Christ the Cornerstone

The best gifts come from love and personal sacrifice

[Jesus] sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood” (Mk 12:41-44).

The Gospel reading for this weekend (the Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time) includes the familiar story that has come to be known as the widow’s mite because a “mite” was the smallest Roman coin.

Jesus observes people making contributions to the Temple treasury, and he sees a poor widow contributing two small coins worth a few cents. He tells his disciples that this financially insignificant gift is worth more than all the other contributions because it represents “all that she had, her whole livelihood” (Mk 12:44).

The explanation Jesus gives is clear: Gifts that come from substance are always preferable to those that are made from “surplus wealth.” Regardless of the size of the gift, or the social status of the donor, a gift that involves personal sacrifice has greater meaning both for the donor and for the recipient.

The paradox of Christian stewardship is that joy comes from “giving until it hurts.” Just as we believe that authentic happiness comes from taking up our crosses and following Jesus, unless we give everything—from the heart—we will not experience the abundant joy that comes from sharing generously “all that we have.”

Another familiar Gospel passage, the story of the rich young man (Mk 10:17-22), contains this same message but in reverse. We learn that it is not enough just to keep the commandments and live a good life. Christian discipleship demands that we give away everything we have (our whole livelihood) and follow Jesus. Unlike the poor widow, the young man cannot bring himself to let go of all his possessions. So, he walks away sad. His wealth is an impediment to his happiness. The widow’s sacrificial gift, on the other hand, brings her great joy.

How is it possible to “give everything we have”? Most of us have not taken vows of poverty or renounced our worldly goods. We have obligations that require us to earn, save and spend money, and the possessions that most of us have are not exceptional or extravagant. We must live in the world as we find it and work to change the injustices in our economy and society.

The spirituality of Christian stewardship provides a way of “letting go” of material things and living the kind of poverty that Jesus demands of us. A Christian steward acknowledges that he or she is not the owner of the gifts received from a good and gracious God. We are trusted managers or custodians of gifts that belong to God alone, and our stewardship responsibility is to take care of, and share generously, all the spiritual and material resources that God has given us.

The widow in Sunday’s Gospel offered to God her whole livelihood. She did not hold back but surrendered everything out of love.

Our Lord expects no less from us. He asks that we accept our role as generous and responsible stewards of God’s bounty and give back to God with increase everything—all we have and are.

Notice that Jesus does not criticize those who give from their surplus wealth. They, too, are trying to fulfill their obligation to support the works of God, and we can presume that, like the rich man who went away sad, they are sincere in their efforts to live good lives and help others through their generosity. Still, Jesus praises the poor widow and, in so doing, he lets us know that this is the perfection to which we are called as his faithful missionary disciples.

None of us is perfect in the fulfillment of our stewardship responsibilities. We all have much to learn from the stories of the widow’s mite and the rich young man. What Jesus asks of us is that we grow spiritually by learning to let go of whatever holds us back from wholehearted love of God and our neighbor.

During November, which is often called Gratitude Month, let’s ask the Holy Spirit for the grace to be grateful, responsible and generous stewards of all God’s gifts. Let’s pray that we can learn to share generously our time, talents and treasure—our whole livelihood—and, so, follow the way that is Jesus without hesitation or fear. †