THE JOY OF GIVING
First Reading: 1 Kings 17: 10 to 16
Second Reading: Hebrews 9: 24 to 28
Gospel Reading: Mark 12: 38 to 44
*First reading is from the first book of Kings. The generosity of a poor widow from Zarephath is narrated. During the stressful famine in the land of Israel, she generously provides food to Prophet Elijah from the little food she has. She has very little food at her disposal for her son and herself. Yet at the request of Elijah, she cooks what little she has and offers it to him. In doing so, she learns a great lesson, namely, that it is in giving that we receive. The Lord God rewards her generosity and she and her household have food till the famine gets over.
*Second reading is from the letter to Hebrews. Jesus the High Priest offers His own blood to save humankind. A perfect distinction between the sacrifices offered by the high priests of the Old Testament and the non-repeatable and perfect self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ is explained. Christ our High Priest offered Himself in sacrifice once and for all and His sacrifice is of infinite value. Moreover, He will appear again to save those who are waiting for Him. Hence, Jesus has taken our sins upon Himself and He opened for us the door of salvation.
The generosity of a poor widow Today's Gospel reading is from St. Mark. Jesus gives us a very specific example of generosity in action. Jesus and His disciples are at the Jerusalem temple. He is sitting near the temple treasury and watching many rich people putting large sums of money into the temple treasury. He observes a poor widow putting two copper coins - of little value - into the treasury. Seeing this, Jesus praises the poor widow and says: "She has put in everything she had, her whole living." This is a great lesson for all of us that we should be generous in all situations. St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once said: "Give until it hurts, until you feel the pain." And Jesus Himself said in Luke 6:38: "Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, running over will be put into your lap." Hence, today's first reading from the first book of Kings and the Gospel passage give us powerful messages regarding the need to be generous to God and to our fellow humans. Generosity does not go unrewarded when it is done out of love and concern. The widow of Zarephath and the poor widow at the Jerusalem temple are great role models of generosity. Both these women could have found many reasons to excuse themselves from sharing the little they had, excuses like: "We don't have anything to spare" or "Let others give who can afford it" and so on. But they refused to resort to these excuses and risked stepping out in faith. As a result, what they actually accomplished was out of all proportion to what it actually cost them. Today Jesus invites everyone of us to be generous givers. In this context Albert Einstein once said: "The value of a man resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving." And Sir Winston Churchill said: "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give." Also St. Paul in his letter to Corinthians says: "God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9: 7). May the Lord Jesus who emptied Himself and generously gave His life for the salvation of humankind bless you and inspire you to be generous in all situations of life. Amen.
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