GENEROSITY IN POVERTY IS THE GREATEST GIFT TO GOD AND OTHERS

The beauty of life is that we can practice generosity in poverty. That is, we give and share out of the little we have in life. We cannot wait until we have an abundance before we can share it with others.  One thing is certain about sharing generously with others out of our limited sources the God of providence never lets us lack anything. He replenished all our giving with abundant blessings, favours and graces.

The spirit of generosity implies the willingness to sacrifice for the well-being of others. It means giving up something dear to us for the glory of God and the betterment of others. As King David once said, I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). This is the spirit of generosity. Our act of giving should entail sacrificing all. 

We should not be generous in material things but also in words, actions and even thoughts. That is, what makes the Christian life a transformational spiritual lifestyle that influences our conduct.

Above all, generosity in poverty is an act of trust and confidence in God.  A trusting soul in the infinite blessings and providence of God that will wholeheartedly sacrifice all he has to live on.

OUR THEME

This Sunday’s readings challenge us to assess our trust and confidence in God and his words or promises. They also invite us to be generous with God and others without counting the cost or sacrifice we make.

This Sunday’s readings invite us to live a humble and simple life and challenge us to trust God especially, amid lack.

The scriptural readings affirm the poor, who trust in God and are generous in serving others lovingly and sacrificially.

The fact is that without trusting in God, we cannot give to others from the heart. Generosity comes with trusting God’s superabundance for us. Our vulnerability or lack should not make us stingy or selfish in sharing our resources, time, talents or selves with others.

The readings may present two poor widows who gave to a prophet and God. However, our Christian charity and generosity should not be only towards our pastors or churches. They should include helping the poor, needy, and less privileged people.

FIRST READING: 1 KINGS 17:10-16

The widow of Zarephath in a Phoenician city shares the last of her food with Prophet Elijah, a needy old man first and second a man of God. Eventually, a ripple effect of abundance and plenty sustained her cruse of oil and barrel of meal which never ran dry.

The providence of God always puts on our part the divine assistance of God.  When we depend on Him and trust in his blessings. There are conditions for the intervention of God in our lives.

A providential or timed intervention of God over hopeless situations is our mark of proof of the existence of God Israel. God’s divine assistance manifests itself when everything seems hopeless and impossible. The widow of Zarephath was on the verge of running out of food. All hope was looming dark yet she seemed to trust help will come.

Divine providence brought Prophet Elijah on her way. It was no coincidence that the weary and hungry prophet came along her path. God’s providence comes to us through his divine plan.

Even though the widow expressed her frustration and hopelessness over her current situation, Elijah had a positive spirit and was optimistic about God’s providence and intervention. He assured the widow to trust God even when everything seemed contrary.

FAITH AND TRUST IN GOD

Faith and trust in God are not only in beautiful expressions of prayers or songs. They are in concrete action of putting beliefs, expression of prayers and songs in action. The widow of Zarephath trusted and believed in the Word of God spoken through Elijah. She went and did as the prophet had instructed her.

Miraculously, the jar of meal and the jug of oil never ran out or went dry. The faith and generosity of the widow to a needy prophet of God. Even her poverty did pave the way for the superabundance of God over her and her household.

We need to trust in God, especially in times of lack. However, we need to be generous even amid our lack. As such, we will experience God’s infinite blessings and abundance.

PSALM 146

Today, the Psalm invites us to praise the Lord with our mind, heart, spirit, and soul. The psalmist gives many reasons why we should praise God and be grateful to the Lord.

The Lord is faithful to his word protecting the oppressed and captives. He is the just God who provides for the needy, the sick and strangers.

He is a provident God who sees the care of the fatherless and the widows. His blessings last forever to all for all generations.

SECOND READING: HEBREWS 9:24-28

The theme of Christ, our High Priest of faith, continues in today’s second reading.  The author of Hebrews affirms some fundamental truths about Christ’s priesthood. 

First, he reminds us of the generosity of Christ’s priestly sacrifice. This salvific work of Christ purifies not only the earth but also the heaven. Therefore, Christ’s salvation is a kind of cosmic redemption that purifies the whole universe, seen and unseen.

