The Gospel we just heard poses a very simple question,
but it cuts deep, right to our very core:
how much are you and I willing to give to Jesus Christ?
It’s not necessarily a matter of money.
The widow in the Gospel didn’t just give a donation.
As Jesus said, she gave everything she had to live on.
She put everything on the line.
How much will you and I put on the line?
Saint John Newman, the great English protestant
who became Catholic, gave a sermon one time
in which he posed a similar question.
He asked, what have we Christians ventured; that is, put at risk?
He adds: “I really fear…that there is nothing we resolve, nothing we do,
nothing we do not do…which we should not resolve, and do, and not do,
and avoid, and choose, and give up, and pursue,
if Christ had not died, and heaven were not promised us.”
So that’s the question to ask ourselves.
What can you and I point to in our choices, in our lives,
that really is different, because we follow Jesus?
I think of couples who accept greater sacrifice
in welcoming more children.
And still others who might earn less money
because they try to focus more on family.
We hear a lot of criticism and cynicism about people in business.
But surely there are many businesspeople who make decisions
which the rest of us never know about, that sacrifice profit.
Our young people will certainly face peer pressure and mockery
when they choose a path of self-denial and integrity.
Let me tell you a secret: you can have a crowd around you,
with several loud voices taunting you.
The ones who remain silent?
They’re watching to see if you have any backbone.
And don’t be surprised if later, very quietly,
they tell you, you did the right thing.
Don’t expect them to speak up. But know you made a difference.
So, back to St. John Henry Newman’s question.
What do you and I put at risk for Christ?
What will we lose if Jesus ends up not being who we believe he is?
The widow put it ALL on the line for faith in God.
At this moment, I really think I’m in the way;
I’m interrupting a conversation
which is really between each of us, and Jesus himself.
He’s the one who makes the invitation:
Come, follow me – and Peter and Andrew, James and John
left their nets; their livelihood; everything they had.
Jesus speaks to you as only he can.
He has prepared your life and given you your gifts.
What will you answer?
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