1 Kings 17:10-16/ Hebrews 9:24-28/ Mark 12:38-44
We have an attitude when it comes to how we look at our possessions and our wealth.
When no one wants to borrow or take our things, we do not worry much about it.
But the moment someone wants to borrow something from us, or when we are asked to share something with others, or even to give it away, then something strange happens.
Suddenly our things become very precious to us and we hold on to it with both our hands and maybe even with all our strength!
For example, for those of us who have a car, just how do we feel if someone wants to borrow our car?
Somehow we instantly become very possessive of our car, and for someone to borrow it and use it, it's like taking a part of our flesh away.
In fact, this attitude can be seen in little children too. Just ask a child to share his toys with other children and he will immediately grab his toys with both hands and he would guard it with his life.
It is strange to see how important our things seemed to us even though they are not critical for our survival.
And it seems even more important when someone wants to borrow it and use it.
If things seem so important to us, then what about things that are critical for our survival, like for example, food?
In the 1st reading, we heard about the prophet Elijah asking for food and water from a widow.
We must remember it was a time of famine, there was a severe food shortage because there was a severe drought for 7 years. So there was no rain, no crops and no food.
As for the widow, she was going to prepare the last meagre meal for herself and her son and after that there will be nothing left to eat. They will just wait to die of hunger.
Yet when Elijah asked for food, that widow, despite her desperate hopeless situation, shared the last of what she had to eat.
For her generosity in that kind of extreme situation, she was rewarded with the miracle of a jar of meal and a jar of oil that would allow her and her son to survive the famine.
Yes, miracles happen in extreme circumstances, but only when people are willing to make the sacrifice.
In the gospel, we heard of yet another widow who gave all she had to God; just two small coins, two small coins of the smallest denomination.
Jesus acknowledged her generosity, saying that from the little she had , she gave it all, even what she had to live on.
We do not know what happened to that poor widow as the gospel made no further mention of her.
But what do we think? Will God bless her for her generosity? Will God provide for her needs now that she has nothing left?
We might be thinking, that poor widow should have kept at least one coin for herself in order to buy some food, isn't it?
Whatever we might be thinking, the widow in the 1st reading and the poor widow in the gospel certainly gave us an example of radical generosity.
What the two widows gave was hardly anything of value - just a bit of food and two small coins that were hardly with anything.
But what was given was desperately needed by the two widows. It was a sacrifice because they had to let go of it.
Very often, we who have much more, believe very little in God's promise of providence. Because letting go is so hard to do.
There is a story that is simply titled "The Rope". It begins with a mountain climber who wanted to climb the highest mountain.
Since he wanted the glory just for himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone.
So he climbed and climbed, and even right into the night he climbed, even though he couldn't see much in that pitch darkness.
As he hastened his climb to the summit, he suddenly slipped and fell into thin air.
Great fear seized him as his life flashed before him.
As he kept falling into certain death, suddenly he felt the rope that was tied to his waist pulled him very hard.
His body was hanging in the air with only the rope holding him, and in desperation he screamed "Help me, O God, help me!"
Suddenly in that pitch darkness, a deep voice came from the skies "How do you want me to help you?"
The man was surprised but he quickly answered "Save me, O God, save me!"
The voice said "Do you really believe that I can save you?" The man answered, "Yes, yes, I believe, I believe!"
The voice said, "Then do as I tell you. Cut away the rope that is tied to your waist."
There was a moment of silence. The man decided to hold on to the rope with all his might.
The next day, the rescue team saw an intriguing sight. The climber was found dead and frozen, his body hanging from a rope with his hands holding it tight. His body was only 10 feet from the ground.
Indeed, letting go is hard to do. But it is in letting go that we live and become alive.
Jesus had said that he who tries to save his life will lose it, but he who gives up his life for Jesus will save it.
The widow of Sidon in the 1st reading tells us this truth. We can also say the same of the widow in the gospel that God will provide for her.
And we can also say that God will provide for us. Yet like the two widows, we have to learn to let go.
We have to learn to let go of ourselves and give ourselves to others - our life, our love, our time, our energy.
Every little sacrifice is appreciated by Jesus, just like how He commended that poor widow on her offering.
So let us not say that God does not see, or that he has forgotten what we have let go of and offered to Him.
The prophet Isaiah would say this : Don't ever think that the Lord does not take care of you. He is always holding you with His right hand (Isaiah 41:17-20)
Yes, almighty God holds us with His powerful right hand.
We just have to let go of our little rope and hold on to His right hand.