Posted by The WORD in other words (2018) by Fr Vicente Uy SVD – Holy Name University, Bohol
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time – B
We sometimes hear people say, rightly or wrongly, that the poor are more generous than the rich. But are they really? What is your take on this? Our answer will probably depend on where we come from. If we believe that generosity is determined by how much we give, then the rich who usually can give more are therefore more generous than the poor. Agree? This was what the Pharisees and the Scribes thought. That is why Jesus’ statement in our Gospel reading today was, to say the least, a big surprise to them.
Our Gospel reading today has two parts: 1) Warning against the teachers of the Law and 2) The widow’s offering. For this Sunday, let me dwell more on #2, the widow’s offering. Here we read that many rich people came to the Temple and threw in large amounts of money into the temple box as offering while the poor widow just put in two very small copper coins worth only a few cents.
If we go by the quantity or amount of their offerings, then the rich who gave much more than the poor widow can be said, indeed, to be more generous. But if we go by the quality or sincerity of one’s offering, then the poor widow gave more, much more. For, as our Lord himself noted, this poor widow, out of her poverty, put in everything that she had to live on, I repeat, EVERYTHING that she had to live on!
Though the rich gave more to the temple treasury, whose money, by the way, made the upkeep of the Temple possible, let us remember that they gave out of their abundance and, therefore, did not hurt their pockets that much.
From this, we can conclude that generosity which can either be quantitative or qualitative, has two possible interpretations of one and the same act. But as to which is more pleasing to God, Jesus himself has answered it for us. It was the “generosity” of the widow that pleased him more because what she did was a sacrificial and selfless act. What the widow did was something that showed vividly her complete faith and trust in God’s Divine Providence while not minding her own needs.
Today, we need more people who are as generous as the rich man but also more of the likes of the poor widow who are willing to risk all for God and His Kingdom. We need people who are, as someone put it, “loving, living and giving sacrificially and selflessly” for the sake of the Kingdom of God.
Further reflections: “Nobody is so poor that he has nothing to give and nobody so rich that he has nothing to receive” – St. Pope John Paul II
Real generosity carries with it always the sweet smell of sacrifice. Generous behaviour is a light that shines through the darkness.
