In our readings this week, we have two very good teachers
presented to us, and they are not Elijah the Prophet and Jesus of Nazareth
(though both are excellent teachers) but rather we can look to the two widows
that they encountered from which to learn a valuable lesson.
In our first reading, we hear of the Prophet Elijah arriving
at Zarephath. This city was in the far northern region of the Northern Kingdom,
where the peoples had turned to paganism, worshipping primarily the god Baal.
Therefore, Elijah, a prophet of the God of Israel would not have been overly
welcomed into that region. This was especially so since Elijah was the reason
that whole area was suffering from a great draught. Nevertheless, this widow,
who would have understood Elijah as her enemy, provides him with the water and
food that he requests, even though she and her son are planning to die of
starvation and dehydration. In response to her humility and trust in God, she,
Elijah and her son were able to eat and drink for whole year!
Our second widow appears in the gospel passage we read from
Mark. During the Temple renovation project, there were set up six large trumpet
shaped collection containers, each earmarked for a different part of the
project. The great amounts of money deposited by the wealthiest of the Jews
would have certainly made quite a bit of noise as it was poured into the metal
pots and therefore would have drawn a great bit of attention. On the other
hand, the widow’s two small coins would have been fairly unhelpful in the grand
scheme of the project due to their miniscule value. However, it is her
contribution that Jesus praises. What was it about this woman that pleased him
so?
Well, first of all, one must consider the plight of a widow
in ancient Israel. Women did not work, they were supported by their male
relatives, primarily their husband and sons. So, if a woman’s husband died, she
had no property that she owned, no source of income, no status in society at
all. Unless a son or close male relative took her under his roof, she was
destined to die in poverty.
This widow is indeed poor, however, she still gives TWO
coins, she certainly could have kept one for herself, but she gives it all to
God, trusting that the Lord would provide for her needs, as we heard in Psalm
146: The fatherless and the widow he
sustains… This woman truly trusted in the care of God for his beloved
children and therefore truly sacrificed by her gift.
The point that these two poor women teach us, is that it is
not the size of the gift we offer to God that matters, but rather the interior
motivation for the giving of the gift. Do we make donations and so others may
see our name on a plaque, or do we give out of love for others and out of love
and gratitude to God?
Throughout the course of our campaign we have received some
large gifts, which is important because without large donations we cannot reach
our goal, however, we have received many other smaller, though no less valuable
gifts. Our motivation as good stewards is to offer not equal gifts but rather
equal sacrifice in regard to those gifts. When I was in the seminary, during
the seasons of Advent and Lent we would collect money for our sister seminary
in the Philippines. Our rector always told us: don’t worry if you can only give a small amount, as long as it hurts a
little, then you know it is truly a sacrifice.
When the widows we heard about today gave, it certainly hurt.
However, they trusted in the care and protection of God. We too must trust in
the care of God. We read in Scripture that “he who loses his life will save
it.” Therefore, we can’t let the worries and struggles of this life keep us from
the fulfillment and joy of the next life. I leave you with these words of St.
Gregory of Nazianzen:
Give something, however small, to
the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it
small to God, if we have given what we could [out of love].
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