Word to the Wise
Monday, November 26, 2007 - Thirty-fourth Monday in Ordinary Time
[Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20 and Luke 21:1-4]I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.
Widows were considered to be among the most vulnerable persons in the society of Jesus' time. The widow in this incident has made herself even more vulnerable by giving all that she had as a tax to the temple. Some scripture scholars believe Jesus is making not only a remark about the generosity of the widow but also alluding to what was going to happen to him soon, since this incident occurs late in the gospel. Jesus would make himself vulnerable and give all that he had for others. Economic security is one of the highest values in our society. Commercial after commercial on TV touts the benefits of various financial services. Of course, these commercials presume people who already have some economic security - where to put that surplus wealth? Can any of us imagine generosity that puts us at economic risk? Would we not consider such persons to be very imprudent? Would we walk over to the widow and give her back her two coins and thus rob her of her gesture so that we would not feel guilty about her status? How much do we need to feel "comfortable?" The questions can go on and on! Scripture scholars tell us that the collection containers in the temple were shaped like large metal horns with a wide mouth. Throwing a large donation in would attract attention because of the noise it would make - a large CLANG, CLANG! What captured Jesus' attention was the barely audible "clink, clink" of the widow's "mite!" Perhaps we should listen closely ourselves. AMEN
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