Masks Off
Jun 10: Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time
We may wear masks to disguise our true motivations, but God knows what’s in our hearts. No mask can truly hide from Him.
By a strange coincidence, on the day I wrote this post,1 I saw a video on YouTube claiming that a chapter break in Luke was used to disguise the meaning of the Widow’s Mite. He says the church has used the story to encourage the poor to give their last dime.
This is so egregiously wrong for so many reasons, I hesitate to share the video2 and inadvertently give more visibility to this guy’s content.3
First, the Gospel reading today from Mark tells the same story, and there isn’t a chapter break. So, this YouTuber’s idiotic conspiracy immediately falls apart right there. Why’d they try to trick readers of Luke but not Mark?
Second, I can’t find a single source of anyone ever saying this anywhere. And listen, every possible terrible interpretation of every verse in the Bible has been made somewhere, but “Be like the widow, give me all your money” is not a common or mainstream interpretation. One line in the Wikipedia entry justifies the claim with a citation to an out of print book, which is not available online or at any library I have access to.4
Preachers and priests have posted millions of recordings of their sermons and homilies online over the last 3 years. I defy anyone to find a single instance of this interpretation.
Anyway.
Reading 1
Tb 12:1, 5-15, 20
Tobit called his son Tobiah and said to him, "Son, see to it that you give what is due to the man who made the journey with you; give him a bonus too." So he called Raphael and said, "Take as your wages half of all that you have brought back, and go in peace."
Raphael called the two men aside privately and said to them: "Thank God! Give him the praise and the glory. Before all the living, acknowledge the many good things he has done for you, by blessing and extolling his name in song. Honor and proclaim God's deeds, and do not be slack in praising him. A king's secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be declared and made known. Praise them with due honor. Do good, and evil will not find its way to you. Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness. It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life; but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies.
"I will now tell you the whole truth; I will conceal nothing at all from you. I have already said to you, 'A king's secret it is prudent to keep, but the works of God are to be made known with due honor.' I can now tell you that when you, Tobit, and Sarah prayed, it was I who presented and read the record of your prayer before the Glory of the Lord; and I did the same thing when you used to bury the dead. When you did not hesitate to get up and leave your dinner in order to go and bury the dead, I was sent to put you to the test. At the same time, however, God commissioned me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah. I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who enter and serve before the Glory of the Lord."
"So now get up from the ground and praise God. Behold, I am about to ascend to him who sent me; write down all these things that have happened to you."
Finally Raphael reveals himself to Tobit and his family.
Tobit gets something that most of us never do—direct and literal confirmation that God heard his prayers. It can be hard to say your prayers every day, and not hear anything back.
That’s where faith comes in. We must continue to pray, even if we never receive an “answer” in the human sense.
Responsorial Psalm
Tobit 13:2, 6efgh, 7, 8
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
He scourges and then has mercy;
he casts down to the depths of the nether world,
and he brings up from the great abyss.
No one can escape his hand.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
So now consider what he has done for you,
and praise him with full voice.
Bless the Lord of righteousness,
and exalt the King of ages.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
In the land of my exile I praise him
and show his power and majesty to a sinful nation.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Bless the Lord, all you his chosen ones,
and may all of you praise his majesty.
Celebrate days of gladness, and give him praise.
R. Blessed be God, who lives for ever.
Tobit takes Raphael’s advice, and sings a song of praise, similar to the Psalms. (I actually didn’t notice this wasn’t a Psalm, at first!)
“So now consider what he has done for you,” says the guy who was struck blind for eight years. Even in a land of exile, Tobit praises God so the foreign nation can hear and be saved.
Alleluia
Mt 5:3
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are the poor in spirit;
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
“Poor in spirit” is a phrase unique to Matthew.5 He wanted to include everyone, no matter their wealth, who acknowledged their complete dependence on God.
Gospel
Mk 12:38-44
In the course of his teaching Jesus said, "Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."
He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, "Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood."
After pwning the scribes yesterday, Jesus relaxes with his disciples at the temple. Many people are there just to show off their piety and their wealth. But as Raphael said in the first reading, “Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness. A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.”
Jesus doesn’t condemn the wealthy for donating money. It’s fine.
But “fine” isn’t what we should be reaching for. They’re giving because they’re rich; she’s giving despite the fact that she’s poor. She gave everything she could.
The idea isn’t that the poor should give everything; it’s that we should all give everything to God. “Everything” is going to be different for different people. You may not be able to give money, but time. If not time, then prayer. But it should be done with a cheerful and generous heart, not from leftovers you’re not using anyway.
Jesus sees what others don’t. If you are prudently saving money, are you “storing up gold” out of greed? Or are you trying to protect your family? Are you donating to the Church so a building will be named after you, or to take care of the needs of others who can’t contribute?
I’m actually ahead for once!
Honesty compels me to provide a link, however (albeit buried in a footnote). As a general rule, if someone describes a video without linking to the full video, I assume they’re taking it out of context or outright lying, whether it’s a random blog or the New York Times.
I despise the word “content” as a synonym for creative arts online, so in this case, know that I’m using the word as derisively as possible.
And judging from what I can find about the author, Peter Dula, I doubt the book makes a convincing or well-sourced case.