Reading today’s Gospel (Mk 12:38-44) it would be easy to take away the message that we should be giving more to charity. The poor widow is an example to us.
But is that what Jesus was getting at? – give until you’ve got nothing left.
Mark sets the context of the story very clearly. Jesus is observing the behavior of others, particularly how much they give. He calls on his disciples to join in observing what he sees. And then he tells them the significance of what they see.
The scenario is very familiar to us. We are constantly observing the behavior of others, and in particular how much they are giving. The whole framework for most non-profit organizations is to encourage exactly that. We have buildings named after people, or if you can’t manage a building at least you can get your name on a brick, or otherwise in the program for an event, carefully graded by the amount you’ve given.
All those are worthy gifts, and very necessary. But Jesus is pointing out very directly that God’s accounts don’t work like that. He’s not interested in how much you gave, he cares about how much of yourself you have given over. And as Jesus points out elsewhere (even in our readings last week), how much you give is not counted in coins or even effort, it is counted in commitment and love.
For sure, continue giving as much as you can, and then some more. But in the end that isn’t what matters, despite all the efforts of the fundraisers to encourage us with praise and recognition. God doesn’t care. He wants everything of us.