all our hope in Him, and trusting with our whole heart that He is faithful, that He keeps His promises. It’s all about HOPE and TRUST.

That day, we sang a song that I have known for a long time but had never heard at Mass before: “Shout to the Lord” by Darlene Zschech. As the song comes to an end, the last line is repeated a couple times for dramatic effect. But on this particular Sunday, that big finish was there to make sure I was paying attention, because I really needed to hear those words.

The last line of the chorus is: “Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.”

Hope and trust…Nothing compares!

Thanks be to God!