Monday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
The gospel story today tells about the widow giving her livelihood into the treasury at the temple. Jesus singles out her generosity above all the other donations made- even those made from the rich whose gift was much larger. The woman gave to the treasury in her poverty trusting that the money given would be used for the service of God and His people. In the same way I think that God calls each of us to give from our poverty. God calls us to realize how much we need Him, and trusting that when we give Him our livelihood He will use us- our gifts, talents, treasures, and time- to bring His blessings and love to not only us but the world we live in.
Jesus and his disciples are watching people giving money to the treasury at the temple. In reading a commentary on the temple treasury there were 13 different “trumpets” into which people would place their offerings- 9 were offerings due from worshipers for sacrifices and 4 were strictly voluntary. (Alfred Edersheim) Although it is not specifically stated, I am wondering if the widow gave her “livelihood” to the box for voluntary donations. She gives in her poverty trusting that the money donated will be used serve God. She also believes that because of her placing all in God’s hands, He will take care of her and her needs.
I think that God calls us to the same poverty in our giving. The rich giving gifts at the treasury were not being belittled by Jesus, but I wonder if they were not giving to God because of their faith in Him, but perhaps to gain the attention of others regarding their generosity. (So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues Mt 6:2) Jesus wants people to recognize that all that we have is a gift. We should recognize that we are nothing without God, and then be grateful for all that He has done for us. Finally, Jesus invites us as His disciples to give it all back to be used to build His kingdom. This is exactly what Jesus does- He gives Himself completely through His life, passion, and death, and God uses Jesus to bring His glory and love to the world.
Living our lives from this place of poverty takes prayer and practice. If we could start every morning realizing that the day ahead is all a gift from God that would be a great way to begin. If we could then place our thoughts, actions, and words into the hands of God trusting that He will guide us, we would head into the day with a sense of God’s presence. I know that my life gets so crazy during the day, and I wonder if I am truly living in God’s grace. But even in the busyness, I believe that if I begin my day with this petition to God, He will hear me and be with me even if I do not recognize Him. The poorer I become- realizing my great need for Him- the greater will He respond to me with grace and love.
Today as we start this new day, let us be like the widow at the temple- placing all we have into God’s hands and trusting Him to not only care for us, but also to use us to be His love for the world. When we know that all the riches we have are from God and belong to Him, then we can move forward into the world giving from our poverty to live lives of faith.
"Heavenly Father, Your Son Jesus shows us how to give completely from His poverty. Even though He is Your Son, He knows all comes from You, and He returns it all back to You. With the grace of Your Spirit help us to recognize our nothingness, so we can be your instruments. May all that we do share Your love with the world and give you glory and praise. We pray this through Christ, our LORD. Amen"
Marylynn Herchline