The Gospel reading for this Sunday is from the Gospel of St. Mark, chapter 12. It depicts a very hectic day in the life of the Lord, full of controversy and conflict. The religious leaders were determined to challenge and question everything He said and did, refusing to see any hope and holiness in his ministry, calling, and teaching. By demonstrating to us how to handle conflict, Jesus withdrew into the prayerful solitude and silence of the temple.
It is during that time when He noticed the poor widow who donated her last two coins to the temple. Certainly, many donated far greater amounts that day and nobody noticed or gave any importance to the poor widow or her small offering. But Jesus did.
To truly appreciate the spiritual depth of the story, we need to take a closer look at the timeline of events and view it within the greater context of the Lord’s ministry. Mark 12 is the primary Scripture reading for Holy Tuesday. And, of course, the reason for that is that the events described there took place on Tuesday, only two days before the Lord would be crucified. Think about it for a minute. Jesus only had two days left to live. One would understand if He was a little preoccupied, withdrawn, or reserved.
Jesus was always available for the marginalized and ignored, and He always had time for those in pain. The most important person for Jesus was always the person right in front of him. He stopped his preaching to approach and spend time with the leper who called his name. When he was on his way to heal a man’s dying child, he stopped and connected with the sick woman who touched his robe with the hope of healing. He was never too busy to notice people, even when he had only two days to live.
How would we act if we knew we had only a few days to live? Would we find enough strength, love, and compassion within ourselves to notice the people around us and connect with their struggles? These stories give us a glimpse into the loving heart of the Lord. They also remind and encourage us to follow in his footsteps and live our lives in the same fashion. It might sound like an impossible thing to do and archive, but that is not true because otherwise, the story would not be recorded and passed on to us in the Gospels. If we can’t see and find God among the people around us, we can’t find him in heaven or anywhere else. Therefore, it is important to pray and ask the Lord to teach us to love as He loved us.
