A little boy goes to Mass with his mom and carefully observes as she placed a dollar bill in the collection basket. Leaving Mass, the little boy overhears his mom complaining about the homily and the singing. With the honesty of a child, he interrupts his mom: what did you expect for a buck!
By observing and overhearing the mom in this story, the little boy learns a valuable lesson: many times we expect much but give less!
As people of faith, what do we expect from God? What do we expect from the Church? And, more importantly, what are we willing to give?
In today’s Gospel reading St. Mark continues to teach about the cost of discipleship. This has been a constant theme throughout his Gospel. Notice that just like the little boy observed the words and actions of his mom, Jesus observes carefully the actions of the scribes and the actions of the poor widow. When Jesus contrasts the behavior of the self-important scribes with that of the poor widow he states that she gave more than those who are rich. Without counting the cost, this widow gave her all. This is what disciples are called to do; give their all.
Jesus also teaches about the difference of self worth and importance with humility. Notice how the wealthy and self-important are calling attention to themselves. Not only does the poor widow give her all, she does so with simply humility calling no attention to herself.
Let’s compare the widow in our Gospel reading today to the widow in our 1st reading from the 1st Book of Kings. Concerned about having enough to feed herself and her son, a stranger asks to be fed. Hesitant at first, she trusts, and prepares something for the stranger to eat. And we learn that she was rewarded with food that fed her family for a year. This story depicts the promise of God who will return many times over the generosity of those who give without counting the cost.
These two widows who place their trust in God, who give from their poverty and act with total humility, teach us more about being a disciple than all the so called important people in these same readings. Remember, the widow gave her two small coins. Some have speculated that these coins are less than even the value of a penny we use today. Yet we continue to say her generosity was superior.
We too are asked to give from our poverty; to be generous. What are we called to give that perhaps we hold back? Can we give more time to someone who needs us to listen to them? Can we befriend someone we know has little or no friends? Can we help a family with chores or tasks that may be struggling with illness or unemployment? Can we drop a few more dollars into the poor box? Can we donate more food to our own parish food drive for Thanksgiving or donate time and canned goods to the Covington Food Bank? Can we swing a hammer or sling a paintbrush at a Habitat home?
And yes, can we give more freely, more completely when we pass the basket here at Mass. Do we pay attention to what we give? Do we catch ourselves reducing our first collection contribution when we find out a second collection is coming our way? Remember the widow from our Gospel. She was depositing her two coins in the temple treasury. She made no assumption about where the money goes or no objections about how much she had for herself.
These widows are in many ways an example of Jesus. Without counting the cost, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave. He obediently accepted death, even on a cross. He gave his all. He held nothing back. And of course, we know the rest of the story. God provides, God repays and God blesses generosity.
So as we have been enriched by His Word and will soon be fed at His Eucharistic table, let’s ask ourselves: am I generous? Do I give from my surplus or from my poverty? Can I give all? Am I a disciple? Or am I simple willing to get the most from a buck?
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