Article #5 - Fourth Series - May 15th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

[Pompeii]

One Thing, Jesus Christ - Article #5 - Fourth Series - May 15th, 2023 by Fr. Ben Daghir

Editor's Note: Fr. Ben Daghir preached this homily at St. Bernardine Parish in West Baltimore. He was a transitional deacon and was assigned to this parish while studying at St. Mary's Seminary & University. The homily was preached on November 7, 2021 during the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time. The scripture readings were 1 Kings 17:10-16, Psalm 146:7-10, Hebrews 9:24-28, and The Gospel of Mark 12:38-44. 

Article:
Friends,

Today’s Gospel of the widow placing her whole livelihood [just two small coins] into the treasury reflects a powerful reality of Christ – Jesus is poor.

Like the widow with two coins, Jesus is poor – very poor.

In fact, I would like for this poor widow’s remarkable witness to remind us of Christ’s poverty.  

Think back to the Incarnation in which God became human. He entered into our humanity not in the measure like that of Caesar with fine housing, servants waiting on him hand and foot, the finest foods, and the luxury and protection which wealth brings. 

No, quite the contrary, God entered into our world precisely through being a poor, vulnerable baby. He entered into our world through the Virgin Mary and the care of St. Joseph. Remember, the Holy Family could not find room in the inn. In other words, the Holy Family was homeless and vulnerable during Jesus’ birth.  

God entered into our world in the setting of a manger while being surrounded by the stench, the mud, and the filth of animals. This is not the royal carpet one would expect to find rolled out for the welcoming of the King of the universe. 

Immediately, the newborn Jesus was threatened by King Herod who desired to kill him. Jesus was completely vulnerable. He also became a migrant with the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph as they escaped and fled from King Herod’s wrath into the desert toward Egypt. 

Like the widow with two coins, Jesus is poor – very poor. 

In the Gospel of Luke, we hear Jesus [now as an adult] say to someone who wanted to follow him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head” (Luke 9:58). He was homeless as a child, and now homeless as an adult. 

Like the widow with two coins, Jesus is poor – very poor. 

Fast forward now to the Crucifixion, it’s here on the Cross where Jesus Christ has no power, no wealth, no honor, and no pleasure. 

God entered the world as a poor, vulnerable baby and he died as a poor, vulnerable man. 

We see that God’s preferred option for entering into our human condition is precisely through being poor. This is God’s preferred option: an option for the poor by being poor himself. 

Like the widow with two coins, Jesus is poor – very poor. 

With this perspective of Christ’s poverty in mind, let’s now return to today’s Gospel of the poor widow who placed just two small coins into the treasury. 

Jesus calls His disciples to himself to teach them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury.” 

But how? How did the poor widow put in more than the wealthy?

Jesus then adds, “For they [the wealthy contributors] have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”

Jesus is teaching His Apostles, through this poor widow, what a true offering to God really is. A true offering to God is one in which we give everything, our whole being. 

A true offering is not simply pinching bills out of our wallet but rather it consists in the giving of our time, treasure, and talents. A true offering is giving back to God what He has given to us in the first place: our gift of life, our creativity, our talents, our schedules, our dreams and hopes, our relationships, and much more. 

Remember the Gospel passage from last weekend? I think the face of last week’s Gospel passage is imprinted on the widow’s two coins. 

Last week we heard these words, “One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, ‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’ Jesus said, ‘The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’”

This first and greatest commandment demands our whole being. In other words, the first and greatest commandment demands all of our coins. Whether that be two thousand coins, or just two small coins…the demand is everything, our whole being. 

Jesus is pulling His disciples over to see this poor widow because her poverty and her willingness to give of her whole being reflect the core mission of Jesus Christ.  

Might I suggest that Jesus Christ sees himself in this poor widow?

Think of the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, when Jesus says, 

“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

The poor widow is also hungry, thirsty, a stranger to many, naked in her poverty, ill in her vulnerability, and imprisoned in her social status. Yes, the poor widow reflects Jesus Christ. 

Might I suggest that Christ on the cross also gave His final two coins just like the poor widow?

