Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 8, 2009 - Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
[1 Kings 17:10-16; Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44]For the Lord, the God of Israel, says, "The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth." She left and did as Elijah had said. She was able to eat for a year, and he and her son as well; the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, as the Lord had foretold through Elijah. (1 Kings) A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, [Jesus] said to them, "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." (Mark)
In the biblical Middle East, "widows and orphans" were considered the poorest and most vulnerable persons in a society. They were not just economically poor, they were without family or spouse to take care of them. In a collective society, that meant physical and social as well as economic destitution. The widows in the scriptures for today represent individuals who have little in the way of material wealth but much in the way of faith. Scripture scholars tell us that the widow in the gospel provides Jesus with a wry comment on what was going to happen to himself soon. He would give all he has for a greater cause. The widow in the Old Testament is mentioned by Jesus in his speech at Nazareth as the one privileged to receive God's prophet because of her faith and generosity (unlike his hometown folks who rejected him). Poverty is not glamorous. The vast majority of the people on our planet live in poverty, even by the reduced economic standards of their own societies. When students from the campus ministries I have served go on "mission trips" they come back humbled and sobered by the barely subsistence levels of survival of the people they meet, and even more humbled by the generosity of those people who share what little they have with these well-fed and clothed Americans! The expression, "Give till it hurts!" comes to mind but for the "widows and orphans" of the world, it ALWAYS hurts. The "clink, clink" of the poor widow's donation is much louder than the "clank, clank" of surplus wealth because it represents more than money. Her life is on the line! AMEN
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