Optional Memorial of Saint Columban, abbot

Lectionary: 503

“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.”

 

In the hospital ministry I often meet former Catholics and Christians who tell a sad story of disappointment with the Church. They might have been introduced to religious practice as children and accepted without question our standard beliefs, rituals, practices, and moral teachings. As adolescents exposed to a wider world of differing values, they began to question and doubt their training. They saw that good deeds are not always rewarded, and bad deeds are not always punished. They also learned that some Catholics do not demonstrate the values they professed. 

Many were scandalized by the divorce of their parents; and some were traumatized by their own divorce. That spiritual plague cast a pall over all their relationships; it seemed that no one could be trusted. Given the additional abuses of tobacco, alcohol, and other substances plus the demands of an uncaring, competitive society, their faith – which was never deeply rooted – withered and died.

I think of that story when I hear today’s gospel of the widow’s mite. Did she not see the fat cats with their fine clothes, arrogant manners, and snobbish companions? Did she not hear the crowds applauding these blessed betters for their munificence? Did she not feel the worthlessness of her two small copper coins compared to their embroidered sacks of gold and silver coins?

I think she did. But she was compelled to give thanks to God. She had no need to suppose she was superior to others; she knew her worth in God’s sight. She certainly did not see the stranger from Galilee admiring her simplicity. She was not looking for admiration or sympath. Rather, she loved the Lord and would not quench the spirit which compelled her to surrender “her whole livelihood.”

It is that spirit which every Christian must find in their own heart. God’s spirit separates us from the herd and drives us into the Lord’s corral, freeing us from the foolishness around us. We're not watching to imitate what others do; we're watching to imitate what God does for us. If the Church welcomes the whole world into its embrace, you can be sure a lot of people will bring their nonsense with them. That will never be an excuse for my failing to worship God. 

Although Saints Mark and Luke give us no name for the woman -- and we might wish they had that we could canonize her! – she knew her name in God’s presence, even as she knew the Name that none dare speak. Knowing God and known to God, the Christian supports God’s temple, the Church, with time, talent, and treasure.  When we ponder the sacrifice of the Father’s only Begotten Son, we can do no less.