Jesus’ two coins were His body and His spirit. Let me explain.

During the Last Supper, we read in the Gospel of Mark that “while they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’ Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.’”

“This is my body. This is my blood.” Christ hands over His first coin.

Now, on the cross after several hours of being beaten and scourged, the Gospel of Luke tells us “It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land….Jesus then cried out in a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commend my spirit’ and when he had said this he breathed his last…”

Christ hands over His second and last coin, His spirit. 

Like the poor widow, Christ gives from His poverty, he contributes all he has, His whole livelihood. 

Like the demands of the first and greatest commandment that we heard in last week’s Gospel, Jesus loves the Father with all His heart, with all His soul, with all His mind, and with all His strength.

Like the poor widow – he gives everything.

In fact, Christ’s poverty has much to teach us about Catholic Social Teaching. Today’s Catholic Social Teaching theme is “Preferential Option for the Poor.” 

The preferential option for the Poor is to enter into the mind of Christ; to hear, to see, and to love as he does. 

Notice in today’s Gospel, Jesus sees the poor widow not only in her poverty but also in her very personhood. Jesus is teaching His Apostles in today’s Gospel to hear as he hears, to see as he sees, and to love as he loves. 

The preferential option for the poor is also to serve Christ where He is (which is in the poor, the sick, and especially those on the peripheries of society). This teaching is built upon Jesus’ clear statement in the Gospel of Matthew, "As you did it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40).” 

The Church serves Christ, where He is, no matter how weak, sick, poor, or abandoned He may be. The preferential option for the poor does not look for profit but rather for a person, the person of Jesus Christ in the lives of the poor. 

So, where else in Scripture can we find the preferential option for the poor?

The Old Testament is filled with God’s love for the poor:

We read in the Book of Exodus, “You shall not oppress the poor or vulnerable.  God will hear their cry.” (Exodus 22:20-26)

In the Book of Job we hear that, “The Lord hears the cry of the poor.”

Psalm 82 states, “Do justice for the weak and the orphan, defend the afflicted and the needy. Rescue the weak and the poor; set them free from the hand of the wicked.”

The prophet Isaiah states that “True worship is to work for justice and care for the poor and the oppressed.”

And, of course, the New Testament is filled with love for the poor. Just think of the Good Samaritan story or the Gospel of Luke when Jesus opened the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth and read, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.”

You know, there is a prayer that we recite here at St. Bernardine Parish that I have come to really appreciate and ponder.

Every Mass we pray the “Prayer of St. Francis.” One of the last lines of this prayer strikes at the heart of today’s Gospel message. 

Here’s the line, “For it’s in giving that we receive.

“For it’s in giving that we receive.”

Let’s take a moment and think about these words in light of what we’ve just heard about the poor widow and Jesus Christ. 

Not only is the poor widow poor, but she is also rich. “For it’s in giving that we receive.”

Not only is Jesus Christ one who is poor, but He is also rich. "For it’s in giving that we receive.”

Here, I am reminded of one of my favorite quotations. St. John Chrysostom, a great 4th century bishop, had a deep love for the poor. He once stated, “If you cannot find Christ in the beggar at the Church door, you will not find Him in the chalice.”

Again, it’s in giving that we receive. 

The preferential option for the poor is not a hindrance, it’s not a waste of time, it’s not a waste of money, and it’s not a waste of resources. 

Rather, the preferential option for the poor is the mind of Christ at work, it is His eyes seeing people for who they really are, it’s His hands reaching out, and it’s the Church fully alive. 

Jesus Christ summoned His disciples to look closely at the widow with just two coins. Mind you, Christ surrounded by His Apostles is the Church and today’s Gospel shows us that it’s clearly a Church which is willing to learn from the poor. 

Like the widow with two coins, Jesus is poor – very poor.

May our preferred option always be Jesus Christ...in all His poverty. 
========================

Fr. Ben Daghir is a priest for the Diocese of Erie. He is a graduate of Elk County Catholic High School in Saint Marys, Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, and St. Mary's Seminary & University in Baltimore, Maryland. He considers writing one of his favorite hobbies.