Raymond - Widow's Mite

32nd Sunday of Ordiary Time

Sent: Tue, November 10, 2009
Subject: Widows Mite

Homily of Fr. Raymond

THE WIDOW’S MITE

Jesus generally uses two types of Oral Teaching to get across his message: first there is the direct teaching - of the Beatitudes – for example, and then there is the more indirect, but more picturesque, method of the parables - short imaginative stories to illustrate a point.

There is however one, perhaps solitary, incident of Jesus teaching where he uses neither of these methods. This incident is the story which we call “The Widow’s Mite”. It’s very uniqueness underlines for us the importance of its teaching. Nowhere else in his public ministry do we hear Jesus holding up the example of any living person, not even of his mother, for the admiration and inspiration of his hearers. This, we must remember, is no parable, no little ‘made-up’ story to illustrate a point. No, this was a real life incident which happened before the very eyes of Jesus and his disciples. It was an incident which must have impressed Jesus so much that he spontaneously turned to his disciples and told them that the gift of this poor widow’s two coins, meant more to God than had all the great offerings which they saw the wealthy putting into the treasury.

If we try to analyse her gift logically it seems to make no sense. “It was all she had to live on”, Jesus tell us. Perhaps he didn’t mean that quite literally. It was the kind natural expression anyone would have made. Anyone, knowing her condition and seeing what she did, could easily have said “But that’s all she has to live on!”

However, whether it was literally true or not, the lesson remains the same. Her extravagantly generous faith and love were highly pleasing to God. It is foolish to look for logic here and argue that she should have had a greater sense of responsibility in the use of her little sum. She knew very well she would have to beg for bread on the morrow!

But the logic of the poor widow was one of faith and love which would argue like this: “What kind of security for my future are my two pennies? Precious little! My security lies only in God! It is into his loving hands that I confide them as I confide my future.