THE GOD WHO DESERVES OUR ALL
There
must have been hundreds of people — day in, day out — in the Temple and
its vicinities. All of them, every day, putting their offerings in the
treasury. And yet, there was one who caught the attention of Jesus, only
one whom He noticed.
And He declared: “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.”
Would Jesus ever have said the same words of us? That our own
self-offerings do not come merely from our surpluses? In a sense, God is
a jealous lover. He demands nothing less than our all — everything,
complete, 100 percent — no more, no less. He is never content with our
partial, loose change offerings.
For instance, do we really think that all He’s asking from us is an
hour every Sunday? From our end, that seems to be all that’s needed from
us: one hour a week for our Sunday Mass obligation. (And to think that
we often arrive late for it. Or worse still, we skip it.)
It’s hard to accept that that’s all which God asks from us: He, of all
people, the almighty and eternal God. Surely, He deserves more. That
single hour a week for our Sunday Mass will obtain its value if we look
at it as merely the culmination and external expression of our total,
100 percent self-giving.
In the case of Daniel and the three young men, they definitely gave their
all to God. Likewise, today’s remarkable saint-martyr, Catherine of
Alexandria — imprisoned by the emperor for refusing to apostatize —
still converted the emperor’s wife and two hundred soldiers before he
had her killed. So, together with the many people coming “in and out” of
God’s gaze, making their offerings to God, let’s ask: will He ever
notice us? Fr. Martin Macasaet, SDB
REFLECTION QUESTION: What aspects of your life remain unsurrendered to the Lord?
Jesus, please help me give my all to You, for You alone truly deserve it.
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