Mk. 12: 38-44
Gandhiji founded non-violent means and non-cooperation movements during India’s freedom struggle against British colonial rule to liberate India from the yoke of British slavery. One such movement was the Charkha Sangha (Spinning wheel movement) against British colonial interests in trashing down the cotton industry in India. Once he said: “It is my conviction that with every thread I draw, I am spinning the destiny of India. Without the spinning wheel, there is no salvation for this country of ours.” He propagated this spinning wheel as a tool for reform and lending strength for self-reliance to the country. As part of this movement, he used to organise meetings in different cities and villages of the country to collect funds for Charkha Sangha. Once he reached Orissa, he gave a short talk and exhorted people to offer funds for the Charkha Sangha. After the speech, one lady with faltered clothes, white hair, and shrinking skin tried to reach the stage. She had to literally fight with volunteers to go near him. As soon as she reached close to him, she touched his feet and paid her homage. Then she took a copper coin which was wrapped in the folds of her saree and placed at his feet and left the stage. Gandhi, with great respect, took that coin and kept it safely with him. After a while, the person in charge of the sangha asked Gandhi for the copper coin. He refused to give it. “I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the sangha and yet you won’t trust me with the copper coin,” he said, laughingly. Hearing this, Gandhiji said: “This copper coin is much more than those thousands. If a man has several lakhs and gives away one or two thousand, it doesn’t mean much. The coin was the only thing the lady possessed. She did not even have proper clothes, and it seemed that she couldn’t afford food, but she gave everything she had. It was the greatest offer ever made.”
“The most truly generous people are those who give silently without hope of praise or reward.” (Carol Ryrie Brink)
We have been reflecting on the spirituality that Jesus handed over to his followers for the past few Sundays. Jesus showed us a way of life rooted in the interior disposition rather than in external exhibitionism. In today’s gospel we see two kinds of dispositions with which people worship God. The first category is that of the scribe. The community of Israel was a nomadic community. God united them as a nation by providing them the Ten Commandments and made the Sinai covenant with them: “I will be your God and you will be my people.” Therefore, the law had an important place in the history of Israel. During their Exodus journey, they made the Ark of the Covenant and placed these God-given tablets containing the Ten Commandments in the Ark of the Covenant and carried them along on their journey to the Promised Land. Later, when Solomon constructed the magnificent Jerusalem temple, these tablets were placed in the holy of holies. These factors convey to us the importance of the law in the life of Israel. The scribe was a person who mastered the law. The scribes enjoyed a respectable social standing because of their fidelity to the law. When they pass through the street, people pay their homage by standing up and wishing them well. By honouring them in this way, Israel honoured the law. Thus, the community of scribes was a pride of the nation of Israel.
Anyhow, the scribes of Jesus’ time lived a corrupted life. Those who called for a radical commitment to Yahweh’s commandments and defending their neighbours against unjust exploitation took advantage of the weaker section of society and looted their lives, especially the widows. They appeared to be pious and spiritual externally, but their hearts were far from the compassionate heart of God. They used to say long prayers, but it was merely a verbal exercise, and they never enjoyed an intimate relationship with Yahweh. They demanded respect and homage from the people through their dress code, which was a public parade of their religious superiority. All these factors, alienated them from the ordinary Israelites, who hated them due to their corrupted moral system.
Contrary to this corrupted spirituality of scribes, Jesus presents the spirituality of a widow who deposits two copper coins in the treasury. We need to keep in mind that widows of Jesus’ time had to live a miserable life within the confinement of the social taboos. The widow did not have the legal right to inherit the property of her husband. If she has a son, she can remain with her son, and if she does not have a son, she has to return to her father’s household. Jesus observes her mental dispositions with which she offers her offerings to the Lord. In fact, all she had were just two copper coins. It was an insignificant sum, but she offered the entire sum to the Lord without a second thought. whereas all the others, from their abundance, gave a share to the Lord. Jesus presented this poor widower as a model disciple for each one of us who had absolute trust in God because she offered all that she had to the Lord without worrying about her future. Jesus exhorts us to grow into this disposition of filial love and childlike trust in the Lord, who provides everything for us from His bounty without fail.
The first reading presents us with the story of the widow of Zarephath, who listened to the word of God and experienced God’s providence. She had only a hand full of flour and oil that she wanted to cook bread for her son and wanted to die. In those days of severe famine, the prophet Isiah comes to her life. Isiah tells her to feed him and assures her that she will not run out of oil.She obeyed the prophet and witnessed the miraculous ways of divine providence. She could have very well denied Isaiah’s request because he was a stranger. But she was ready to share the little that she had with the man of God, and in return, God blessed her with his abundance and loving care.
As we reflect on this passage, let us grow into the inner disposition of the poor widow so that we may fully trust in the providence of God and surrender ourselves wholly to him. Let us be aware of our own selfishness that hinders us from being generous with God, who is the source of all blessings and the one who provided everything we have. Let us also share our goodness like the widow of Zarephath so that we may continue to experience the providential care of Abba, especially in our times of need. The greatest and most perfect inner disposition we encounter in the person of Jesus, who offered himself fully as a perfect sacrifice on Calvary so that we, the living temples, might experience life in its fullness.