Our Venerable Father Maximus the Confessor (662); the Holy Martyr Neophytus (284-305); the Holy Martyrs Eugene, Candidus, Valerian, and Aquilas
1 Peter 4:12-5:5; Mark 12:38-44
Read 1 Peter 4:12-5:5
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
The readings for today are identical to those of last Thursday. For a reflection on the epistle reading, check your email from a week ago. This reflection is on today’s Gospel reading.
A central element of our Christian life is kenosis—self-emptying. We are called to empty ourselves in service to Our Lord and to others. Every moment of our lives, every decision we make, every action we take should ultimately be directed towards emptying ourselves in service to Him. It is by giving entirely of ourselves to Him that we unite ourselves to Christ giving himself to us.
Our Lord highlights the importance of this in this example of the widow who gave two small copper coins. In the grand scheme of things, this amount is insignificant. Imagine if someone today dropped a nickel or a dime in the collection plate—this would be, objectively speaking, a meaningless contribution. However, in the case of this widow, it was everything she had. She gave everything she had for the good of others.
In our own lives, we sometimes might feel that what we are able to offer at a given time is small, insignificant, or not good enough. It might be the case that we are holding something back. But sometimes we are genuinely lacking in resources—be they financial, emotional, energy, etc…–and we don’t have a whole lot to give. It is still important, like the widow, to give what we have to the Lord and to others.