Readings
I - I Kings 17: 10-16
II - Heb. 9: 24-28
II - Mk. 12: 38-44
GIVE AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU
Generosity and Sacrifice is the crux of all three readings today. In the first reading, the widow from Zarephath, famine stricken place, was ready to sacrifice their last portion of morsel that was left behind with Prophet Elijah. In the second reading, God so loved the world that he sent His own son to redeem the humankind (Jn. 3:16) from sin and slavery; and Jesus, the High Priest offered himself as a sacrifice once and for all for the ransom of many (1 Tim. 2:6). And the Gospel passage is about the widow’s mite who offered everything she had, all she had to live one (Mk. 12: 44). God never wishes to owe anything for all that is done in His name. The jar of meal was not emptied and the jug of oil never failed and this was the reward to the Zarephath women for her generosity and sacrifice. The generous sacrifice of himself on the cross by the Son of God is rewarded with the salvation of humankind restoring their dignity as children of God. The appreciation of Jesus is the highest reward to the poor widow’s generosity who offered two copper coins.
Jesus says, “Give and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be given to you” (Lk. 6: 38). Our God is a generous God. Whatever given in generosity will be rewarded in hundredfold by God. Let us be generous in sharing our time, talent, skill, energy and money with others with a cheerful heart for God loves a cheerful giver. May our mind and heart resonate with the prayer: “Lord Jesus, help me to be generous”.
