The widow of Zarephath and the widow in today's Gospel reading both gave from their want, all that they "had to live on" (Mk 12:44; 1 Kgs 17:13ff). When Zacchaeus accepted salvation, he gave half his possessions to the poor (Lk 19:8). Barnabas donated his farm to the Church (Acts 4:37). It became so common to do this that Ananias and Sapphira lied and said they gave to the Church all the money they received from selling a piece of property, although they had only given most of it (Acts 5:2-3). Paul had to caution the Macedonians about over-giving! (2 Cor 8:13) They gave to the point of impoverishing themselves. We don't seem to have this problem today.

Christians today seem light-years away from the financial giving we see in the Bible, especially in the New Testament. Many Christians aren't even tithing, and tithing is B.C. It's 2,000 years behind the times. We're a few light-years behind New Testament Christianity. We must repent of watering down our faith. We have become lukewarm not only in financial matters, but also in many other areas (Rv 3:16). We must repent, even if we're the first one or the only one to repent.

Rescript:  †Reverend Joseph R. Binzer, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 3, 2009

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