Jesus and the poor widow
Luke 21:1-4. November 21, 2022 - Monday, 34th Week
Widows together with orphans and foreigners fall under the category of the most vulnerable people in biblical society. The people, and leaders, in particular, should be careful not to abuse them. “If you do [mistreat them] and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry” (Ex 22:22), says God in Exodus. There are two memorable stories in the Old Testament about how God through the prophets Elijah and Elisha provided for two poor widows. In the first story, God miraculously provided food for a widow and her son and later brought back to life her son through the prayer of Elijah (see 1 Kings 17:8-24). In the second story, God multiplies a jar of oil in the house of a widow through the word of Elisha. After selling the oil, the widow could pay off her debts and support herself and her two sons (see 2 Kings 4:1-4).
There are a few widows mentioned in the Gospels. There was Anna who “never left the temple but worshipped night and day, fasting and praying” (Luke 2:37), the widow from Nain who lost her only son (Luke 7:12), the persistent widow from one of Jesus’ parables (Luke 18:3), the Greek-speaking Jewish widows who “were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food” (Acts 6:1) in the Church in Jerusalem, and many widows in the Church in Ephesus (located in present Turkey) that nearly exhausted the funds of the community. Finally, one more widow needs to be mentioned, the one who stood at the foot of the cross and saw her only Son being crucified for the salvation of the world.
The story of the widow in today’s Gospel highlights the theme of “True Generosity”. With her two coins, the widow put into that treasury her entire life. In this way, she prepares us for the passion story, when Jesus will offer his entire life on the cross for the salvation of the world. But, at the same time, her presence and action are a criticism of temple authorities. The temple had special funds allocated for widows and orphans. Why then, did they not come to help that poor widow? Was it another example that the temple from a house of prayer turned into a den of robbers?
That today most of the governments in the world provide for widows is the consequence of Jesus’ attentiveness to that poor widow and the practical conclusion that Christ’s disciples drew from Jesus’ comment: “she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:4). By making widows part of the story of salvation and supporting them the Church has made a difference in their lives and changed the world.