25 November 2019 - all she had

Today's Readings

(Audio)

He said, "I tell you truly,
this poor widow put in more than all the rest;

How attached are we to our time and treasure? Don't we often come up against the sense that if we give too much there will be none left for ourselves? We are typically willing to give from our excess to the degree that feels comfortable. But there are times when God calls us to give out of our poverty. These are specific times. It is not the case that he calls us to utterly sacrifice prudence. We have families to provide for and responsibilities to meet. A call to surrender everything is a specific and valid vocation, but not one that to which most of us are called. But what of the times when God asks us to step beyond our comfort zones? What of the times when he asks us to give of ourselves beyond what we believe we can manage?

she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood.

We need to be able to trust in God when he calls us to give. We need to believe that he can provide for us even when it seems like we ourselves would come up short.

But Daniel was resolved not to defile himself
with the king's food or wine;

Daniel was able to avoid defilement because he trusted, not in a vegetarian diet, but in God who would give him strength. This allowed him to avoid becoming increasingly captive to the king's power or dependent on his whims.

He acceded to this request, and tested them for ten days;
after ten days they looked healthier and better fed
than any of the young men who ate from the royal table.

The gifts we are able to share are not ultimately from ourselves. We have a certain comfort level with giving and a certain familiarity with it that allows us to believe that we are acting out of our own strength and that it might be dangerous to do more. But if we take instead an attitude of thanksgiving for the gifts we even now have to share we will see that God is calling us to do still more, not of ourselves, but depending on him.

To these four young men God gave knowledge and proficiency
in all literature and science,
and to Daniel the understanding of all visions and dreams.

Our two small coins are simply the agreement of our minds and hearts with the will of God for us. Even these things are given to us as gifts and the freedom to offer them back is similarly given rather than something we possess. So let us give them. Let us do even small things with the great love and trust in God. No matter to what we are called we will see that there is nothing to fear.

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;