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Gospel: Luke 21: 1-4
When Jesus looked up he saw some wealthy people
putting their offerings into the treasury
and he noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins.
He said, “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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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On the surface, none of us is poor like the widow in today’s Gospel.
I imagine her slightly bent over, her grey hair up in a bun, she’s entering the Temple leaning on a cane. Her stomach has a slight growl, her clothes reek of dust.
She makes her way over to the collection bin, smiles, then lets go of two copper coins… literally all she has.
It’s a beautiful act of surrender. If fear were her motivation, then she would’ve either kept both coins for herself, or left one hiding in her pocket. But she gives them both to the Lord.
In her own prophetic way, she foreshadows the poverty of Christ, who during his final night on earth gave his final “two coins” away – his very own Body and Blood.
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It’d be difficult for us to mirror that type of surrender – certainly day by day.
But we’re all poor like the widow in the sense that there’s one thing we lack; one thing no human being ever has enough of – time.
Time passes through our fingers like fine grains of sand. In our youth, it seems like we have forever. Then we look back and realize how quickly time has passed.
During this holiday season, the clock will tick even faster, which is why we’re given the example of this widow in today’s Gospel. In the midst of the holiday business, we must remember the Lord.
In what ways can I offer God “two coins” of my time?
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Perhaps it means spending a few extra moments in prayer; stopping by the church before picking up the kids from school or during the day while out running errands.
Maybe we can share an hour with a neighbor making a phone call, writing a few a cards, taking someone out to lunch, or watching the neighbor’s kids to give another parent a few moments of rest.
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“This poor widow put in more than all the rest,” the Lord says. While the others made a donation form their surplus, she did from her poverty.
May we all dig a little deeper today – and offer someone else our time.
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Image credits: (1) The Widow’s Mite by Howard Lyon (2) St. Ignatius Catholic Community (3) Mayo Clinic Health System