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Commentary on the Gospel for Sunday, November 10, 2024.
«He threw in everything he had to live on.»
Dearly beloved, peace and goodness.
The Bible is no ordinary history book. It tells us stories like the one we heard today, the first and the last. The protagonists are two widows. This may help us to reconcile ourselves a little with our truth. None of us will enter the history written according to the normal canons of historians. We are not personalities of our world. But if we are of the same wood as these two widows, our personal history, the history of any community, does not go unnoticed in the eyes of God. On the contrary.
And today the texts also show us a law, not of nature, but of God’s relationship with humanity. Give and it will be given to you,» said Jesus. In other words, give and God will give to you. The story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath illustrates Jesus’ maxim. This widow was a pagan who did not worship the God of Israel, but only knew Him as «the God of Elijah. Yet she behaved like a true Israelite, practicing the law of hospitality. Without knowing it, she belonged to the «humble and poor who trust in the name of the Lord» (Zeph 3:12); she was able to embody the ideal of the pious believer who is proclaimed «blessed» in the Psalms: «Blessed is the one who takes refuge in the Lord… Those who respect him will lack nothing… The rich will become poor and hungry; those who seek the Lord will not lack for anything» (Ps 34:9-11).
Today’s Gospel is a pedagogy of the gaze. Jesus invites us to see things differently, not as everyone else sees them. In the first lines we see a criticism of the vanity and ostentation of the scribes, people who liked to be given special attention, even excessive attention. For the common people, the way to worship God was to «worship» them. That was as far as things had gone. The long robes distinguished them from the rest of the mortals. That was how they identified themselves.
Jesus criticizes this desire to stand out, to attract attention. Not only that, but instead of protecting the most disadvantaged – the widows – they dedicated themselves to exploiting them, taking advantage of them, and leaving them with nothing. On the pretext of long prayers… Because of them, many people would surely turn away from the faith, tired and ruined. An abuse on the one hand and a pity on the other.
Then, in the episode of the widow, a fact that is often irrelevant at first sight, Jesus teaches us to see the full meaning that it carries. It is a gesture of radical detachment and radical abandonment into the hands of God. It is an example for everyone. Especially for those of us who do not fully trust God.
Why is the widow’s gesture important? It is true that many rich people, in absolute terms, put in much more than this poor widow; but Jesus emphasizes that they put in what was left over. On the other hand, the widow gave all she had. Yes, to the temple treasury and to the common eye, this was a negligible gift. It would not have been missed even if the widow had kept it in her lap.
But to Jesus’ more penetrating gaze, the woman’s gesture was admirable. And he pointed it out to the disciples. This is the way God judges, who looks deep inside and is not deceived by appearances. The God who takes into account even the glass of water given to one of the little ones because he is a disciple of Jesus.
When our High Priest appears again, he will come to take those who have been redeemed by his sacrifice. This death on the cross has freed us from all guilt if we agree to follow the Master and live as He taught us. What is expected is that we can respond as God deserves.
When we talk about how to enter the kingdom of God, we have a model to follow in this passage. This widow got in for only two pence. Others enter by offering a cup of fresh water (Mt 10:42). The price to be paid is simple: the kingdom of God is worth everything you have, no matter how little or how much.
None of our lives is insignificant in the sight of God. They are all precious, extremely precious. We have a vocation of generous love that God knows how to measure like no one else. Let us respond to the vocation we have received.
Your brother in faith,