The story of the Widow’s Mite is well know to all of us. While visiting the synagogue, Jesus, along with his disciples, sit down across from the collection box to observe the people. They see many rich people approach the treasury and put in large amounts of money. But then, a widow came forward, one whom had no means of providing for herself and no family to support her needs, and she placed two small coins. She served for the disciples as an example of perfect generosity.
To understand what she has done and what it means for us, we first need to take a look at the wealthy members of the synagogue, and even another step beyond them, to those who do not give.
It may be hard for us to imagine, but there are people who simply do not give, and may not even think to give. They live the life of a dog eat dog world, or it is every man for himself. Not only will they not give out of charity and generosity, but in business and selling things, the rule becomes get as much as you can, charge as much as someone is willing to pay, and increase your profit margin as much as you can, until it starts hurting your overall profits. This is the life of the wicked, and to our humiliation, almost all of us begin here, if only in our childhood (any kid who has traded baseball cards has also been through this).
But through the commandments, our baptism and relationship with God, we move past the wicked and learn the virtue of generosity. We begin to share when we already have enough to eat, offer a ride because we are “going that way anyway”, or a happy to help out when we have extra time. This is Good. It is the generosity of the rich who happily give from their excess. Do not be mistaken, it is virtuous and it does involve a measure of sacrifice. It shows that we know what is most important and have compassion for the needs of others.
But then there is Perfection, the fulfillment of what is Good and what we may call Renunciation. Christ calls us to go beyond being generous, to no longer seeing what we own as belonging to us. The Widow was free to give to God without fear or anxiety because she knew that what she possessed was not hers. Renunciation is to no longer treat things as if we are the owner, but are the steward and caretaker of these things. It moves us beyond Righteousness and acting well and treating others well, to Perfection, which is to sacrifice for the good of others. The perfection of generosity is when we give our own need for the sake of another. This is the higher road which Jesus was showing his disciples, and to which he calls us.
