B: 32nd Sun of OrdTime (11 Nov 2018) - DESOLATION OF WIDOWS - Mk 12:38-44

She has nothing…

The poor widow in our gospel offered to the temple treasury only the small sum of two small copper coins but was, in fact, everything that she had (v. 44). This show of total surrender to God is similarly depicted in the First Reading where the widow of Zarephath gave all the food that she had to Elijah, a well-recognized prophet of God (1 Kgs 17:10-16). In Ancient Israel, widows were considered economically poor since work and trade were reserved only to male persons. This poverty is clearly emphasized in the phrase “poor widow” in Lk 21:2-3 and Mk 12:42-43. Seeing a materially poor widow give everything she had is indeed laudable. And this act of the widow in our story was praised by Jesus himself (Mk 12:43-44).

She has nobody to rely to…

The term widow is understood in English as somebody whose husband had died. However, in the Bible, it is something worse. The Hebrew word “almanah” is generally used for a widow. Some scholars judge that the word is actually derived from the Akkadian cognate “almattu”, which specifically refers to a woman whose husband and father-in-law had already died as well as her son (or had no son at all). Henceforth, not only were widows impoverished, they were emotionally desolate too, having lost all the dearest male figures in her family. The grief of the widow whose son was to be buried in Lk 7:12 is indeed understandable under this context. She was emotionally devasted for having lost everybody in her life. But Jesus removed her grief by raising her son back to life (Lk 7:14-15).

She has nothing left except her dignity…

In the NT, widows are presented not only as materially and emotionally lacking (as mentioned above) but are socially marginalized too, viz., done injustice to in Lk 18:3, burdened by religious leaders in Mk 12:40, and neglected in the food distribution in Acts 6:1. Having no financial resources to hire for a lawyer nor having no male figure to fight for her cause, widows were at the mercy of the charity of generous persons in her quest to defend her rights (cf. Lk 18:3-5). They were indeed at the losing end of justice since the societal system was male-dominated then. Jesus was not blind to this reality and spoke openly against the injustice committed against these widows (Mk 12:40 and Lk 20:47).

She is nothing different from the women of today…

Women, much more widows, in the current Philippine context are in the same predicament. Despite our progress in terms of socially empowering women—the Philippine Republic had had two female presidents in the past—the present administration seems to revert to the feudal chauvinist behavior of the past. Led by the misogynist jargons of the incorrigible president, several police officers are emboldened to mistreat women especially those that are impoverished and defenseless. Our daily news piles each day cases of violations against poor women, much deplorable is the “palit-puri” (=sex in exchange for freedom) modus, where helpless women (even minors) are forcefully turned into prostitutes in exchange of their and their loved ones’ freedom. Jesus would have admonished these wicked opportunists. However, these same people today seem to be protected and tolerated by our government, evident in the lack of drastic efforts to resolve these cases.

According to St. Paul, a true widow has “set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day” (1 Tim 5:5; cf. Lk 2:37). Indeed, widows' only recourse is God who, in turn, care for them (Jas 1:27). May we not be stumbling blocks to the realization of their prayers by becoming blind and deaf to their pleas. May we be like Jesus in caring, supporting and fighting for them.

- Rex Fortes, CM