Daily Mass Readings 11/24/2014 or A Poor Widow Puts in Her Two Cents and Buys Herself a Kingdom

"He said, “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.” Luke 21:3-4

11/24/2014 Memorial of St. Andrew Dung-Lac, Priest, and Companions, Martyrs

Jesus is impressed by the donation of the poor widow, obviously, not for the monetary value, but because of the fact that she sacrificed something so that she could help others. For all she knows the people who were receiving alms were not as bad off as she was, but she gave from her heart to help someone who needed it.

The wealthy were putting in, most likely, more money. But for them it was just extra. They were going to eat just fine that night, they made sure of that. And in other gospel stories Jesus talks about how they would have a horn blown before them, attracting attention as they approached to make their donation.

No doubt, we all know people of both types today. The difference between them comes down to sacrifice. Knowing and trying to emulate Jesus involves sacrifice. As we move through Thanksgiving and head toward Christmas, many of us will be approached to help out charities with different missions and messages. If the only thought you give to the poor is when you're scrambling for write-offs at tax time or when you want to get some good PR for your company to get out of a jam, then you're missing the point of giving to the poor in the first place. Jesus asks us to be like him, to suffer so that others can be saved. Only he was able to do that on a spiritual level, giving up his life so that we could live eternally. To resemble Jesus, the closest that we can come is if we give up some of our "needs" so that others can have their actual, non-sarcastic-quotated, needs met.

I need to re-evaluate some of what I consider needs. Because when I'm going to buy a sub for lunch and it's going to cost me $10, maybe I could give more to the New Hampshire Food Bank and bring a peanut butter sandwich from home. It's a start, right?

God Bless,
P.D.O.