Second, Christ did enter a man-made Holy Place. He entered into God’s presence to offer pure and holy sacrifice. We are challenged to see Christianity not in terms of Church membership but in the light of intimate fellowship with God.

Third, Christ entered into the presence of God not only for his own sake but for ours. It was to open the way for us and plead our cause. Here, we see the mystery of the sacrifice of Christ as a priest who offered the sacrifice for sins. And the victim who is being offered for sins.

Fourth, Christ’s sacrifice is one perfect sacrifice offered once and for all opening the way to God and the door of salvation forever. Truthfully, we were sinners and always will be, but that does not mean that Christ must go on offering himself again and again.

The road of mercy, grace, love and salvation is open once and for all. Our worship and liturgical celebrations of the sacraments are only re-enactments or memorials: an act of thanksgiving for what Christ has done for us.

Finally, the writer of the letter to the Hebrews draws a parallel between the life of Christ and the man. First, when a man dies, then comes judgment. There are four main things sure to come at the end of any man’s life: death, judgment, hell or heaven. With Christ, it is different. He dies, rises to life and comes again not to be judged but to be judged.

The image painted here is that the early Christian Church never forgot the hope of the Second Coming. Christ’s first coming was one of generosity, grace and mercy. However, his second coming is one of justice and accountability for the life we have lived.

THE GOSPEL: MARK 12:38-44

Today’s gospel began with Christ’s warning to his disciples and followers. He wanted them to be careful of the lifestyle of the religious authorities, especially the scribes. The question is, why?  

It is because Jesus notices the narcissistic character of these religious authorities of his time. For them, life and religion are about personal aggrandizement and exploitation of others.  Religious practices are all about a lifestyle devoid of the well-being of others under their care. Christ brought a series of charges against the scribes. And all the religious authorities of the Jewish religion of his time.

CHARGES OF JESUS AGAINST RELIGIOUS AUTHORITIES

(a) They liked to walk about in flowing robes. A long robe that swept the ground was a sign of nobility or special prominence. It was the type of robe that drew attention to themselves instead of God.

(b) They liked greetings in the marketplace. The scribes loved to be greeted with honour and respect. They loved titles like Rabbi, which means My Great One.

(c) They liked the front seats in the synagogue. In Jewish synagogues, in front of the ark, where the sacred volumes were kept and facing the congregation: there was a bench where the special distinguished people sat. It had the advantage that no one who sat there could be missed, being in full view of the admiring congregation.

 (d). They liked the highest places at feasts. At feasts, precedence was strictly fixed. The first place was that on the right hand of the host. The second that on the left of the host, and so on.

(e) The scribes and religious authorities devoured widows with their pretences to be there for them. Meanwhile, they rob or exploit them skilfully. This is a savage charge. The Jewish historian Josephus, a Pharisee, says of certain times of intrigue in Jewish history.

The Pharisees valued themselves highly on their exact skill in the law of their fathers and made men believe that they (the Pharisees) were highly favoured by God. Hence, they inveigled certain women, especially the widows into, their schemes and plots.

(f) The scribes and Pharisees were notorious for long prayers. They were offered in such a place and in such a way that no one could fail to see how pious they were who said the prayers. It has been said that the prayers were not so much offered to God as offered to men.

LESSONS FOR THE PASSAGE ON THE LIFESTYLE OF THE SCRIBES

Jesus warned his disciples and us against the desire for prominence. For Christ, offices or positions in the Christian Church are not for fame but for selfless service to God and his people.

The offices in the Christian Church are not only, a privilege to serve God but a call to the responsibility of service to men.

It also warns against the desire for deference. We live in a world where almost everyone likes to be treated with honour and respect. The basic fact of Christianity is that it is a spirituality of self-effacing rather than self-seeking.

Furthermore, it warns against the attempt to make a traffic of religion. Where religious leaders channel people to themselves rather than to God. It is quite evident today that many religious authorities used religion for self-gain and self-advancement. This is a warning to all who come to the church for what they can get out of it and not for what they can put into it.

