Nov. 7, 2021: 32nd Sunday B

Nov. 7, 2021: 32nd Sunday B

A couple of days ago, an elderly man entered a thrift store located in North Baton Rouge. The store attendant recognized the elderly man. He lived near the store in a poor area of town, and he and his wife regularly bought their personal clothes from the thrift store. He said he was shopping for some gifts for his grandchildren. When the attendant rang up the toys and games, it came out to $2. As the elderly man pulled cash out of his pocket, he asked the attendant, “Have you had lunch yet?” When the attendant said no, the elderly man pulled an extra $5 bill and said to her, “Here, have lunch on me today.” 

Can you imagine our children being happy with $2 used games and toys? Our grandparents’ and parents’ generation may remember that when they were little, they were happy just playing with boxes and with their imagination. They didn’t need a $500 electronic toy to be happy. 

While $5 may not be much for us, for that elderly man, $5 is a lot of money. What he did for that store attendant reminds us on some level of what the poor widow did with her two coins at the temple treasury. Jesus instructed his disciples to pay attention to what she did, “Truly, I say to you, this widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For they contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty put in everything she had, her whole living.” How can someone in poverty give more than someone who has ample means? Jesus' answer is very simple - love is more precious than gold. The widow gave quietly without fanfare; her gift was for God alone. And what she gave appeared small but in fact was her all, everything she owned. She lived the commandments that Jesus gave to the scribe last week, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The poor widow demonstrated pure charity--done for God by giving her entire self. 

Jesus contrasted the poor widow’s love for God to the scribes’ love of self.  The scribes did everything right in the eyes of men because of vanity. They wore fancy robes to be noticed and honored. Today we also can fall into that trap--whom we know, what we wear, what we drive, the titles and letters behind our names seem to give us self-worth. We are inspired by the trust and love for God in the examples of the widow of the first reading and the widow of the gospel. A starving mother and son fed Elijah even when all they had left was one last meal. A widow in the temple gave all she had, two coins, because she was called to give until it hurts. 

Their example challenges us: In what ways do I give my entire self to God? Do I give my time in prayer for God even when I feel I have so much else to do? Do I pass on the opportunity to do something seemingly small while I wait and wait for an opportunity to do something impressive or grand scale? Am I available for the little, unexpected situations that God places before me every single day? 

We can’t help but compare ourselves to the pure charity of the two widows who demonstrated for us how to give quietly without any thought of being noticed. The store attendant knew that the elderly gentleman’s gesture was a great sacrifice, and she could not refuse his gift to her. God will give us similar opportunities throughout this coming week. Let’s slow down and pay attention; may we never neglect anyone who needs our help. But let us keep our giving quiet, so that our only reward will be found in God for all eternity.

-Fr. Yi