FAKE TO REAL
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Hahti Ke dhand dikkane ka Kuch, Khane ka kuch”. This is a popular saying in India. It means that an elephant has two sets of teeth:-one for eating and the other for show. Evidently this saying is about hypocrisy. There are people who have two faces. They are not the same on stage as behind the stage. We see hypocrisy in every field. Religion is not an exception. The gospel reading for the 33rd Sunday in the Ordinary Time is an invitation to an authentic life. Jesus does this by condemning the hypocrisy of Pharisees and Scribes and also by praising the genuineness and authenticity of a poor widow’s offering (Mk 12:38-44).
FAKE TO REAL
Jesus praised the offering a poor widow. Her offering was real. It was offering was genuine and authentic because of the following reasons:-
1. IT WAS AN ACT OF REALISM. This woman was a widow. Imagine the plight of a widow in a society where only men were counted. Naturally she had no status at all. To add injury to the insult, she was poor too. In other words, there was no reason to believe that her offering would get attention or receive some social favor. She was an insignificant part of the crowd. She did not have any need to impress anyone.
2. IT WAS AN ACT OF SACRIFICE. She did not posses much in her possession. She had to make a big sacrifice from her part to make that offering. The only motivation behind her offering was her choicest love for God. Her love for God made her needs less important. The sacrifice behind her offering made the offering all the more attractive. Two years ago, I had to go to the hospital for a medical procedure. A gentleman offered to take me to the hospital. He said that he was off on that day. Later I found out that he took a day off to help me. I was so touched by the sincerity of his love. My appreciation towards his gesture of charity goes beyond description. A love that does not know pain is not real love.
3. IT WAS AN ACT OF TRUST. Her offering was total. There was no calculation or gambling on her part. It was a wholehearted act. It resulted out of her trust in the providence and goodness of the Lord.
On the other hand, the spiritual practices of the Pharisees and scribes were mere gambling. Like a chameleon they changed color from situation to situation. They did things that would inflate themselves. They made certain that their names would be displayed in prominent places before they made pledges. They made sure that the spot light would fall on them always. There was giving only when there was publicity. There was neither a spirit of sacrifice nor a sense of trust. They satisfied with the minimum but exaggerated a lot. As Jesus said, “They go around in long robes and accept greetings in the market places, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of owner at banquets.” Jesus rejected them because of their hypocrisy. Jesus’ criticism was so severe that He even said: “If your righteousness does not surpass to that of the Pharisees and scribes you do not enter the kingdom of God” (Mt 5:20).
BOUNCE BACK
Our acts of commitment never go unnoticed. We will be given in the same measure with which we share our blessings. Whatever we give away in charity will come back to us in one form or the other. On a winter evening Peter saw an elderly lady on the street. She had a flat tire. She did not have a spare tire to replace it. Not knowing what to do and where to turn, she tried to get the attention of other travelers. Peter stopped his car, got her flat tire fixed and helped her to continue her journey. She was very appreciative of his help. She offered him some money. Peter gracefully refused it but told her: “If you see someone in need, do not hesitate to help.” Late in the evening, she went to a restaurant for dinner. Before leaving the restaurant, she placed an envelope for the waitress under the napkin. As soon as the waitress reached home she gave the envelope to her husband and said: “Don’t worry how to pay your medical bill tomorrow. God is taking care of us.” He could not control his tears when he opened the envelope. There were a few hundred dollar bills and a note along with the money: “If you see someone in need do not hesitate to help. I learned this lesson from a stranger today. I want to communicate this message to every one.” God will provide the generous giver. The story of the widow who offered hospitality to Elijah also has the same message (1Kings 17:10-16). As Elijah says, “God never make empty the jar of flour and dry the jug of oil of a generous giver.”
