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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In today’s Gospel, we encounter two people who recognize their end is near. That recognition brings them both to the Temple.
One is Jesus.
The Lord first enters the Temple as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, held in Mary’s arms. Some thirty years later, the Lord returns one final time, just days away from his death.
After the explosive drama of turning tables, chasing out moneychangers, and scolding the religious authorities, the Lord’s final image of the Temple is framed by a poor, elderly widow.
She, too, is nearing her end.
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I imagine her walking slowly towards the treasury, dropping her two final two coins in, saying a prayer of thanksgiving, then disappearing into the crowds.
Little does she know that in the twilight of her life, she has accomplished the final two tasks given to her by God.
First, she anonymously consoles the heart of Christ. In so doing, she fulfills her role as prophetess, foreshadowing what the Lord himself will do just a few days later, offering the “two coins” of own Body and Blood for the salvation of the world.
That week, both Jesus and the widow gave everything they had.
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While none of us are as poor as this widow – or as Christ was – there is one thing that God wants from each of us: our time.
Unlike a few coins, which can be given away then earned again, time is a finite resource, and we don’t know how much have. Nor can we give it all to God at once. Time must be administered in daily doses.
A few minutes spent in silence, pondering a page in the bible, listening to a neighbor burdened by life, a prayer before meals.
How do you offer God your time?
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“This widow has given all she had.”
May we emulate her sacrifice to some small degree each day, giving God what was already his, our life.
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Image credits: (1) The Genie Lab (2) Church of Jesus Christ.org (3) Grace Ministry Mangalore
Pilate said to Jesus, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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Who are the three people whose names are most frequently spoken at Mass?
Certainly Jesus, then Mary.
Who might be the third?
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Not Joseph. Perhaps not even Peter or Paul.
But Pontius Pilate.
Catholics say his name every Sunday while reciting the creed.
“I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ… For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried.”
We include Pilate’s name to emphasize that this wasa real historical event. It happened. It matters.
But who, exactly, was Pilate?
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He was the government official put directly in charge of maintaining Roman rule in Judea. Thus, when he speaks to Jesus in today’s Gospel, he speaks with the authority of the most powerful empire the world had ever known.
Pilate reminds Christ of this as the Lord stands trial before him, saying, “Do you not know that I have power to release you and power to crucify you?”
Yet the Lord never asks to be released. His sole concern throughout this sham trial is Pilate’s soul. Even in this horribly heated environment when the stakes couldn’t be higher, Jesus attempts, “to seek and to save what was lost.”
This will be the final encounter the Lord has with a human being before being sent off for execution. His final act is to turn the tables on Pilate, putting him on trial, causing Pilate to make a decision.
Like all of us, Pilate must decide for himself, “Who is this man? Is he a king? Is he my King?”
This is undeniably a day of judgment.
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Pilate’s decision is neither easy nor immediate, revealing just how torn he is. If he were not intrigued by Jesus, then he would’ve sent him off immediately for execution to quell the bloodthirsty crowds.
Yet he staves them off for a time, oscillating between his honest questions, his search for Truth, his fear of an uprising, and his desire to stay in power.
His indecision is magnified by the fact that he rushes between Jesus and the crowds seven different times. In the process, he asks Jesus more questions than anyone else in the Gospels.
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If Pilate comes to faith, then his first lesson in discipleship will be one of the hardest. As the Lord taught openly during his public ministry, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me.”
A cross for Pilate that would include rejecting the crowds’ demand for blood, saving an innocent man, and dealing with the consequences of a city on the verge of a riot, which very well may cost him his job, even his life.
Stuck in the prison of indecision, Pilate tries to compromise by having Jesus scourged, then offering to release either him or Barabbas in honor of the impending Jewish celebration of Passover.
Interestingly, Barabbas in Hebrew means, “son of the father.”
John uses this tension between Christ – the Son of God the Father – and Barabbas to highlight the stark difference between these two men. One is God, the other is a violent revolutionary.
And who does the crowd choose? Barabbas.
Throughout history, humankind has chosen the way of Barabbas, the way of brute force and violence, instead of the way of love.
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So, what might this high-stake encounter between Pilate, the crowds, and Christ say to us today?
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Faith always comes at a cost.
Although Pilate declares before the crowds, “I find this man to be innocent,” he buckles under pressure, having Christ crucified anyway – and releasing a violent man, Barabbas, back into society in the process.
At times, we, too, experience this pressure to buckle under the weight of the world, instead of making faith-based decisions.
Whether that includes honesty at home or at work, moral decisions when we think no one is watching, or speaking out against the crowds, making an unpopular, but right, decision.
For every believer, faith comes at a cost.
What are some of the pressures we face? Or when has it been difficult to choose Jesus over someone or something else?
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Every Sunday we profess that Jesus Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate, not only to say his death matters; it also has consequences for our lives today.
May all of our actions this week reflect our faith in Jesus Christ, not only King of the Universe, by our King.
My King.
My Lord and my God!
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Image credits: (1) Miles Christi (2) iStock (3) The Oneness of God in Christ
I, John, heard a voice from heaven speak to me. Then the voice spoke to me and said: “Go, take the scroll that lies open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” So I went up to the angel and told him to give me the small scroll. He said to me, “Take and swallow it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.” I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and swallowed it. In my mouth it was like sweet honey, but when I had eaten it, my stomach turned sour. Then someone said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”
The Word of the Lord.
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All week we’ve been reading through the Book of Revelation, which deals with the end times, divine judgment, the return of Christ, his triumphant defeat over Satan, and the glory of heaven.
At this point in the Book, John has seen the glory of God. Now he’s asked to take a scroll and eat it. Notice it isn’t forced upon him; he must choose to accept it.
“Take and swallow it,” the heavenly voice says. “It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.”
What is this scroll John is asked to eat? And what might it mean for us?
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The scroll contains the Word of God, which is never forced upon us. Rather, we’re invited to take it, to savor it, and to digest it until it becomes part of who we are.
To one with faith, this Word tastes as sweet as honey, because it reveals the Truth.
However, it can also leave a sour feeling in our stomach because of what that Word demands – a change in priorities, an end to vice, and a conversion of heart.
If anyone is to enjoy the vision of God, which John was privileged to see, then we must be willing to suffer first, turning our priorities upside down, right side up, putting God first at every moment in our lives.
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For example, generous living is a sweet idea… but Christians are called to give until it hurts.
Honesty is a virtue we all value… but try being honest after getting caught in a lie.
Purity of heart is the most admirable of traits… but keeping the darkness of temptation at bay is never easy.
We adore Christ for laying down his life to save us… but he reminds us, “You are my friends if you do what I command you.” We, too, must lay down our lives for others.
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As we approach this holy season of Advent, may we develop a tolerance for the sour, trusting, in time, it all becomes sweet.
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Image credits: (1) Draw for God (2) Devoted to You (3) iBelieve.com
