Sunday Gospel Reflection (Nov 10, 2024)

Mark 12:38-44

While this Gospel passage is supposed to tie in more directly with the first reading and the offering of the widow to the prophet Elijah, I want to tie it in to the second reading from Hebrews as well. On the surface, the widow is us and Elijah is fulfilled in Christ as the one we offer ourselves to and he blesses us abundantly. Similarly, the poor widow who offers everything is a model for us and we are, like she is, praised by Jesus for our generosity. These moral interpretations of the Gospel are certainly valid, but I believe that they are both based upon a Christological reading that informs them more deeply. 

A Complete Offering

The second reading, Hebrews 9:24-28, reflects upon Jesus as the great high priest who enters into the sanctuary not made by human hands but the heavenly Temple of God’s presence in order to offer himself. It is from this offering that all of God’s grace flows. I would argue that this passage informs both the first reading and the Gospels on a deeper level than simply “give until it hurts,” which, admittedly is difficult in practice and purifying to our souls when done out of love. 

A Christological Widow

A Church Father who is eager to see symbolism everywhere might consider the two Items of the widow in the first reading, flour and oil, and the two coins of the widow from the Gospel to represent the two natures of Christ, human and divine, which are being offered in the Temple, see the Hebrews reference above. The fact that these two items and coins are everything the respective widows have reflects the complete self-emptying of Christ. This first emptying happens with his divinity as Philippians 2:6 popularly indicates. The second is with his humanity at his crucifixion. 

Participation in the Offering

This is why Christ could confidently enter the heavenly temple as priest and offering, because everything was being offered. This made the offering of Jesus a perfect reflection of the self-gift of God. When the perfect love of God is perfectly reflected back, there is perfect shared love the processes from them in the Holy Spirit. This is the miraculous grace the widow from the first reading receives, it is the divine approval that the widow from the second receives as well, and ultimately it is the sanctifying grace that is offered to us through the sacraments and intimate relationship with Christ. 

This is the kingdom of heaven with which the poor in spirit are blessed.