God Rewards our Perseverance

11-11-2018Weekly ReflectionFather Prince Raja

When the books of Old Testament refer to the poor they often list three categories of people: the stranger, the orphan and the widow (Deut 14:29). The Hebrew Scriptures constantly invite people to be sensitive to the needs of these three types of vulnerable people: the stranger, the orphan and the widow (Ps 94:6; Jer 7:11). In the first reading a prophet offers life to a poor widow and her son. The woman only has to respond in faith and God will take care of her needs. She generously and willingly gave to the prophet what little she had and God blessed her abundantly.

In the New Testament, Jesus invites those who want to follow him to be kind to the poor: "Go and sell what you own and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me" (Mk 10:21). There are two separate incidents in today's Gospel: Christ warns the people to beware of and not to imitate the hypocrisy of the scribes; the widow whose tiny contribution to charity was in fact more generous than the large donations of the rich.

God always rewards those who persevere in their living faith. No one goes by unnoticed. If a person is proud, he will be noticed; if he is humble, he will also be noticed. If a person is humble like the poor widow whose name no one knows, God will notice him and raise him and reward him according to his sacrifice. We are reminded of Mother Teresa visiting a school in Hong Kong. Over her habit she wore an old grey cardigan and on her feet an ageing pair of leather sandals. A couple of weeks later she was back in India receiving the Templeton Award from Queen Elizabeth of England. Photographs showed her shaking hands with the queen and wearing the same cardigan and the same sandals. The queen did not seem to mind or probably even notice. That was the humility of the great saint. The widow, who fed Elijah during the famine, knew the will of God. The poor widow, who gave her last two coins, also knew the will of God. When Jesus sacrificed himself on the Holy Cross for our sins, he knew the will of God. All three, they embraced a spiritual mind and did what was good, acceptable and perfect in the eyes of God.

BACK TO LIST