WHEN Jesus looked up, He saw some wealthy people putting their offerings into the treasury and He noticed a poor widow putting in two small coins. He said, "I tell you truly, this poor widow put in more than all the rest; for those others have all made offerings from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has offered her whole livelihood."
The WORD
The Hebrew
almana (widow) refers to a married woman whose husband has died, and who has remained unmarried. In the New Testament, the word used is the Greek chra.
Other terms associated with "widow" in the Bible shed light on both her personal experience and the social plight. Weeping (Jb 27:15), mourning (2 Sm 14:2), and desolation (Lam 1:1) describe her personal experience after the loss of her spouse. Poverty (Ru 1:21) and indebtedness (2 Kgs 4:1) describe her financial situation. The death of a husband in a patriarchal society like Israel generally meant social and economic tragedy, as well as a type of a cultural death. With no one to stand for her legal rights, as in the case of a widow left with small children, the widow was in an extremely vulnerable economic situation. Hence, she was frequently placed alongside orphans and the landless immigrants, representatives of the poorest of the poor (Jb 24:4; Is 10:2).
Legislation provided a social security for the widow. She was permitted to glean the fields and the vineyards during the harvest. Tithes were shared with her. Provision was to be made for her at the main religious feasts. Her garments could not be taken as collateral for a loan. The measure by which a ruler in Israel was to be judged as good, was whether the powerless ones like the widows were cared for (Ps 72:4, 12-14; Jer 22:16).
The widow – whose value was found in her "being" and not in "doing" – had God, above all, as her protector and benefactor (Ps 68:6). God manifests His special care for the powerless. No wonder, during His ministry, Jesus who came to reveal the Father, exemplifies a special care and compassion for widows. In today’s gospel, Jesus presents a widow as a protagonist. Measuring the worth of her offering in terms of the sacrifice involved, Jesus points out that she has given the most. She gives without counting the cost, placing her trust in the goodness of God who raises the lowly and gives every good thing to the hungry (Lk 1:52-53).
SOURCE:
"365 Days with the Lord," ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph. 
