Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Lent

Today's Reading: Mark 12:28-44Daily Lectionary: Genesis 44:1-18, 32-34; Mark 12:28-44“She out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:44b)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.When you think of role models, poor widows are not the first thing that pops into your mind. Maybe a teacher, someone who goes out of their way to help others, or someone who leads in the face of danger. In Jesus’ day, the scribes would be the kind of people you looked up to. Yet Jesus says to beware of them. They are not good role models. Because while they looked good, did all the right things, and knew all the right answers, it was all a show. Their hearts weren’t in it. They prayed long prayers with their lips but not their hearts. The widows they should have helped, they instead devoured. Sometimes we do that, too. Outwardly, we look good, but our hearts are filled with sin.But Jesus points to this widow. Maybe they hadn’t even noticed her. She didn’t look like much. But inside was the most beautiful faith! Faith that took her last two coins, all she had to live on, and gave them to God. Had she not gone to the Temple that day, no one would have missed her or her offering. But it mattered to her. So she went. And she gave. And she mattered to Jesus.As do you. That’s why Jesus gave all He had for you. Not just giving all He had to live on, but His very life itself. And He gave not only more than anyone else, but more than everyone else put together, and what no one else could give—a perfectly sinless life to atone for all the completely sinful lives of the world. And while just one life for the countless lives that have lived since the creation of the world may seem as small and insignificant as the offering of the widow, the two small coins that make just a penny, like the offering of the widow, that one life was more than all other offerings. For it was given in the most beautiful faith and love. With perfect faith in His Father, and with perfect love for you. And now, Jesus gives you two little things—a little piece of bread and a little sip of wine, that don’t look like much to the eye, but nothing could be bigger. There is Jesus’ Body and Blood. There is Jesus and His forgiveness and all His Gifts. All you need to live eternally. So if you’re looking for a role model, here’s one for you! No one may notice you, and what you do may not seem to matter. But you matter to Jesus. You are precious to Him. In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Jesus, thank You for giving all You are for me. Help me live in faith like this widow, knowing that You give me all I need to live on. Amen.