“Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more
than all the other contributors to the treasury.
For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth,
but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had,
her whole livelihood.”
Mark 12:41-44
32nd SUN ORDINARY TIME
There was a jar of candies. A child wanted to eat the candies and so he inserted his hand into the jar. But he was not happy with just one candy. He wanted to take a handful. And so he did. But when he pulled out his hand it got stuck at the jar’s narrow mouth. It was not until he released much of the candies that he was able to get out his hand.
“Avarus semper eget”, wrote the philosopher Horace. The greedy man craves always. The more he gets, the more he wants because he is never satisfied.
Corollary to this the more he gets, the less he gives.
There was a simple fisherman who lived by fishing. Some of his daily catch he would give away. But one day he decided to sell his fish. That day he did not give any fish away. Since then he was earning money from his fish. After some time with the money he had gathered he bought a boat to increase his catch. So he also increased his income. Soon enough he hired a fisherman. He got richer day by day. But by then he already found it hard to give free fish away.
Maybe this explains the observation Jesus made in the temple in today’s gospel. The rich gave so much but in reality he gave so little compared to the amount he kept for himself. The poor widow gave so little but in reality she gave everything she had to live on. Much like the widow at Zarepath who used her remaining flour and oil to bake bread for the hungry prophet Elijah. In spite of the famine that there was that widow and her child never starved because God noticed her generous sacrifice. 1 Kings 17:10-16
God indeed loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7.
Maybe the problem here is every man’s attachment not only to wealth but to everything he possesses. Man needs to detach from his possessions so that he could share some if not give them all away.
We must use what we possess but never be possessed by them. Detachment is the cure everyone needs.
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