Saturday, June 10, 2017 9th Week in Ordinary Time 1st Reading: Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20 Gospel: Mark 12:38-44
As Jesus was teaching, he also said to them, “Beware of those teachers of the Law who enjoy walking around in long robes and being greeted in the marketplace, and who like to occupy reserved seats in the synagogues and the first places at feasts. They even devour the widow’s and the orphan’s goods while making a show of long prayers. How severe a sentence they will receive!”
Jesus sat down opposite the Temple treasury and watched the people dropping money into the treasury box; and many rich people put in large offerings. But a poor widow also came and dropped in two small coins.
Then Jesus called his disciples and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those who gave offerings. For all of them gave from their plenty, but she gave from her poverty and put in everything she had, her very living.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel in the
Assimilated Life
Experience)
For the maintenance of the Temple and for other related expenses, it was not necessary for the poor widow to give up all her coins. Her net worth was a pittance for such purposes since the Temple had many wealthy patrons. Surprisingly, Jesus took special delight in her offering.
Definitely it was not the amount that Jesus considered. Was it the spirit of detachment then? Not even this! It was the widow’s trust in God. When the widow gave up all her money she was left with nothing but trust. She trusted that God could take care better of herself than her money. By divesting herself, the widow was proclaiming how much trust was there in her heart. The power of trust is that it holds God responsible for what happens to us after the divestment.
From today’s Gospel reading we learn two lessons. First: In forgetting ourselves during the act of giving, we bind God to remember us. Since God is not outdone in generosity it is really best that God makes the return each time we give. God will do it in good measure, pressed down and flowing over.
Second: God is not mathematics but relationship. God is love, not numbers. That is why he does not look at the quantity but the quality of our act of giving. If we are to become as perfect as our Heavenly Father, we must examine ourselves if our quality of giving lives up to the standard of God. How many acts of giving do we remember? If we forget because when we gave we never expected anything in return, wow, that’s noble! But if we forget because what we have given away was actually a trash we wanted to dispose, wow that’s detestable!
The widow’s generosity was one that held God responsible for her future. Could we be as generous? –(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM
May comment ka ba sa column ni Father Dan? May tanong ka ba sa kanya?
I-type ang BANDERA REACT
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Bandera. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.