“For all of them contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had all, she had to live on.” Mark 12:38-44
Many read this passage as being about giving to the Church. The story of the widow’s offering certainly lends itself to that interpretation.
But, Jesus has a way about him when he tells his stories. I think most of the time he asks us to go deeper and beyond the plain meaning of his words.
As an old ballplayer, I heard many times toward the end of the game or event to “put everything in it,” and “to dig deep” in other words to give more than I thought I was capable of giving — to draw from a well I seldom tapped.
Perhaps, Christ when he talks about her giving to the “treasury” ( the common good” ) he is talking about more than money. Perhaps he is calling on each of us to go beyond our abundance and to give all we have for the good of our neighbors.
We all have abundances, different ones, but abundances nonetheless — time, talent, special gifts, etc. But perhaps he is saying our special gifts, those we are called to share also lie in our poverty. If we lack time, we are just too darn busy, it is there we need to give all that we have, for example.
Yes, we all have abundances, but we also all have poverties. Consider giving to others what you feel like you have nothing left to give.
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