NOT QUANTITY BUT QUALITY
God is full in Himself. His existence does not depend on us. Our offerings are not to enrich God but to help us grow in holiness. Therefore if anyone tries to please God by offering much he will become a laughing stock. On the other hand if we offer whatever we have, even if it is ‘five pieces of bread or a jar of water,’ He will transform them in a way that will help us. God is neither interested in calculated half hearted offerings, or leftovers.
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We are living in a world that measures greatness in terms of performance. The inevitable result of such an attitude is: 1.Many people get knocked out from the stage of competition. 2. Some will not compete in fear of possible failure. 3. Good work of ordinary people remains invisible 4. People who are incompetent resort to negative tactics to capture attention.
Jesus wanted to change this world view on greatness. He did so by focusing the spot light on a poor widow. When people from different walks life were competing to get attention by throwing money into the collection box, a poor widow came quietly and offered a couple of coins. She never thought that someone was watching her. To her surprise, Jesus noticed it. Jesus found greatness in her offering as her offering was an act of love. God hails actions performed out of love and hates that which comes from ego.
Human behavior has three components. They are knowledge, action and feeling. It is feeling that binds knowledge and action together. For example: Consider a scenario where you are visiting your employer who is admitted in the hospital after an accident.
The knowledge factor: My employer is in the hospital. I need to visit him and offer my prayers. Normally people do that.
Behavior factor: The actual visit at the hospital.
Feeling factor: Fear or Love that motivates the action.
It is the feeling that translates the knowledge into action and that is really matters. One may visit him to make an impression on him or from the fear of what the employer may think about him if he fails to visit him. In this situation the feeling that connects the knowledge and behavior is fear, or ego satisfaction. On the other hand one person may make a visit to show his real empathy and concern. Only this person really touches his heart. In the gospel story (story of the widow), the motivating factor was her pure love and trust. It in turn made an impact on Jesus.
God is not interested in our generosity towards him. He is interested in our total commitment. Even if our commitment does not look big before the public, if it is full, it never fails to capture the attention of God. There is nothing small in the eyes of God, if it is coming from the heart.
32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Hahti Ke dhand dikkane ka Kuch, Khane ka kuch”. This is a popular saying in India. It means that an elephant has two sets of teeth:-one for eating and the other for show. Evidently this saying is about hypocrisy. There are people who have two faces. They are not the same on stage as behind the stage. We see hypocrisy in every field. Religion is not an exception. The gospel reading for the 33rd Sunday in the Ordinary Time is an invitation to an authentic life. Jesus does this by condemning the hypocrisy of Pharisees and Scribes and also by praising the genuineness and authenticity of a poor widow’s offering (Mk 12:38-44).
FAKE TO REAL
Jesus praised the offering a poor widow. Her offering was real. It was offering was genuine and authentic because of the following reasons:-
1. IT WAS AN ACT OF REALISM. This woman was a widow. Imagine the plight of a widow in a society where only men were counted. Naturally she had no status at all. To add injury to the insult, she was poor too. In other words, there was no reason to believe that her offering would get attention or receive some social favor. She was an insignificant part of the crowd. She did not have any need to impress anyone.
2. IT WAS AN ACT OF SACRIFICE. She did not posses much in her possession. She had to make a big sacrifice from her part to make that offering. The only motivation behind her offering was her choicest love for God. Her love for God made her needs less important. The sacrifice behind her offering made the offering all the more attractive. Two years ago, I had to go to the hospital for a medical procedure. A gentleman offered to take me to the hospital. He said that he was off on that day. Later I found out that he took a day off to help me. I was so touched by the sincerity of his love. My appreciation towards his gesture of charity goes beyond description. A love that does not know pain is not real love.
3. IT WAS AN ACT OF TRUST. Her offering was total. There was no calculation or gambling on her part. It was a wholehearted act. It resulted out of her trust in the providence and goodness of the Lord.
