Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

In the Gospel passage for this Sunday’s Mass, Jesus gives a clear warning against the very human tendency of seeking our own glory. In other words, parading around to be noticed or praised, looking for the best places to sit and going after the finest in any and every thing, is not the way of the follower of Christ. It is a human enough tendency to look out for number one, and in fact our culture extols this approach as normal and laudable, but it is not the way of Jesus Christ. The concern of the follower of Jesus is the opposite of all self-seeking, vanity and pride.

Jesus extols the example of a widow, poor and ignored, who in fact has the right perspective on life by placing all her hope in God. Even the little she has, she is willing to forfeit, for the good of unknown others. In this sense, she is anything but poor. She is actually rich, but in virtue, by forgetting her own needs and preferring the good of others.

In the first reading of Mass for this Sunday, we hear about another widow, equally attuned to helping others, and who is a blessing to the prophet Elijah, who in turns blesses her in the name of the Lord. Elijah is able to provide her with what she really needs, God’s blessing. God rewards the generosity of the widow of Zarephath, who in dying to self and who lives for God alone. We are presented with two fine examples in the Gospel this Sunday that speak more expressively than many words can, about the meaning of placing our hope in God. It is done without fear of losing out or concern with what it is going the cost in terms of time and investment of energy.

The widow at Jerusalem put into the collection box at the temple a couple of copper coins, hardly worth mentioning its value. In comparison with others, her giving was minute. But she is praised, for she gave from her want, not her surplus wealth. In that sense she gave much more, though on a completely different level, for her giving was the expression of sacrifice, an act of generosity, of her very self and that which was dear to her. The widow of Zarephath and the widow in Jerusalem are set before us as examples of giving without counting the cost. The little they may have been able to give, some water and a little bread or two small coins, are of immense value in God’s eyes. God bless you.