Deacon Tom Writes,
“ Generosity”
We
encounter two women in our scripture readings today with amazing faith. They
are women whose actions demonstrate their dependence upon God to provide for
all their needs. We know neither of their names. We only know they are widows. Being
a widow was difficult (and still is) in the patriarchal society of the bible. The
loss of a husband meant a life of poverty. Women depended upon acts of charity.
They were the recipients of the good works of others.
Yet,
in the first reading from the Book of Kings, the Prophet Elijah is given
hospitality by a widow and her young son who have only a “handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug”. The widow
and her son are themselves on the edge of destitution and amazingly she teaches
us a powerful lesson in generosity as she willingly makes “a little cake” for the prophet leaving virtually nothing for
herself and her son! Her total dependency on God is rewarded: “the jar of flour did not go empty, nor the
jug of oil run dry”!
In
the Gospel Jesus notices what’s taking place during the collection. “Many rich people put in large sums. A poor
widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents”. Having
touched His compassion, Jesus comments that this woman did not contribute from
her wealth as the others did, “but from
her poverty…she contributed all she had, her whole livelihood”. Extreme
generosity!
These
women teach us about faith, trusting in God, and generosity lessons very
appropriate for us today. Do we give to others from our surplus or from our
need? Are we generous to the point of going without ourselves? These are
difficult questions for us to wrestle with, but ones that are certainly worth setting
aside some quiet time to explore. Time spent honestly answering these questions
may clarify how much we really trust God and if our faith is strong enough to
believe that He will be there in our time of need, when we are “burdened and heavy laden” with whatever it
may be that weighs down our souls.
These
widows we encounter today teach us in a practical way that God cannot be
outdone in generosity. It is a strong faith that knows this. It is a faith that
trusts God completely, in all things,
for all the necessities of the present moment. We might begin this venture by
seeking to become more like these women of faith and pray, “Lord, increase our
faith, our trust in you, and your generosity”.
Enjoy
the day!
Deacon
Tom
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