On the other hand, the spiritual practices of the Pharisees and scribes were mere gambling. Like a chameleon they changed color from situation to situation. They did things that would inflate themselves. They made certain that their names would be displayed in prominent places before they made pledges. They made sure that the spot light would fall on them always. There was giving only when there was publicity. There was neither a spirit of sacrifice nor a sense of trust. They satisfied with the minimum but exaggerated a lot. As Jesus said, “They go around in long robes and accept greetings in the market places, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of owner at banquets.” Jesus rejected them because of their hypocrisy. Jesus’ criticism was so severe that He even said: “If your righteousness does not surpass to that of the Pharisees and scribes you do not enter the kingdom of God” (Mt 5:20).
BOUNCE BACK
Our acts of commitment never go unnoticed. We will be given in the same measure with which we share our blessings. Whatever we give away in charity will come back to us in one form or the other. On a winter evening Peter saw an elderly lady on the street. She had a flat tire. She did not have a spare tire to replace it. Not knowing what to do and where to turn, she tried to get the attention of other travelers. Peter stopped his car, got her flat tire fixed and helped her to continue her journey. She was very appreciative of his help. She offered him some money. Peter gracefully refused it but told her: “If you see someone in need, do not hesitate to help.” Late in the evening, she went to a restaurant for dinner. Before leaving the restaurant, she placed an envelope for the waitress under the napkin. As soon as the waitress reached home she gave the envelope to her husband and said: “Don’t worry how to pay your medical bill tomorrow. God is taking care of us.” He could not control his tears when he opened the envelope. There were a few hundred dollar bills and a note along with the money: “If you see someone in need do not hesitate to help. I learned this lesson from a stranger today. I want to communicate this message to every one.” God will provide the generous giver. The story of the widow who offered hospitality to Elijah also has the same message (1Kings 17:10-16). As Elijah says, “God never make empty the jar of flour and dry the jug of oil of a generous giver.”
NOT QUANTITY BUT QUALITY
God is full in Himself. His existence does not depend on us. Our offerings are not to enrich God but to help us grow in holiness. Therefore if anyone tries to please God by offering much he will become a laughing stock. On the other hand if we offer whatever we have, even if it is ‘five pieces of bread or a jar of water,’ He will transform them in a way that will help us. God is neither interested in calculated half hearted offerings, or leftovers.
===========================================================
We are living in a world that measures greatness in terms of performance. The inevitable result of such an attitude is: 1.Many people get knocked out from the stage of competition. 2. Some will not compete in fear of possible failure. 3. Good work of ordinary people remains invisible 4. People who are incompetent resort to negative tactics to capture attention.
Jesus wanted to change this world view on greatness. He did so by focusing the spot light on a poor widow. When people from different walks life were competing to get attention by throwing money into the collection box, a poor widow came quietly and offered a couple of coins. She never thought that someone was watching her. To her surprise, Jesus noticed it. Jesus found greatness in her offering as her offering was an act of love. God hails actions performed out of love and hates that which comes from ego.
Human behavior has three components. They are knowledge, action and feeling. It is feeling that binds knowledge and action together. For example: Consider a scenario where you are visiting your employer who is admitted in the hospital after an accident.
The knowledge factor: My employer is in the hospital. I need to visit him and offer my prayers. Normally people do that.
Behavior factor: The actual visit at the hospital.
Feeling factor: Fear or Love that motivates the action.
It is the feeling that translates the knowledge into action and that is really matters. One may visit him to make an impression on him or from the fear of what the employer may think about him if he fails to visit him. In this situation the feeling that connects the knowledge and behavior is fear, or ego satisfaction. On the other hand one person may make a visit to show his real empathy and concern. Only this person really touches his heart. In the gospel story (story of the widow), the motivating factor was her pure love and trust. It in turn made an impact on Jesus.
God is not interested in our generosity towards him. He is interested in our total commitment. Even if our commitment does not look big before the public, if it is full, it never fails to capture the attention of God. There is nothing small in the eyes of God, if it is coming from the heart.
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