Ad Dominum

The theme of this Sunday’s Gospel reading seemingly has two emphases. The first part of the reading says:

In the course of his teaching Jesus said to the crowds, “Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.”

This is one of the Top 100 passages in the Gospels, as far as I’m concerned, because in it Jesus addresses something that really irritates me personally: showy, false piety. Jesus’ message is really quite clear, and no amount of spin can change the essence of what he was saying:

“Watch out for so-called religious leaders who present themselves very smartly and are always first in line to grab the spotlight. They care nothing for the poor, trample anyone who gets in their way, and justify it all with beautiful, public prayers.”

I wouldn’t want to offend anyone by adding much to that; the implications, to me, are abundantly clear.

The second part of this Gospel reading seems nearly unrelated upon first glance:

Jesus sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “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.”

We have all heard this story before. The poor widow gave more even though the dollar amount that she gave was lower than the amount of the contribution of the rich. And it’s true. What we give to God is more than dollars, cents, or an itemized list. What we give to God is in relation to the whole of all that we have.

[Islam means "surrender," so Muslims live a life of complete and total surrender to God, giving all of themselves. Interesting.]

If we are really giving all of ourselves to God, there is no room for false piety or showy words or any of the things that Jesus attributed to the scribes in the first part of the reading. Our place is that of the poor widow, giving the last of ourselves to the one who loves us more than we can imagine.

I’m off to Mass now.

Pax et bonum.