GENEROSITY IN POVERTY  

The second part of today’s gospel treats rare issues of offering or donating to God. Parallel to the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, who showed generosity to a man of God. In the case of the gospel, the poor widow shows her generosity to God and his house.

In the Holy Temple and synagogues, there are many collecting boxes for different contributions from individuals for sacrifices and expenses of temple or synagogue.

Jesus noticed the generous contribution of the poor widow. In other words, Jesus praises the poor widow’s risky generosity. She gave up all she had to live on without giving to worries and care. It was thoughtful of Christ Jesus to recognize and appreciate the poor widow’s generosity. More so, amidst the bountiful giving of the haves.

 The poor widow with a generous and sacrificial spirit gave all she had…trusting God’s providence. God, in the Person of Christ Jesus, took note of her overwhelming generosity. There will be shallows of abundance for her too.

THE LESSONS FOR THE MITE OF THE WIDOW

The spirit of generosity is a total sacrifice of giving without reservation! A genuine giving must be sacrificial.

The quantity of the gift never matters, so much as its cost to the giver. It is not the size of our giving that matters but the spirit of sacrifice behind the gift. Real generosity gives until it hurts.

A genuine way of giving has a certain recklessness in it. The woman might have kept one coin. It would not have been much, but it would have been something. Yet the poor widow gave everything she had. 

 It is a strange and lovely thing that the person whom the New Testament and Jesus handed down to history as a pattern or model of generosity was a person who gave a gift of half a farthing.

Most often, we may feel that we have not done much. The best way of showing gratitude is to give God our material or personal gifts to give to God and others.

Hence, we could put ourselves and all that we have and are, at the disposal of God.  There are many things God can do with our disposition and self-generosity beyond our imaginings.

SHAME AND TRAGEDY OF CHRISTIANS AND CHURCHES TODAY

The symbolic truth in the gospel story about the poor widow and her giving of all to God. It is our tragedy that there is often some part of our lives, some part of our activities, some part of ourselves which we do not give to Christ.

Today, it is a sign of moral decadence and gross insensitivity that many of our churches coaxed gifts, offerings and tithes from the people without consideration if they had or not.

It is a failure of our Christianity that those who give out the abundance of what they have are considered generous to those who practically give all they have to live on. Sadly enough, many will not give to God at all or others unless they are in the eyes of the camera or social media. 

They give out in charity only when they get something back in the way of praise, recognition, title, or goods. The greatest tragedy is that very few of us read this story without shame.

The ways funds are raised today from the poor or less privileged in the Christian Church are far from godliness.

Or even the way the generosity of the rich is trumpeted and given preferential attention or treatment. At the expense of the poor in the church today is also shameful.

We can be poor and needy and still be generous to God and others. The biblical stories of today invite us to examine the quality of giving. This is not just in our lives and in the church’s collections. Equally, how sensitive are we to a worthy cause that attracts our attention and sympathy?

FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS

Do you trust in the providence of God to care for you in desperate times of lack and crisis?

How generous are you to God and others amidst your lack or poverty?

Are you trying to bribe God with your tithe and seed sowing?

 Do you offer sacrifices to God from the bountiful of what you have?

Or do you give up all for God and others, even the little you have trusting God’s providence to replenish your generosity?

Does your act of giving to God and others cause you any sacrifice at all?

How generous are you, in your thoughts, words, actions, time, or things with God and your needy brothers and sisters?

Can we as a church, pastor, priest, or Christian recognize and praise the widow’s mite among us today?

 LESSON FOR US

1. We do not need to have in abundance before we can share with the needy.
2. God is interested in the heart’s intention of the giver. 
3. Trust in God’s providence is the gateway to giving generously.
4. You do not need to sow a seed or give a tithe before your prayer can be heard.
5. Show-off offerings or giving from abundance may not be true or sincere giving without ulterior motives.

OUR PRAYER

Lord, Jesus Christ, what a sense of worries, anxieties and insecurities we allow to engulf us amidst our accumulations and possessions. Help us to realize that when we depend wholly on your divine providence. Like the two widows …the jars of life necessities would not go empty, and the jug of divine abundance never runs dry. This is because there are more blessings in giving, and God loves a CHEERFUL GIVER. Amen.