Word to the Wise
Monday, November 22, 2010 - St. Cecilia, virgin and martyr
[Revelation 14:1-3, 4b-5 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.
Where there is a place of worship there is bound to be a collection basket! The temple in Jerusalem was no exception. Scripture scholars tell us that the receptacles in the temple were large metal affairs that were flared at the top like trumpets. There was no paper money, of course, which meant that donations were made of metal as well and made a fair amount of noise if the donation was a big one. That, in turn, would attract attention! The poor widow, by contrast, deposited two small coins, which would barely make a "clink" in comparison with the CLANK of the larger donations. Jesus calls our attention to the fact that the size of a gift is not necessarily an indication of the generosity of the giver! Her gift was life-threatening! Widows and orphans are the stereotypical victims of poverty in the Bible.
The incident could lead to reflection on the whole "temple system" that would demand such a donation from a poor widow. Or it could lead us, given the context of the last weeks of Jesus life, to reflect on the generosity of Jesus' own gift of his life for us. I think, however, that the widow's testimony is eloquent on its own. She exemplifies all that the Gospel of Luke has emphasized throughout Jesus' ministry - a concern about the corrosive impact of wealth on faith! The widow's generosity recalls that of the widow in Zarephath who gave her last food in the house to Elijah. (Earlier in Luke, at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus refers to this Old Testament widow as a person of faith.) Perhaps we can benefit from the example of the widow in today's gospel by reflecting on what kind of generosity does our faith give birth to in each of us? The widow's donation to the temple may well be a gift to all of us by way of her faith. AMEN
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