Generosity of the poor widow

In times of plenty and security, we rely more on our ability to fend for ourselves. We tend to forget that our existence is totally dependent on God. Only in desperate times do we realize our limitations and our complete reliance on God's providence.

Elijah and Elisha were legendary prophets of the Old Testament. Unlike the 4 Major Prophets and 12 Minor Prophets, Elijah and Elisha did not leave us any writings. However, in the books of Kings, there are collections of their legends which Biblical scholars called "Elijah cycle" and "Elisha cycle" respectively. These legends tell us the greatness of God through the acts of these 2 prophets. However, the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:8-16), like the rest, is not meant to entertain modern ears. Besides the incredibility of the endless supply of flour and oil, the behaviour of the widow was unreasonable. How could a widow mother follow the instruction of a total stranger at the expense of her own life and that of her only son? Perhaps the story could attract ancient audience, but not modern people who may find some of the stories, such as 2 Kings 2:23-24, offensive.

There were many widows in the early Church. Perhaps one of them was the main character in the story of the poor widow in the gospel of Mark. This story cannot be treated as a legend because every detail of the story was very authentic, except one and this exceptional detail was praised by Jesus.
And he called his disciples to him, and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury.
For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, her whole living." (Mark 12:43-44)
Once more, modern people find the story hard to accept. Did the widow have children? Did the widow not care about her own livelihood? How could a sensible person hand over everything she had, her whole living? If she wanted to gamble with God, she would definitely lose!
Depending on which purpose the treasury collection served, the act of donation demonstrated both the love of God and the love of the needy. If the treasury collection helped maintain the Temple and feed the priests, donation was a love of God. If the treasury collection was meant to support the poor, donation was a love of neighbour. Jesus praised the poor widow because by donating all, she was able to love God with all her heart, and with all her soul, and with all her mind and with all her strength. If the treasury collection was meant to support the poor, the widow demonstrated a unreserved love of her neighbour as herself. Without reservation for her own, the poor widow was able to put the two greatest commandments into practice. How did she do it? Perhaps we will never understand because it is rather impossible for us to put ourselves in her position, to see what she saw and to experience what she experienced.

To be sure, her life was harsh. There was no CSSA. If her deceased husband had no brothers, there would be nobody to support her. Perhaps she was receiving relief from the very treasury she contributed. In her difficult life, she understood very well the plights of similar people like her. Other than God, to whom could she turn? So, if we think that it is unreasonable, irrational of her to contribute all, it is because we have not learned to be generous. We don't understand how important generosity is for us! God has always been faithfully generous to us. Without His providence, we are not. Without the incarnation, passion and resurrection of Jesus, our existence is pitiful. Therefore, our generosity is microscopic in front of God.

Dear Lord, generosity is Your blessing. May we make good use of our generosity to serve the needy. Amen.