Convince, Reprimand, Encourage

June 7, 2008
Saturday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

"…[P]roclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. 2 Timothy 4:2-4

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." Mark 12:43-44

Piety

Let us pray: Gracious Father, give us the words to be convincing. Brother Jesus, give us the fortitude to gently reprimand others and get them on the right path. Holy Spirit, give us the fortitude to encourage all to follow the way, the truth and the light. Your path is not easy but with humility and obedience, we can take on life with the might of the widow and give every mite she might give. Amen.

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/060708.shtml

Why do I keep trying to rationalize how easy following the Gospel will be. I need to wake up and realize that it just sounds easy. Living it, truly and faithfully and humbly and obediently, will not be easy. The more physical and economic power we have in life, the more we are anchored to the current way of living. Jesus knows how hard it will be for us. That is why he advises us to be persistent. Clearing the decks of our money, power and material possessions, will make it easier to follow the example of the widow in today's story. That may be easier said than done.

Life was probably much easier for the scribes in long robes if you compared their life to the life of the poor widow. Yet the widow's "might" – her strength and endurance in the face of poverty, need and hardship – helped her to realize not to follow her own desires or the words of false teachers. However, the story of the mighty widow is not just for the echoes of history. Consider the following examples covered by the New York Times (December 5, 1995):

Anne Scheiber's Gift

With the season of holidays and gift-giving comes the story of Anne Scheiber, a 101-year-old recluse who spent her retirement quietly turning a $5,000 nest egg into a $22 million stock portfolio. She then left the entire fortune that she had accumulated over half a century to Yeshiva University, to establish scholarships for needy women students there.

"Here's a woman who for 101 years was childless and now becomes a mother to a whole community," said the president of the university.

During her life, Ms. Scheiber had no direct contact with the university, or indeed with just about anyone except her lawyer and stockbroker. Although she clearly had a genius for finance, she founded no business. She had no close family, and no friends. She had no projects, no charities, did no volunteer work. She retired a half-century ago from the Internal Revenue Service feeling that her hard work there had gone unrewarded because of her sex. It was apparently that memory that inspired her bequest.

Ms. Scheiber's gift recalls the story of Oseola McCarty, the 87-year-old Mississippi woman who earlier this year donated $150,000 earned in a lifetime of doing other people's laundry to endow scholarships for black students at the University of Southern Mississippi. Both women lived simply, and cared nothing about possessions. That may explain why they gave their money for opportunity, rather than plaques or buildings.

Besides money, both women left us a lesson. We can touch the future in many different ways. The childless can leave their imprint on the young for generations to come. The friendless can transform a community. The quietest can make a great noise.

Action

Pick a favorite charity or a new charity and make a gift in honor of the widow's you have read about today or perhaps another generous widow that you know of from history. If you need an idea, consider Partners in Health (www.pih.org).