In the words of Christian writer George MacDonald, “God is easy to please, but hard to satisfy.”
I was reminded of this quote when reflecting on the widow in Mk 12:38-44. Jesus watched casually as all the rich worshippers gave large amounts from their surplus wealth. He instantly became excited when the widow dropped in her two coins. He did not want His disciples to miss out on her unique giving:
Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.
What is it about her giving that excited Jesus? In many ways, the widow pleased Jesus because she gave just like He gives.
Firstly, she gave despite her low status in society as a widow. She could not even defend or protect herself from the scribes who frequently “devour the houses of widows.” She gave because she did not focus on her obscure and low standing in the eyes of others in society.
Jesus chose poverty and did not “regard equality to God as something to be grasped” (Phil 2:6). He took on our lowly nature, choosing to be born of a virgin, a son of a carpenter, and living in the obscure city of Nazareth for close to thirty years. He would not even allow people to make Him their king after He had fed them. He was even buried in another person’s grave.
Secondly, she gave despite her bad experiences of the past. Obviously, she had lost her husband and was all alone. Most likely she had also lost her home to the ravenous scribes. Again, she gave because she did not focus on her painful life experiences.
Jesus Himself had painful life experiences. He was born in a manger and had to flee into Egypt because King Herod wanted to kill Him before He even spoke a single word. He was persecuted, opposed, and contradicted in His own country. He was abandoned by His disciples and even betrayed by one of them. His painful experiences did not prevent Him from serving others till His death on the cross.
Thirdly, she gave despite her little resources. Those two coins were all that she had left. She gave because she did not focus on her little resources. On the contrary, her two coins became the means of her self-giving to God.
Jesus Himself chose to become poor that He may enrich us with immeasurable heavenly blessings: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). He gave from His poverty too.
Fourthly, she gave despite the bad examples of greed and wickedness around her. She was not focused on the bad examples of the scribes and religious leaders who were focused on receiving all the time. Their hearts were set on “receiving greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets.” Giving was not on their minds at all.
In His divinity, Jesus saw the full depth of greed and selfishness in the hearts of all. He could see the impure motives and selfishness in the hearts of others despite their outward show. He saw the greed in the heart of Judas and the selfish ambition of the Zebedee brothers. He knew when the scribes were only pretending: “They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.” All these bad examples did not dissuade Him from giving His life for us.
Lastly, she chose to give everything that love demands, and to do so freely from her poverty. She gave from a heart full of love, knowing that she was loved by God and that she could depend on this love to provide for all her needs.
On the cross, Jesus gave everything that love demanded from Him, His very life for us and to the glory of His loving Father. He freely gave everything in love: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord” (Jn 10:18).
It is true that it is near impossible to satisfy Jesus in this life because He always asks for all. He may be calling us to give more of our time to prayer, to serve other people, or to meet their many needs. He may be moving us to give up some attachments that are hindering us from loving Him wholeheartedly. Maybe He is inviting us to bear some suffering out of love for Him or to forgive someone who has hurt us. He may be prompting us to tell the difficult truth and give more faithful witness to Him. Till He asks for and we give Him our last breath in death, Jesus is always inviting us to give all for His sake.
At each moment, though, we can take a practical action to give like He gave. We can do so only if we do not focus on our low standing before others, painful past life experiences, limited resources, and bad and discouraging examples all around us. These things will only prevent us from giving like Jesus. Let us focus only on giving what love demands of us at the present moment.
In addition, when we give like Jesus, we shall experience the generosity of God towards us and know that God indeed gives much more all the time. The widow of Zarephath was reluctant to give a meal to the prophet Elijah as long as she was focused on her condition and resources:
As the Lord, your God, lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil my jug. Just now, I was collecting a couple of sticks to go in and prepare something for myself and my son; when we have eaten it, we shall die.
She gave what she had only when she believed in the words of the prophet: “The jar of flour shall not go empty, nor the jug of oil run dry, until the day when the Lord sends rain upon the earth” (1 Kgs 17:10-16). She, her son, and the prophet had enough food to eat for one year because she offered a single meal when God requested it through the prophet.
In each Eucharist, we have a powerful experience of God giving much more than He asks from us. We offer God our weak, sinful, but beloved selves to Him, and He offers us the very gift of Himself in Holy Communion.
By the grace of each Eucharist, we can please God even now, even if we cannot satisfy Him completely. United to Christ in the Eucharist, we can give like Him and come to know that God indeed gives much more all the time.
Glory to Jesus!!! Honor to Mary!!!
Image from Meisterdrucke
