Do I Make a Difference?
- Fr Raphael Ma, CR
- Mark 12: 38 - 44
A Resurrectionist Vocation Minute for November 10, 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do I make a difference?
In today’s Gospel, Jesus praises the widow’s offering of two small copper coins into the Temple treasury for the upkeep of the Temple. It’s easy to sentimentalize this moment and think of the story about the child throwing the starfish back into the ocean or other stories where the moral is basically: every little bit still makes a difference in the end.
But the point Jesus is making in today’s Gospel is not that the widow’s two small copper coins somehow makes a difference for the upkeep of the Temple in the end. The Temple in Jerusalem was incredibly wealthy, thanks in part to the scribes that Jesus criticizes in today’s Gospel. Not only did the Temple treasury not really need the widow’s two small copper coins, it wouldn’t be long before it wouldn’t need them at all – in the next chapter of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus will foretell the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem: “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.” (Mark 13:2)
The point that Jesus is making in today’s Gospel is one we find hard to accept: sometimes our efforts will in fact make little – if any – difference in this world. Period. But in God’s eyes, efforts like the widow’s two small copper coins can be worth more than all the accomplishments of those who seemed to “make a difference” in this world. The question is: does this make a difference in your eyes?
“One manifestation of our poverty of spirit will be our zeal for work. We exclude undertaking any work merely for the sake of gain, keeping in mind Christ's words: "Seek first the Father's kingship over you, his way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides" (Mt 6:33). We do not judge the worth of our brothers or our own worth in terms of the financial remuneration we receive for our work.”