November 10, 2024
Brothers & Sisters in Christ,
Jesus invites his disciples to observe the people making contributions: “this poor widow contributed more than all the others who donated to the treasury. They gave from their surplus wealth, but she gave from her poverty, all that she had, her whole livelihood.”
What Jesus is essentially saying here is that God is less interested in the amount we offer each week and is more interested in what is going on in our hearts when we give. Are we giving from our surplus wealth or are we giving out of a sense of mission. Is charity built into our budgeting at the beginning of the week or is charity an afterthought at the end of the week?
It is also important to point out a common misunderstanding people make with this reading and readings like it, that Jesus somehow hated the rich. This couldn’t be farther from the truth. He loves us all and died for us all. Jesus did not shun the rich. Many of the people he called into his company were in fact wealthy, sometimes very wealthy like Matthew. He ate dinner in the houses of tax collectors. Many of the women that accompanied Jesus were wealthy, including the woman who anointed Jesus with costly perfume. Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy. It was Joseph’s tomb that Jesus was buried in. So, to be clear, Jesus doesn’t have a problem with people who are rich, per se. He does have a problem with people who are not charitable. The widow was praised in our Gospel reading today because, although she gave a couple of coins equaling maybe a penny, she was proportionately sacrificing a lot more than the wealthy people that day and therefore Jesus takes notice and wants us to take notice too.
I think a useful example could be this: for the thirty years I have been able to vote, I have participated in every election except for 1996 when I was studying abroad in Germany. Consider that our young servicemen and women stationed around the world, have only participated in one or two elections. However, these soldiers have sacrificed more for our country than I will in a lifetime. That is how I feel anyway. As we celebrate Veterans Day, in the spirit of the Gospel, are we doing our part to make our local community and our country better? Again, the question isn’t about equal gift, but about equal sacrifice given our own unique situations.
Back to the Gospel teaching about stewardship: Jesus is less interested in how we budget 10% of our time, talent and treasure. He is more interested in how we budget the other 90%. Everything we have, including the air in our lungs is a gift from God. We are owed nothing in this life. God has given us everything. It doesn’t matter what our tax bracket is or what our jobs are. Jesus is less interested in the exact amount we give of our time, talent and treasure, and is more interested that we at least consider, and dare I say plan, what we can do given our unique circumstances. That is why stewardship of our time, talent and treasure is a unique and prayerful decision on the part of every one of us.
Our invitation this weekend is to prayerfully sit with the Gospel reading we have listened to and take notice of how God sees us when we give charitably. Are we planning our gifts, or are we simply giving out of our surplus? This is also an opportunity to audit in our hearts all the stuff we spend money on and ask ourselves the question: what do I own and what owns me? It is also a good time to consider how diversified my giving is. Giving to the parish is important to keep the lights on and to fund the ministries, but also consider St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Relief Services, Catholic Community Services, our local food banks, so that we are doing our part to help women and men like the widow in our Gospel reading make ends meet. Finally, one word of advice, do not budget your giving from a place of guilt. Giving from a sense of joy and gratitude is better. Helping to make our local community and global community a better place is a cause for joy. Jesus gave everything for us and for our salvation because in his mind we are worth it. Will we live our faith generously, because He is worth it?
Peace,
Fr. Steve