“A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then Jesus called his disciples and said to them, ‘I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are donated to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she from her poverty, has contributed all she had.â€
Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
Jesus praised a widow who made a very small offering. He praised her because it was all she had. Jesus did not judge an offering by its size, but by what it cost the giver.
Mother Teresa told a story how one day a beggar came up to her and said, ‘Mother Teresa, everybody is giving to you for the poor. I also want to give. Today for the whole day, I got only thirty cents. I want to give it to you.’ Mother Teresa went on: ‘It was a big sacrifice for this poor man, who had sat in the sun all day long and received only thirty cents. Thirty cents is a small amount. I can get nothing with it, but as he gave it up and I took it. It became like thousands, because it was given with so much love. God looks, not at the greatness of the work, but at the love with which it is performed.’
The readings today tell similar stories of generosity. Both concern very poor people – two widows. We wonder how someone who was as poor as the widow in the Gospel was able to perform an act of such spontaneous goodness. The practice of generosity was in her heart and in action. It was not achieved by a few great deeds but by a lot of little ones.
When we do a good deed, we may do it to impress others, rather than out of the goodness of our heart. This introduces an element of performance – we are performing for an audience. Or without any attention we may do good deed. In that way what we do and give has a better chance of being anonymous. Our deed is more likely to come from heart and from Christian love.
Brothers and Sisters!
Even though no one else noticed what the widow had done, Jesus noticed it and praised it because the widow in the Gospel story gave her all. Let us pray that God may help us to imitate the faith and generosity of the widow!
He has been generous with us!
Everything we have is a gift from Him!
Therefore let us to be generous with others! Amen.