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1 Kings 17:10-16 Psalm 146 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44
Today two widows provide an example of complete trust in God's providence and generosity of spirit in the face of poverty. In the first reading Elijah the prophet comes to an area affected by severe drought. Hungry and thirsty, he asks a woman at the gate of the town to bring him water and bread. Although the woman is extremely poor with only enough food to make a small meal for herself and her son she listens to the prophetic word of God and provides Elijah with a small cake. Scripture says that God's promise that there would be enough grain and oil to last until the rains came was fulfilled.
In the gospel reading Jesus points to a widow to show his disciples the meaning of generosity. This woman did not merely give to the Temple treasury what she could afford as the rich did. She gave all that she had to live on.
The obvious question for us this week is to ask ourselves how generous we are. Do I merely give from the abundance of what I have or do I give my all? Most of us keep back something for our security. Perhaps we don't have the same trust as the widow of Zarephath. Pray the psalm this week and place yourself into God's hands so that you can give that little bit more.