As I write this, we are a few days away from the election, and I pray that the next President of the United States will govern with humility, courage, grace, and concern for the poor, oppressed, and vulnerable among us. May we all join together in this collective prayer for our nation and our world. Who are the poor, vulnerable, and oppressed among us? I hope you can name those who are the most poor and vulnerable in our communities, our nation, and the world.
Our Gospel today is an excellent story to view through the lens of Liberation Theology. [The person who is credited as the creator of Liberation Theology is Gustavo Gutiérrez, OP.] The widow, unfortunately, unnamed, like so many women in the Bible, gives literally everything she has, two coins, away, and gives from her own wealth, not just from her excessive wealth. This poor widow at the time of Jesus would have had absolutely no agency of her own, as a widow (without a husband), so her sacrifice is enormous. Where would she be able to find another coin now that she has given hers away? Jesus reminds us that to be generous, we must give not just from our excess, but from a place of true sacrifice and generosity.
Liberation Theology tells us that God would regard this widow very highly because of how much she suffers as someone without material wealth and without any power or status as a woman without a husband. Even if this woman did not give away all that she had, Liberation Theology would invite us to recognize that God has a special place for her, since she did not have the opportunity to live a comfortable life. The fact that this widow was so extremely generous, I believe, also takes Liberation Theology much deeper: it reminds us that the poor might be suffering because of unjust poverty, but this does not equate the poor, oppressed, and marginalized with people who are angry, mean, bitter, hopeless, nor greedy. Perhaps this widow is also demonstrating her trust in her community, that somehow she would be fed and cared for, even without her two coins. This widow has faith in a God of abundance, and a community that shares with those in need.
Further, maybe this widow felt her two coins did not belong to her, and should be given away- maybe she knows someone who needs the coins even MORE than she does? This widow trusts that she will be okay even though she has given away her fortune. That kind of blind faith is inspiring and can empower us to think more creatively, collaboratively, and openly, and to trust in a God of abundance to help us find what we need. Perhaps this widow knew that in a loving community, somehow she would be cared for, and her gift of all she had was a pledge to trust that the community would help support her. I wonder if this widow had an encounter with Jesus that we don’t hear in the Gospels, and she sensed his salvific love that is transformative and feeds the hungry, clothes the naked, and brings drink to the thirsty?
I am inspired to be a member of a community where the last shall be first and the first shall be last, the widow can give away all that she has without fear, those who are poor and oppressed will be liberated, and those who are in power can work to dismantle sinful structures to begin to usher in the Reign of God on earth here and now. May the Liberating Love of Jesus inspire us to live abundantly and generously, and may this Love especially shine down on our new president, now and always.
Amen.
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